Carving 2015

We are back, Wood and Words, thanks to the wonderful work of my IT person, Laura....there are times when I do feel old in the fact that I can't figure some of the electronic stuff out!  But that is what kids and grand kids are for.  Started posting some pictures of carvings from last year on my Papa Richter Carving Facebook page, trying to get an early start on Christmas decoration-just call me Wal Mart!

But it is Sunday night and I would like to talk a little carving-I had a person tell me last summer that my carvings looked "rough" and made me think about my techniques.  I know that I am self taught, read a lot of books plus videos and know that I am never happy with the face that my Santa has upon completion.  But I did not think my carvings were "rough"!  I looked at some others on line and many have such detailed finishes that I could see the Santa was very professionally done.  I guess I need to figure out if I am a professional, maybe I should enter a bird in a decoy contest, win an award then I would be closer to being a professional.

I guess that my response to those out there who see my Santas as too rough or not perfect in the painting or the carving, maybe you should consider buying your Santas at Wal Mart!  Guess that sounds too harsh, I don't mean it to sound rude but I remember talking to a quilter in Pennsylvania who talked about how hard it had become to sell hand quilted pieces when customers would say, "I can buy a quilt for half this price at K Mart or Target".  The woman was not sure how to reply but was upset that the value of "hand made" seemed to be decreasing-this does sound like a rant!  Sorry.

On a more positive note, the temps out here have dropped, some of the leaves are turning-Swamp Maples are the first to turn a brilliant red, football is in full swing, baseball races are winding up, Pat gets better every day, subbing is still fun and I have a whole bunch of Santas carved and in the process of being painted, so as my brother says, "Life is pretty good".  So hope that I didn't upset those of you reading this, shop locally, hit those farmer's markets and enjoy the Fall.  Much peace and love from the mountains of New Hampshire.  Keep a tight line!

Papa Richter

It's February and We Have Snow!

Yes it is February and we are covered in snow, with more on the way.  But we do live in New Hampshire and no one seems to care, well except those school folks who right now may still be in school June 30, or going Saturdays, or longer days, or cutting vacations-I guess a reason I never had much interest in moving up the education ladder into top administration!  It seems there should be some way to have young folks learn more quickly or give credit for "life experiences".  It has been a while since I shared words of wisdom, posted many pictures of wood projects but will try to get back on track.

Have been out testing as part of the NAEP program, the "Grade Card of America's Schools" and is interesting to visit middle and elementary schools in New Hampshire collecting data from 4th grade and 8th grade students in the areas of science, math and reading.  Some of the buildings are new, some old but as soon as you walk into the office can tell the "school culture" of the building, mostly from the administrative assistant sitting behind the first desk.  I visited on school where the woman seemed to be angry that I was even in the building!  Others treated me like a long lost relative!  So guess where more learning was taking place.  I have spent time talking about the importance of "RESPECT" throughout school buildings and that respect may be a key component to learning plus I knew very quickly that if the principal was gone, school operated smoothly but if the secretary was gone, chaos was usually the result.  I have seen a teacher's desk too small with a piece of plywood duct taped to the top to make it bigger; milk crates were the book shelves and a wonderful classroom teacher but with the look in her eyes that she was tired of stretching supplies, time and energy.  Other classrooms were filled with exciting, bright, posters, number charts, spelling words and excited young people led by a just as wonderful educator-the difference appeared to be-they felt respected and expectations were high for their achievement.

I know it is not fair to make judgements based upon a 3 hour visit but after 40 years in education I feel I know the signs.  I listen to people speak of wasting money on education, the evils of teacher's unions, the lack of academic progress and on and on and wonder just how much respect they have for those people who educate everyone that walk through that classroom door!  Recently I heard a man speak at a board meeting wanting to cut the budget by 10% across the board, when asked if  he was familiar with  previous board meetings and financial committee meetings and had attended any of the meetings. His response was he worked nights, his kids were home schooled and he didn't have time to come to the meetings but he thought the public school was a waste of money!  This makes me tired so will stop on this subject.

