It's January-The Birthday Month

So here we are in New Hampshire with 8" of snow on the ground...and a forecast of 50's this weekend!  I am trying to wrap up the Christmas 2012 carvings with some Santa and nativity scene about done.  The nativity scene is done in Cherry and I think it looks good not painted but in the natural look with my "special" finish that brings out the grain.  The Santa projects were the last to be carved and didn't get finished in time for any viewing before Christmas-we seemed to have some "things' that got in the way of carving and painting!  I've got one that is a "squatty body" holding a Christmas tree that has gotten stuck in his beard, another has a beard that is so long he has to wrap it around his body,  you can also see the "Moses Santa" with his arms outspread-one hand will hold a lantern and the other will hold his walking staff.  Next in line is a box of shorebirds that need to be carved and painted so the change will be fun; they were cut out last summer and are patterned after some very respected carvers.  Look for those to come out in a week or two.

The Last Gaggle of Santa's

This is a big birthday month for the family-mom turned 98, Spencer and I turned ???? on the same day-he made it to 11,  and the youngest daughter has a birthday later in the month.  Our celebrations were muted partly because of the closeness to Christmas-you know, those gifts that say "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Birthday"!  The daughter is far enough away from  Christmas that her expectations are higher!  Having birthdays in January allow one to project what the new year will bring and have a some reflection on the year past-me, I am happy that I am still healthy and that the Richter family is still all together!  We also start getting the garden catalogues and there is something comforting about knowing that it is time to plan for spring planting and summer/fall harvesting.  I walked out to our plot last weekend when the snow has everything covered; Tuesday I laid out the plans for the new garden.

Back to some wood and carving stuff-have a ice fishing decoy finished and another ready for the fins to be attached.

A Minnesota style fish decoy

 Both are copies of decoys used in the 50's in the upper mid west, when fishermen cut holes in the ice, dropped the decoys into the water and speared the fish that were attracted to the decoys!  The decoys have a cavity in which lead was poured to help keep the decoy down-I use steel shot instead of the lead.  Both are painted with acrylics and finished with a matte spray.  One has fins made of tin while the other has fins of copper.

Unfinished trout decoy, will have copper fins

Busy weekend, taking the Christmas stuff down and put into storage, always sad in the fact that Christmas is done until next year.  As one gets older we never know what the year will bring; but as mom always says when she wakes up each morning-"happy for the day and intend to make the most of it"  (although you never start a new project on Friday, bad luck according to her grandmother) so we will look forward to celebrating the daughter's birthday in a couple of weeks, then look forward to tomorrow and intend to make the most of it.

So if you are building something, measure twice and cut once or if you are waist deep in water some place "keep a tight line".  Peace and Love from the snowy mountains of New Hampshire.

End of the Year or Start of the New Year

So here we are at the end of the year 2012 and the start of 2013-I have a hard time believing how quickly this year has gone by and how much has happened. But I am not going to write about politics, education, family or fishing, but going to talk about leaves. Laura has been instrumental in helping me or actually setting up my "store" that will contain(or contains things right now). So I thought that I should talk about some of the projects that are completed-leaves!

I started doing these leaves because I was carving feathers and couldn't come up with a way to display the feathers that might show them in a natural setting. Pat and I were walking the trails at Rock Bridge State Park near Columbia, Missouri when she picked up a leaf and said "Why not copy this leaf into wood and put the feather on the leaf?" We picked up several leaves, in full color, I took some pictures then traced the leaf into a note book that Pat always carried; when we got home I traced the outline onto a piece of basswood, cut it out on my band saw, then carved and sanded into the final form. I painted with acrylic paint to match the picture and..... I had the leaf preserved in wood. Since the first leaf was flat, trimmed to a thin layer and painted I felt the leaf was too fragile to be enjoyed so the next leaf was carved into a thicker piece with the edges turned up or turned down or putting more of the imperfections found in the original leaf into the copy, including holes. It may not be the same as pressing the leaf between the pages of a book, but these wooden leaves in wood can be touched, rubbed or displayed on coffee tables or desks. The feathers work just fine mixed with several finished leaves.

 Most recently I had a friend send me oak leaves from her farm that she wanted to have copies made-I made two leaves from Oak and the other two from Cherry. I had a man from a paint department in a local lumber yard that helped me come up with an "antique type of stain/finish". I applied six coats with light sanding and buffing after each coat with the final coat only being buffed showing a deep and rich finish. She displays the leaves in a wooden bowl. I have an oak leaf from the family farm that I keep in the china cabinet.

