Mohawk Valley Art & Wood Carving Assoc.
Club History:

Founded in Canajoharie, NY in 1980, it was originally a mix of several different art mediums (hence, the club name). Upon its move to Amsterdam in the mid-1980's the group took on a woodcarving focus and stayed that way. It's original membership consisted of 6-12 active members and has steadily grown. With it's membership is now at 110+ members, the club continues to grow.

We meet the first Tuesday of the month, from 7-9pm, at the Inman Senior Citizen Center in Amsterdam, NY.



MVAWA Map


 
Club Objectives:

1. To promote Woodcarving in our area.

2. To offer our members a chance to interact with other woodcarvers in a social setting.

3. To share ideas and techniques about carving as well as painting and finishing.

4. To provide a forum for discussion about the many aspects of woodcarving.

 
Carl Teaching

Carl Borst teaching club members


Club membership gives you:

1. A monthly newsletter full of club happenings, upcoming events, carving tips, and carving patterns.

2. Informal weekly carving meeting held at the Inman Center in Amsterdam on Thursdays from 11am to 3pm.

MVAWA Thursdays

A small sectionof the Thurday carving group

<>3. Formal meeting at the Innman Center in Amsterdam, NY on the first Tuesday of each month. The formal part of the meeting is followed with either an informative woodcarving program or a simple "Carve Along".

4. Access to our woodcarving library, videos and sharpening machines.

5. An up to date member list including addresses, phone numbers, and e-mailaddresses.

6. Discount table fees at our annual show.

7. An opportunity to grow as a carver thru demonstrations and discussions.

Joining the Club is a snap!
All you need to do is attend one of our club meetings
 and pay a annual membership fee of $10 per household.



Club Gallery:



Club Activities:

Normally there is a club sponsored yearly woodcarving show.  Unfortunately there was no 2005 show. Stay tuned for details on our next one.
 

BoS 2004
BoS 2004bBoS 2004c
This is the Best-of-Show award winner from our 2004 Artistry in Wood show at the Christian Brother's Academy, Albany, NY.  The carver was Russ Oar a wonderful newcomer to our show.


Who is this guy, and why is he smiling?
Well, you would smile too if you could carve like that, but in addition he's Russ Hart, our Best-of-Show winner for 1999.
BTW, this was his 2nd year in a row.

(Photograph credit goes to Ted Tarr)


Other Club Activities:
  • In August the club has a picnic. Club members bring a 'covered dish' and gather for the fun and activities.
  • A Christmas dinner replaces our December meeting at the Innman Center where members bring a 'covered dish' and a spouse or friend.  
  • Throughout the year, volunteers from our membership may visit other area clubs and shows demonstrating woodcarving and keeping us apprised of the upcoming events in other areas.  


Club Projects:
  • Nativity Set: Club members have carved a nativity set which is raffled off at our annual show. The proceeds benefit WGY's Christmas Wish program and help to finance our show.
  • Christmas Ornaments are carved throughout the year to be sold at the club's table during the carving show.
  • Adirondack Carousel Project:  Our members are working on several full sized Carousel animals that will be installed at the working carousel being built in Saranac Lake, NY.
  • Members often show their carvings and give demonstrations at county fairs, woodworking shows and other outside events.



This club has the unfortunate distinction of having me as their newsletter web editor and sometime writer.  Eric Lawrence does the hardcopy editing (the hard part).  If your curious you can read them in the following links:


Aug '99Sept '99Oct '99Nov '99Dec '99

Jan '00Feb '00Mar '00Apr '00May '00June '00July '00Aug '00Sep '00Oct '00Nov '00Dec '00

Jan '01Feb '01Mar '01Apr '01May '01June '01July '01Aug '01Sept '01Oct '01Nov '01Dec '01

Feb '02Mar '02Apr '02May '02Jun '02Jul '02Aug '02Sep '02Oct '02

Nov '04, Dec '04

Apr '05