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Working with wood
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor.Carver Jim Shevchenko (right) taught carving with a hands-on approach with scout Anson Hankey.
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Gary Sullivan (left) looked over Josh Devlin’s work during the March 15 woodcarving event at the Davis YMCA.
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The Western Reserve Carving Club provided the scouts with a detailed step-by-step instruction booklet with photos. After finding the next step in their carving project, John Grantonic (left) and scout Rocco Shasho got back to work.
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Scout Robby Faix was a very independent carver during the event. He worked on his eagle carving for many minutes without supervision.
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Carver and event creator Tom Evans (left) didn’t do much carving during the March 15 event, but was happy to watch over the crowd and give pointers to pack mom Sue Santengelo, who worked on her own piece of carving art.
By SARAH FOOR
On the evening of March 15, the art studio of the Davis YMCA was covered with a light layer of sawdust and wood shavings thanks to the master woodcarvers of the Western Reserve Carving Club.
The carvers taught Webelo Scouts of St. Christine’s Pack 22 how to transform a small block of wood into an eagle.
“I have 37 years of carving under my belt, and it’s great teaching people about what I love,” said carver Tom Evans. Wanting to share the art with all ages, it was Evans who contacted the Webelos and began the event.
“For me, woodcarving enriches my mind and unleashes my imagination. I want the same for the scouts. I’d love if tonight inspired some of the boys to start carving and working with their hands,” Evans shared.
For the third- and fourth-grade Webelos, the woodcarving event helped the boys earn their knife skills badges, as well as teaching some important lessons.
“Although our focus tonight is honing knife skills, I think the boys have learned a lot about creativity, patience, and to respect and learn from our elders,” shared pack leader Chuck Shasho.
The Webelos began their night with a small wooden block, and with step-by-step instructions and guidance from the carvers, began to whittle it down into the profile of a proud eagle.
The piece of art was not finished in the art studio; the woodcarvers hoped that with the provided instructions, the boys could finish the eagle carving on their own time with the help of a parent or friend.
The Western Reserve Woodcarving Club, which meets in Youngstown, includes members from the ages of 10 to 95 years. Even though the carvers have decades of experience in their midst, they still learned their own lessons from the scouts.
“Carving can be a very solitary art,” said carver John Grantonic. “The Webelos reminded us how important it is to communicate and to teach effectively. The scouts are really wonderful students.”