As you have heard me write about the importance of preserving our history through a variety of media-whether is be verbal, written or in pictures, what better way to save a piece of our first home, the family farm, our favorite fishing/hunting spot, that special place where an important life event occurred or just a pretty leaf-that can become a piece of art. Each of my leaves contains the description of the spot where I found the leaf and I can immediately recall what was going on when I or Pat found this leaf.

If you have a leaf out there that you would like to remember for a long time or one that you might like to give as a gift (wedding, anniversaries) drop me a line or send me the leaves and we will go from there. I started finishing two leaves tonight, still have several more coats to go but one leaf comes from the Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, docks, picked up this summer, an early morning bagel and coffee with Pat sitting on the a bench; the other comes from the Mt. Monadnock State Park area on a short hike. Both are special.



So the hour is late, and time to close, had some more recent pictures to add but for some reason can't get them to down load to the computer so- "remember to measure twice and cut once".
 Much peace in the new year.

 Nelson "Papa Richter"

The Holiday Season

We are currently in the "let down" after Christmas mode; as one of my friends said that it is hard to understand how one minute the house is full of laughter, joy and excitement and the next day too quiet! The days were wonderful, with all the family together and when we look back at the last 6 months we are lucky to have everyone still here.  My mom will celebrate her 98th birthday next week and she continues to "fight the good fight" daily; Pat is still recovering from her triple by pass back in September.  I have never had a more emotional time than these moments this fall-needless to say carving and posting were far from my mind so there are few pictures of completed pieces; the several craft fairs that I did do were pretty much unsuccessful in selling but the opportunity to talk with people did make the time valuable.  I even had one parent tell me that Santa was bringing a "soap carving kit' to their child after she had talked with me about carving.

Sam post game

Harry Boarding

Spenc Reading

John Night Fishing

Heather and Pat at the pool

Laura with her smile

Molly and her board

Mom and a Story

Sam & Doug

Mom and Her Quilt

Pat at the Beach

Pat & her New Heart

Pat & Her cookies

As we approach the end of the year we all reflect on the past year, sometimes we get melancholy and nostalgic about holidays gone by especially those that include those family folks that are no longer with us.  This post will not have much about wood but has pictures of all those that we consider important to us.  Things never seem to always be how or what we may want them to be, some times the stress and worry seems to pile up to the point that we simply can't make it any longer.   Then we go to the hospital and see those much worse off than we are, so here are the pictures.  I promise that this site will improve even to the possibility of getting pictures and prices of pieces that I plan to sell.  Much peace and Love for the New Year!

The End of Summer.

Molly - Harry -Spencer

School has started in the East, the nights are cooler, the New Hampshire sky as become that very special blue that Pat loves and the down comforter is on the bed-Indian Summer is here.  The leaf peepers can't be far away so time to start back up the blog.  It is hard in the summer to get much writing done because the days are so long and there is just too much to do-hope that you who read Wood and Words will come back; if not, then I will just write for myself!  But-had a great time with the Thomas kids as they tried to extend their days as much as possible, even got the cousin Spencer in on the action, so nothing to do with wood but grandkids are important.

Funny that on "Facebook" you wind up with "friends" that you have never met but after reading their blog you feel that you know them well.  Sharon Wright ties beautiful streamers that are art but practical because they do catch fish but can be hung on the wall just as well.  She talks about fishing and tying and recently posted that she no longer wants political posts or comments to her page because she wants to talk about her art!  I agree so let's talk about wood and what is projected for the up coming winter.

We have several art and craft fairs coming up so been cutting, carving and sanding various pieces any thing from leaves to nativity scenes.  Have carved several Santas from my own designs but also have several requests for skiing Santas and the looking to the sky Santas, so have some work to do.  Since it is Fall in New England it is hard to keep from carving leaves-just completed a set of oak leaves for a special friend in Missouri.  All the leaves are copies of real leaves collected from the area, or in the case of the Missouri leaves, they come from 100 year old oak trees on their farm.

Leaf peeping in the Northeast is a huge business as tourists come from all over the world to see the leaves change into brilliant colors-the states have web sites entirely devoted to give up dates on the changing colors starting from the north and working down.   It is such a special event that nature produces every year-last year a hurricane came thru and changed much of the landscape.

The Missouri leaves are made from oak and cherry with a special stain and finished with an oil rub that I put together (all us artists talk about our "special" mixes) but I was especially pleased with the cherry and how it finished.  So  much so that I cut out a nativity scene from the scraps-don't think I will paint anything, just finish-may be hard to tell the wise men apart but then don't think anyone will object.

