2023 General show information

 Ed Lampert, Smoky Mountain club member. He is not well known nationally but he has won multiple times at the prestigious CCA competition when it was in Converse, Indiana. Locally in east Tennessee, he is a "Santa" rock star! His carving style is awesome, wins regularly at our shows, trains for our local club and at the Oak Ridge weekly carving session. He leads the weekly session and really helps carvers with their projects. Personally, I loved his painting, and he invited me over for a paint session.  I have used several of the techniques that I learned from Ed.  His specialty is Santas and wow, he produces a clean carving with a cute Santa face that everyone loves. Please check out his work below., I am sure you will be impressed.  His training will be a Santa ornament that you will be proud to take home. Cost is $60 for a one-day class and you will receive an ornament blank. You can purchase additional blanks. 

 Another fantastic instructor to highlight with my personal experiences is Allen Goodman.  He is one of our caricature carving instructors. He has a unique style of hillbilly faces that are on the wood spirit side.  I have taken several training classes so don't hold that against him when you see my carvings. He did the best he could with me. He is very patient and explains each cut, you will enjoy his training style. At the end of class, you have a unique souvenir and plenty of information to improve your carving. I noticed he doesn't mind branching out from his subjects so ask him for a change and he will accommodate your changes in the project.  On a side note, you can ask him questions on your tools and how to sharpen. 

 Another fantastic instructor to highlight with my personal experiences is Allen Goodman.  He is one of our caricature carving instructors. He has a unique style of hillbilly faces that are on the wood spirit side.  I have taken several training classes so don't hold that against him when you see my carvings. He did the best he could with me. He is very patient and explains each cut, you will enjoy his training style. At the end of class, you have a unique souvenir and plenty of information to improve your carving. I noticed he doesn't mind branching out from his subjects so ask him for a change and he will accommodate your changes in the project.  On a side note, you can ask him questions on your tools and how to sharpen. 

 Another one of our instructors to highlight is Bob Stadtlander. He is nationally known and winner of many competitions and does frequent instruction. Bob entered a bark carving in our show last year and did quite well. That gave me the idea to have him teach this year and lucky for us, he accepted.  I have not taken a class from him, but plan to this year. One of local carvers took a class from Bob and was very complimentary of the experience. His course is 2.5 days and costs $130 plus the bark. He said you could bring you own bark. He will have bark for sale up to 5" thick, 7" wide and 24" long available for the class and show.  If you have an idea, bring it along. Take a look at his  his projects in the attachment. On a side note, he will have 8 tables of carving supplies. He has a website so feel free to contact him if you have a need to insure, he can bring it to avoid shipping costs. His website is Welcome to Stadtlander Woodcarvings!!! 

 The pyrography class by Dinatha Currier has been canceled. Linda Feagin has replaced her.

At the age of 50, Linda started a new journey in life when she was challenged to "finish what she started" years earlier by her dad. Linda graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2003, in the top 10% of her class, with a degree in Liberal Arts. Her major was silver smithing with minors in graphic design, computer art, book arts, letter press, and social work. Upon graduation, along with the help of her husband, Linda started selling jewelry at craft shows. Tree Of Life Creations was really taking off and in 2016 she was invited to become a vendor at Dollywood's Harvest Festival. Linda and David always knew that they wanted to retire in Pigeon Forge, so they took that plunge in 2018. They visited the My People Senior Center in 2019 and saw many fun opportunities for them to enjoy, one such class was wood burning with Diantha Currier. Our first pyrography was an owl, and we were "hooked". Even though new to the pyrography world Linda has won dozens of first, second and third place ribbons in shows, sold her pyrography at Dollywood for several years and has taught for 2 years. She has taken several classes from the amazing Michele Parsons and online classes from Valarie Connell. She love's the challenge of completing custom pieces for her customers and teaching others how to "draw with fire"  

She will teach a 3 day class $125 a 9 x 12 pyrography and a Christmas ornament will be completed. It is recommended that you bring your own wood burner; however,she will have a few that can be used in the class. You will need a small spoon shader, ball writing tip, and other tips that you prefer. You may pick your own pattern, or we can all work on the same one and learn from each other as everyone burns differently. The class is for beginners as well as advanced.