As Pat and I walked through the snow to the car tonight, the crunch of the snow, the smell of the wood smoke and the crushing temperatures that make your nose hurt brings back those memories of Union Star, and growing up on the farm.  Walking into the gym with my basketball uniform and my Converse All Star High Tops, the smell of pop corn helps me remember just how small our gym was and just how bad we were at basketball. We were  a .500 team at best, never went far in district championships, usually would win the consolation games to at least get a trophy but boy did we have fun.  Teams that followed us became better (they had a new gym full size floor), won some district championships and had some guys that could "light it up"! But we had fun.

My dad and I built model airplanes on the dining room table-the kind with strips of balsa wood, bent, glued and pinned to a pattern then covered with tissue paper.  Power was a long rubber band that ran the length of the body-funny I don't remember flying any of the planes, have no idea what happened to them, I just remember them hanging from the ceiling in the dinning room during the winter months.  If we were doing that we listened to the radio shows and read-he got our books from the Book Mobile that stopped up at Empire Prairie.  We checked out books by the book full!!  I wish I could say, those were the good old days, but polio could put you into a machine.  A ruptured appendix could kill you, cars were death traps (no seat belts, everything was pointed and usually if the car turned upside down the top met the top of the seats), roads were narrow, cigarettes were open to anyone and big time advertising was the market.   DDT was the pesticide of choice.   We worried that someone would drop the bomb, duck and cover would save your life....right!!  So those days have some memories but not sure if they were the good old days.

Today, we have a warm place to sleep, we have wonderful daughters with great husbands and outstanding grand kids!  So to me yesterday was a good old day!  Everyone still has their challenges, some physical, some mental, some just because of adolescence or growing older but nothing is so big that we can't make it work.  I still get to do some of the things I have always like to do plus getting to work in wood making some things that will be passed on to the next generation is pretty cool.  Even "cooler" is listening to some of my former students report and post pictures of their families as they live this adventure too.  I was talking to a grand kid today about risk taking-they said that risks were too scary and they didn't want to take any, but just going to that middle school dance tomorrow night is a risk taking bigger that I ever wanted to take!  So we just have to find the right risk, then ease into it!

Carving wise, finishing up some ice fishing decoys, a santa or two and still have the pintail to burn and paint.  Had a commission for a couple of oak leaves that worked out well-bought my coffee and cookies at Starbucks tonight while I am waiting for Pat to finish a meeting.  Have a couple of walnut blocks that I am anxious to cut into and some white pine that were given to me by a dear Missouri friend.  Have some new ideas for summer camp wood shop-a different design for some benches and adding decoy profiles for the campers to mount and paint.  Hard to think about summer when the snow is piled so high that I can't see the road sitting here drinking coffee!  But I do know that it will come, just as will those projects to complete, 8th grade graduation and the opening day of camp.

I miss the farm, I  miss our Missouri friends, I miss St. Louis and Columbia but if I was there would really be missing the chance to see Harry, and Spencer play basketball and soccer, Sam play basketball and baseball and Molly dance in the Nutcracker and compete in gymnastics.  So on the scale of "life is good" I would say that we have made the right choices!

So, not much about carving or even many words of wisdom but here it is.  Keep that line tight (especially you Missourians opening trout season March 1) and always measure twice!  Peace

