This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
Give your children the joy of learning how to work with their hands. Join Mr. Hyatt this summer as he teaches students how to make useful things beautiful through the basics of wood carving.
Total classes: 8
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 6th – 8th grade. Interested high schoolers welcome.
Suggested credit: 3/4 semester Art
Description
“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.” – St. Francis of Assisi
This course will teach students proper carving safety, tool sharpening, tool purchasing, ornament carving, spoon carving, and chip carving.
Outline
Class 1: Safety, tool considerations, wood considerations, sharpening, and Q/A
Class 2: Ornament carving – Saint nick, Q/A
Class 3: Ornament carving – animal carving (Mr. Hyatt will make several, students pick which one they want to make), Q/A
Class 4: Spoon Carving – Regular stirring spoons for cooking, Q/A
Class 5: Spoon Carving – Spoons that have big bowls (Ladle/Kuksa), Q/A
Class 6: Chip Carving – Decorative carvings for spoons (ornamentation for our projects), Q/A
Class 7: Chip Carving – Decorative carvings for furniture (geometric patterns), Q/A
Class 8: Chip Carving – Carving a Miraculous Medal ornament, Q/A
Materials and Homework
Materials: Tool/Material Explanation Video: Click here!
The student will need some form of a carving knife. Two or three would be preferable. It helps to have a chip carving knife for detailed work, a wide-bladed chip carving knife for cutting long straight lines, and a bigger knife (sloyd knife) for bigger work like spoon carving. The student will also need some form of a spoon knife/scorp (for making bowl shaped objects).
Students will also need carving wood. There are many good ones to use. The two most traditionally used in carving are basswood (excellent for chip carving) and butternut (excellent for spoon carving). However, there are many great domestic American hardwoods for carving (especially spoon carving) such as cherry, walnut, maple, oak, ash, and birch. In fact, if students have access to property where they can cut branches off trees, this is an excellent way to get wood for carving and makes the carving process easier due to the wood being green.
Other things a student may need are small items like pieces of scrap wood, a thicker dowel rod (somewhere around ¾”), various grits of abrasive paper for sharpening (wet/dry sandpaper 120 grit up to anything over 1000 grit), a piece of leather for stropping, and carving gloves/cut-resistant tape. This can seem daunting, but here is a list of reputable sellers at various price points (See File attached). It is possible to find everything a student needs for this course for under $50. However, something to consider is that we tend to get what we pay for. If your student is extremely interested in woodworking, great tools for this class would be worth the investment as they are made to last a lifetime.
Homework: There will not be any homework due. Students will be encouraged to show off their work throughout the course.
Important Dates
Class dates: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, June 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, and 13, 2024.
Starting time: 10:00 AM Eastern (9:00 Central, 8:00 Mountain, 7:00 Pacific)
Duration: 60 minutes per class
