Things wander my way sometimes. I spent part of Friday morning in Bellaire doing a shoot, and right there in front of the historical Trolley Car was a good-sized banner advertising the Houston Area Wood Carvers annual show and sale, this Saturday at City Hall.
Since the weather forecast for Saturday said “rain” and my initial plan for Saturday had been a car show, well, I kind of made a small mental note. I grew up doing car shows, rain or shine, and trust me, they don’t gain from water falling out of the sky. No matter HOW much we need the rain.
And, oddly enough, the weather guys were right, and driving thirty or forty miles to shoot cars trying to cover up wasn’t much of an idea, so I wandered over to City Hall – 29.70310 N, 95.46813 W. And that banner was right, too…
Kenan Schultz of Channelview tells me his wife said this guy “looks like he’s about to sit down and tell a story,” so he became “The Storyteller.”
Schultz himself has that same look going on…
And around the corner, there’s Fred Childers,
doing this absolutely fascinating “fan dove” thing.
He tells me that fan carving of this sort has been around for a long time… but having never seen it before myself, I was just blown away.
Further up was Carolyn Halbrook, working on an icicle ornament.
Her specialty is chip carving… which she also teaches. It’s a style that results in things like this:
There were a lot of Santas and Christmas things out; it’s a sale, too, and there were a lot of unique designs.
These folks are good….
I’ve got a standing invite to drop by and learn how to do this… which I think I may have to try. (Not that I need another time-eater of a hobby, but still…)
And as Kenan Schultz told me, “There’s no such thing as a worked-up woodcarver.”