Sorry about the newspaper background and the "skills gap" head line, still working on that part of my "art".  But these are both cherry pieces with great grain.

This is from oak, great grain in the picture but don't like it as much as the cherry.






Currently I am also working on two leaves from cherry, one from the Monadnock Mountain area in Dublin, New Hampshire and the other from a maple tree at the docks in Wolfeboro, on Lake Winnipesaukee-both are big leaves and look really good (at least in my opinion).  Hamshaw Lumber in Keene, has been a huge help in not only getting good boards but in teaching me how to finish-if you are a local and want the best, skip the box stores and head to south Keene!

From the Wolfeboro Docks

From Mt Monadnock

Fall has always been a special season for me-on the farm, the harvest always meant football practice and unloading grain when I got home.  It always brought home the end of summer and how the cold of winter was not that far away but with the knowledge that the renewal of spring was always coming.  I think, as we get older that fall also carries a significance of looking back and seeing where we have been, reflecting on old friends and looking to make new ones; we count our blessings because there is always the person out there who "has no feet"!  I take time to check the stars in the morning, set at a  pond and watch the sun set in the evening, hold someone's hand and tell them I love them and always try to remember that I need to enjoy the journey because the destination is always there.

Fishing season ends out here the middle of October so we "need to always keep a tight line" and if fishing is not your thing, just remember to "measure twice and cut once"!
 Much peace in your life.

Papa Richter

July

I have no pictures to go with this blog but hope that you will bear with me.  July is hot, always has been and probably always will be but this year seems unbearable!  I could go into my belief about climate change but don't want to get political here-I just hope that "we" don't wait too long to really start to try to understand this issue.  Summer wood working is always hot and dusty, try to run a fan to blow the dust away but dust just seems to swirl around the room and come right back at me and since it is hot...the sweat runs off my nose and gets in the way too.  There is a possibility that there may be a new shop space that I can share during the upcoming year, but still waiting for construction to begin-would be nice, just hope there is a view.

I miss those summer nights in the upstairs bedroom at the old farm house, with the south window open when you could smell the new mown hay but then I think about how I used to "stick to the sheets" and realize another example of the good old days .... Not!

But July will pass, weather will cool and snow can't be far behind, one of the advantages to living in the east is that August and September have the warm days but night temps that require a light jacket and an inviting fire pit.  This all happens before the leaves start to turn.  We have been very lucky that even the "heat" of the summer has not nearly compared to the "heat" of the midwest and I feel for the folks out there.  I do have a couple of benches in progress, several leaves cut out but not worked, several Santa Christmas ornaments and a couple of Santa's in various stages.  Still have an eagle that I need to start plus a couple of more loons and have to put legs on the huron!  Perhaps I need to spend less time writing and more time getting busy.  And try to post some pictures.

Thanks for visiting and remember to measure twice and cut once....
or

if you are waist deep in trout water some place-"keep a tight line".

Much peace in your world.

Our Legacy for the Next Generation

Have finished with the Art Walk down town so maybe life can get back to normal or at least as normal as it gets.  The decoys have been packed and unpacked to be put on display in our home, some on shelves, some on window sills or on the floor.  Most of the credit for any display has to go to Pat-she has great skills, especially when is comes to the spatial senses.  I was amazed at the people who stopped by and talked duck hunting or about a husband who carved decoys or membership in Ducks Unlimited or to debate steel shot vs lead shot or telling me of seeing a shoveler at a water fowl refuge in New York.  It was way too much fun.

I went to church last week to listen to a retiring minister who always has given good inspiring sermons-this one was a tribute to Andy Ronney of TV fame.  She talked about the church, which sits at the top of main street in Keene, being moved to make room for the park and circle street and how it was constructed in the late 1700's by donations of lumber.  The people building the church would post a list of needs:

The Church

200 2 X 4' or 100 2" boards.....  and people would sign up to bring in 25 or 50 or 10, and thus enough lumber was collected to build the church.  This lumber was often sawed and milled by hand by the individual land owners before being brought to town.  And the most fascinating fact to me, is that the lumber is still in the church!!!  I wonder if any of these people had any idea that their church and the lumber they donated was still around 200 years later.  I was amazed that I was able to collect the timbers from the local Colony Farm build in the late 1700's and every time I look at the logs I see old growth timber and I can't wait to see the first decoy, or leaf come into shape.