Transitions 2014

We are several weeks into the year 2014.  Each year brings new challenges, new barriers, new stressors and we seem to have little time to reflect but instead have to look forward to what is ahead of us.  Mom always said that at New Years a quick reflection back, then have a plan for what was ahead-I always wondered how I could have a plan when I didn't know what was going to happen.  She said that your plan should be one that included kindness, patience and a positive attitude!  Transitions come in all sizes and events-transition from middle school to high school, junior varsity to varsity, college or high school into a real job, single to relationships, to parenthood.  But I  think that any plan should be one of transition into new periods of our lives-mom is gone and it has been a difficult transition into life without her.  She had a good plan that made the transition easier but there seems to be those pesky memories that seem to slow the transition down.  But each time we open a box or a trunk we find more unfinished quilts or other projects-Pat found a cross stitch project, had to go buy a new needle and now is hard at work.  I asked her when she was going to finish the quilts, I got the look that "if looks could kill, I would be damaged goods", we have found a local quilt club that we might be able to pass off some of the work.  But I think that to keep the history in place the family needs to complete.

We moved between Christmas and New Years from an apartment into a condo; even though we only moved 2 miles, we still lost those routines and the daily contact with our neighbors in the building.  The transition has not been bad-but we did discover that a move is not something that we can do by ourselves.  Pat has come down with a nasty case of "asthma induced pneumonia" and we are both realizing that the "bounce back" factor doesn't work as well as it used to-another transition?  Sam, the oldest grandchild turned 16, completed driver education and now is a driver; all the other grandkids got a year older, and celebrated transitions in their lives.  Spencer discovered what it is like to have a broken arm, Molly made the transition into being at camp for one week, while Harry discovered three weeks at camp!  Transitions and land marks are important when you are moving into  adolescence.

The View from the Condo

The hardest transition ever to make is the loss of a loved one-mom died in March, a cousin lost her husband this fall, one of my former students lost his mother but the hardest incident was our longest and best friends from college and our early teaching days, lost their son.  There are no transition instructions for how to deal with such a loss.  This young man had so many talents: world class singer, educator, dad, woodworking, gardner, fisherman-and most of all, loved life to the fullest with his story telling, laugh or kindness.  There are no words, or actions that can ease these feelings of loss.

Fly Box made of Cherry  Design And Built by Jeff

Fly Rod Carrier for my 4 Piece Rod Design and Built by Jeff

I don't do the New Year Resolutions any more, why set myself up to do something that I will probably not get done, how about some simple goals like a better organized carving place or getting my fly box filled up while it is cold and dark outside?  How about using my Y membership more?  But most of all I need to keep teaching, whether it be building a box or a bird house at Merrowvista or talking about my decoys at various art shows or simply subbing, helping  the absent teacher to make sure that the students learn something in the school day.

A Camper With His Bird House

Discussing Carving a Shorebird

So there we have it, these transitions can be difficult, almost impossible some times but we also know that we have great resilience, the sun comes up tomorrow and we will persevere.  From those simple tasks to those that seem to over whelm us, will meet those challenges.  An old coach, I think, once said that "things that don't kill us make us stronger" and we know that each day is important and makes us better able to deal with tomorrow! January and February will be gone before we know it, the grass will turn green, flowers will be up, the air will be warm and the streams will be filled with fish.

"Each day, well lived makes yesterday a dream of happiness and tomorrow a vision of hope.  Look therefore to this one day for it, and  it alone is life."

 If you are going to work in wood remember to "measure twice and cut once" or if you are standing in a stream some place, make sure to keep that tight line.  Much peace to all.

Papa Richter

Christmas Holidays (and a little wood)

So here I sit, on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, watching it rain on the big snow fall we had a couple of days ago.  All the Santa's have been carved, sent to wonderful new owners, just have two to add to the daughter's collections-ever think that maybe the grandkids might sell them and they would be highly collectable and worth big bucks?  Nah, don't think so.  The plans are to try to finish up shore birds and decoys for the spring, have a couple of ice fishing decoys that need final touches.   I am going to spend more time creating an antique look on the shore birds-I did learn that using a thing wash of a dark color is just as good as buying some fancy antique finish!  Biggest thing I need to do is to get better organized so can find the wood and decoys in varying stages.  So there is my wood working goals for 2014.

Also going to help with the female throwers at the local high school; there are some outstanding, hardworking ladies that I hope can have great years.  They are so close to being competitive at the state level that if I do my job, they can move to the next level.  Subbing has been fun, regardless of what grade I am working-do have to admit that it is much more fun to be in a regular classroom but still good.  Plan to do the summer thing at Merrowvista working wood working, think that this is my 20th summer;  this too is much fun be surrounded by such outstanding young people in leaders then the campers bring their enthusiasm that can't be matched by any regular job.

Mom always talked about doing some reflection on the past year, but not too hard because more important to look ahead and decide what will be the important things to accomplish in the next year.  Since we are moving to a condo the first of the year, have been busy taking pictures down, cleaning out boxes and the like-today I took down the two little shelves that were always up in her bed room while living with us or in the living room at the farm, one always had the picture of her and her sister, Thurley, and the other a statue of David she got at church.  Now they are safely packed and will be hung some where in the condo.  Last year we were in Wolfeboro and she stayed at the Wolfeboro Inn, one of her favorite places, great food and atmosphere and the staff, listened to her Missouri Farm stories and treated her with great respect.

The past year has been one of challenges from mom's passing to moving the farm into the Richter Century Farm Corporation to making a December move into the new condo.  But we have been mostly healthy-at least for someone my age!  There are times when I wish we were closer to the farm so that I might fish in the ponds or walk the fields; however when I can sit here and listen to the grandkids play "knee hockey" in the basement, Sam playing tunes while reading in the kitchen, Pat "running errands" with the daughters, I know the farm is there but my place is here!

Today on Christmas Eve the sun is shining, the rain has moved on and temperatures are back down where they should be.  I have a great view of the lake, I have not watched the news so I can believe there is peace in the world for a day or two and no one is calling people names here.   I can check my Facebook and read about all the former students, their families and their success stories.  Tonight we will do the Christmas Eve church services, come back and have the Heather Kiley soup and sandwich meal, one of the kids will read the Night Before Christmas, then to bed to wait for Santa.  It makes no difference how old we get, the Kiley, Thomas and Richter families still hear "The Bell" and believe in the true spirit of Christmas.

Please bring peace and love to all, have a very Merry Christmas and may the New Year be your best year yet.  If you are in a stream some place "keep a tight line" and if you are working in wood "measure twice and cut once".

All the Best


Papa Richter

November Holiday Season Begins

Veterans Day 2013.  Seems like November brings such hints of summer past and winter coming, today nice fall day temps in the 50's, sun shine, tomorrow temps down, rain, little snow but then back up.  But I also keep thinking about all the rows of white crosses scattered around the world that allows me to write, think, become educated, marry, travel, vote, have an independent opinion, create, live where I want and the list goes on and on.  I remember standing at Gettysburg Battlefields and think about what a huge waste that this war was but appreciate the issues that led to the Civil War; still as a poet once said, "how many songs were unwritten" as the result of the war.  WWII was fought to keep the world free, was a just and necessary war and I can never appreciate men coming ashore under such intense fire that many knew that they would not survive-I have always wondered if I were man enough to take on such a task.

I create decoys of ducks, shorebirds and song birds that have a history; Santa carvings are the result of stories of a man throwing coins through the windows of people living in poverty-history.  The man who lives across the hall has family history of fine cabinet making that goes back to the 1700's, the original Dunlap furniture pieces now reside in museums.  His apartment is filled with his history as all of his pieces are created in his shop in Antrim, New Hampshire and he has others in storage; the question is what happens to these pieces down the road, will the heirs respect his art.  History comes in so many forms, from family to world, we just need to take a moment and listen to what the past tells us.

So here we are, seems like a poor way to start the holiday season, with so many negative thoughts but some how Veterans Day calls for a more serious approach.  There are no pictures to post because can't seem to think of any thing appropriate.

The next post will be about my carving classes and some pictures of what I did there.  I did visit the Ward Museum in Maryland and saw a wide range of decoys-and discovered that some of mine are really not bad.  It is a day later, and some how we quickly move on to some thing else, but I hope that we can take a moment each day to give some thanks and remember those who are no longer with us.  Much Peace

The End of Summer

So here we come to Labor Day weekend, the first weekend of college football and high school football in Missouri.  I do have to say that I do miss those days and I think often of places like North Callaway, Brookfield and Northwest Missouri State University, Park Hill.  I know this has nothing to day with WOOD  but it is WORD!

The Valley

More importantly it is the end of summer and what a summer is has been-teaching woodworking at Camp Merrowvista was really good.  Some of the feelings were mixed because Pat was able to spend most of the time with me (good) but the reason that she could was that mom was gone (bad).  Mom had talked about spending some time on the farm house porch this summer, just rocking and knitting.  We spent some time at the ocean, fighting those tourists of summer, hitting the Dunkin Donuts and hanging out in the early mornings at the Wolfeboro Docks watching the sun come up and the ducks swim by.  We slept in bunk beds, listened to the loons on Dan Hold Pond and I hope got some relax time getting ready for the days of winter.

Pintail in the background A Fish Decoy in the Front

Partially Finished Camp Projects

I did get work done on two of my oldest blocks, a pintail that I cut out while living at the farm in the late 80's after dad died.  I had two started, finished one, gave it away for a graduation gift and put the other block in a box.  Found it during this last move-it is hollow cut from stacked pine -I know it is hollow because I put rocks inside before gluing it up!  Cut a new head and hope to get it done by Thanksgiving.  Had another big solid block cut out and worked it down with the draw knife, going to be an oversized Mallard decoy, also with a Thanksgiving deadline.  Also have a bunch of shorebirds in various stages of development, need to order the glass eyes for them-deadline for completion???  Then I have the Santa's that I have to finish!!!!  And I am supposed to send some fish decoys to a dealer in Wolfeboro-guess I should be working instead of watching football and writing-of course it is 10 o'clock at night!

Oversize Mallard Decoy

Won't be long until the leaves are turning-the Swamp Maples are already starting to turn red!  I read a piece about man being the only species that keeps a calendar or a clock-think of all the other animals.  Maybe we need to slow down and try to enjoy the journey rather than focus so hard on the destination. I think of when I was in school-yes I can remember that far back!  But I think all of us wanted to hurry and get to the next grade, the next weekend, the next event, driver's license, college and on and on! I bet that most of us now would like to slow the clock down.  Mom always talked about each day being special, she would get up during the night to watch the snow fall, early in the morning to watch the sun come up, she knew where the birds were and even though we had no feeders, she had enough magazines to stay up to date!

We Measured Several Times

Camp Hill as We Drive Out for the End of Summer

 So here we are, enjoying the late summer weather and waiting for those first snow flurries.  Much peace to all and remember to"measure twice and cut once".

I had intended to have pictures and more discussion but just found this piece that I did not post.  Once the beach traffic slows down going to try to find this man in Rye and see what he has to say about shore birds, but more importantly, the history of decoys is fascinating.  For all you folks in central Missouri, Jefferson City, had a decoy factory, wonder if any of those decoys are still around.  Have to go work on a newer blog for this weekend, enjoy the shorebird article.  Peace

Nelson

8 Reasons to Collect Antique Shorebird Decoys

More than just decorative accents on a mantel or bookshelf, antique wooden duck and goose decoys have long lured collectors. According to antiques dealer Russ Goldberger of RJG Antiques in Rye, NH, less well-known – and just as collectible – are antique carved shorebirds, which are attractive folk art pieces and valued collectors' items in their own right.

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A trio of Golden Plover shorebird decoys, South Shore, Massachusetts, Ca. 1900.

Rye, NH (PRWEB) April 16, 2012

More than just decorative accents on a mantel or bookshelf, antique wooden duck and goose decoys have long lured collectors. Less well-known – and just as collectible – are carved shorebirds, which are attractive folk art pieces and valued collectors' items. Decoy collecting as a whole has become so popular during the last decade that masterpiece shorebird decoys have sold for more than $800,000.

"Many men – and women – like shorebirds," says Russ Goldberger of RJG Antiques in Rye, NH, one of the country's top dealers of antique decoys and American folk art. "Waterfowl and bird watching are popular and shorebird decoys are among the last areas to be discovered in American folk art. They're also decorative and easy to display."

What are Shorebirds?

Shorebirds, also known as beach birds, range in size from tiny “peeps” (about the size of a sparrow) to curlews (larger than some ducks). Distinguished by their skinny legs and thin bills, they live on tidal beaches and frequent migratory routes along the East and West Coasts of the United States, and also the Midwest.

Why Collect Shorebird Decoys?

Hunting of shorebirds was banned nearly 100 years ago and, subsequently, decoys vanished. Now, they're prized by collectors. Goldberger offers these tips on collecting antique shorebird decoys and what to look for:

Shorebird decoys are valuable because they're an important part of American waterfowl hunting and decoy history.

Shorebird decoys are rare. Many have been damaged or lost due to age and delicacy.

Highly collectible shorebird decoys were made by craftsmen or hunters and come in a wide variety of species, plumages, regions, and makers, available in many price ranges.

Collect authentic shorebird decoys that are 100+ years old. Make sure the dealer or auction house guarantees the age of your choices.

Buy shorebird decoys in original condition. Shorebirds with original paint and original bills are more valuable. Bills are the most delicate part of a shorebird decoy and easily damaged. A replaced bill should be reflected in the decoy's reduced price.

Buy what you like regardless of who made it. Many fine shorebird decoys were crafted by unknown makers who created a small group of decoys for their own use.

Consider pieces by contemporary carvers. These are highly collectible, but buy them as modern recreations, not antiques. The price should reflect the decoy’s age.

Shorebirds are beautiful and visually arresting when displayed.

History of Shorebird Decoys

Most shorebird species in New England and the Southeast were hunted for sport and food during the 19th and early 20th centuries. American hunters used decoys as part of their practice, making shorebird decoys from painted wood, but also papier-mâché, tin, and leather (decoy factories, such as the Mason Decoy Factory in Detroit, MI, also marketed numerous decoys to hunters). American shorebird decoys rarely have legs; they were placed on sticks which were pressed into beach sand. The decoys were very effective: shorebirds were easy targets and large flocks could be shot at once.

Large-scale hunting decimated shorebird populations to such a degree that, in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, banning the hunting of most shorebird species in the U.S. Once hunting was banned, shorebird decoys became unnecessary so many were burned, thrown away or relegated to barns or hunting shacks. Few survived, which makes them so valuable to collectors today.

"Shorebird decoys represent one of the last areas to be discovered in American folk art," says Goldberger. "They not only remind people of hunting – still a popular sport among thousands of Americans – and the outdoors, but the joys of coastal life. They're very much products of American history." For detailed information about the history of shorebird decoys visit RJG Antiques' website.

About RJG Antiques

RJG Antiques is owned and operated by Russ and Karen Goldberger. A highly regarded dealer, author, counselor and broker, Russ Goldberger has been instrumental in the formation of some of the country's finest decoy and folk art collections. He regularly represents clients at auctions and as an agent in negotiating private sales. RJG Antiques is also a pioneer in online sales of American antique decoys and folk art at its website, RJGAntiques.com; the site is also a resource on caring for, valuing, and the history of American decoys and antiques.

RJG Antiques will be at the National Antique Decoy and Sporting Collectibles Show in St. Charles, IL, April 23-28.

For more information, visit http://www.RJGAntiques.com; email: russ(at)RJGAntiques(dot)com or call (603) 433-1770.