Colony House Old Growth Wood

I also look at the family farm and reflect on the buildings that my dad built-a chicken house that had running water before our house did; the three pen hog houses that he build on skids so that when the sows were having little pigs, the hog houses were close to the house but as the pigs got bigger, he would hook up the tractor and drag the house to the pasture.  We painted these buildings 20 years ago for a very special farm wedding but now it is time to repair and paint again.  Someone suggested that it would be easier just to set some of them on fire and not wasted the time, especially when we have no pigs or chickens on the  farm.  But what about the legacy that my dad left on the farm?  These buildings were key to the production and profits when we all lived on the farm.

Pat's Dad's Cedar Chest

As we build "things" or when we pass on information that we learned from a father, mother, grandparent, uncle, friend we are leaving a legacy to the next generation.  My wife wrote grants that changed small communities in Missouri, saved businesses or improved living conditions for community residents; many people will forget her but her legacy will live on for generations.  I have a friend who builds pine pole furniture, started as a hobby but has become a business that people return to buy another piece-a legacy.  Or the woman in  central Missouri who recycles old barns into furniture but takes a picture of the barn, creates a pewter medallion with a picture of the barn, attaches the medallion to the furniture and preserves the barn for ever-a legacy.  We all have choices that we make and I think as we get older we become more aware of the consequences of some of our choices.  As we learn more we start to think about adapting to make our choices more effective.  I have watched mom quilt for the time she has lived with us and how she has changed the techniques she used to complete her quilts, but the results, although slower, is still just as good if not better.

 Mom's Quilt

Mom at the Conway Train Station

I didn't start making decoys because I wanted to leave a legacy but as I have arrived in New Hampshire, retired and had some time to do research on pieces of furniture or decoys or shorebirds I find a need to preserve the legacy of those hunters or furniture makers who went before me.  As we get older I think that we often reflect back on "did we make a difference" moments and can say, "yep I made a difference" because we did, whether we intended to or not, we did make a difference.  So now I hope that 100 years from now that one of the descendants from the Kiley or Thomas families picks up a santa, a shorebird, a leaf or a decoy and say, "this is cool and I am glad that Pop pop made these".

 As always be sure "to measure twice and cut once" or if you are waist deep in trout water some place "keep a tight line".

Plus for all those dads out there-Happy Father's Day!

Papa Richter

Artists and Educators-Are They Different or The Same

So how is that for an interesting title?  I have always thought of myself as an educator and only lately have I started to think of my self as-perhaps- an artist.  I always knew that I was going to teach and coach but it took me awhile to get any good at either but all along the way I did it because it was fun and the pay was just a bonus; which was probably a bad idea for someone who got married and had to pay bills!!  But I can look back and realize that there were few days that I dreaded going to school because of the chance to play with students and hang out with teachers-just how good can that be?

Later I came to realize with the fun came some responsibilities, like I had the opportunity to be a part of many young people's lives and, maybe, have an impact upon who they became.  The money was nice but I think that I would have done it for a whole lot less-just don't tell too many people that.  I heard someone say that 80% of teachers just worked for the money-I think that if I heard the statement first hand I might have punched someone.  Teachers work hard, long hours, not much recognition, are asked to do more with less and often with little respect-I was just to naive to not notice these things.  The money was nice but I bet if you ask many teachers would they say the same thing about the dedication to the cause.

So what does this attitude have to do with artists?  I realize that for some artists a "good show" is one in which they are rewarded richly for their efforts and I appreciate that there are costs and time involved in producing their piece and should be rewarded.  But their are artists that believe that their work is a gift and that the gift should be shared with others.  My folks used to go to Arizona for the winters and brought back originals and prints of an artist named De Grozio (or something like that); they are pictures of native Americans, usually young children.  In a dispute with someone, he burned all his paintings; hard to tell how much money he lost but he had his principles.  So when I was selling some leaves to a man, he asked why I did not charge more for them; I had never really thought about the costs, I don't keep good track of the amount of time taken for each piece, I don't keep good records for painting costs, or brushes.  Often I don't really believe that the completed work is worth much more than I ask.

I could do the pieces quicker if I used power tools, especially when working with a decoy or shorebird-I use a bandsaw to rough out the decoy then work with a draw knife, smaller knives, sand paper and a wood burning piece.  A leaf or feather is cut on a scroll saw, then carved and sanded by hand; I am sure this is not cost effective but I love to watch the wood develop, the grain appear and the work take shape minute by minute.

So there is my dilemma-do I try to become more cost effective, raise my prices, work more hours?  I am sure that I will figure it out but while I do please keep looking at the pictures, checking out the blog and if you are in Keene, stop by at City Hall for the Art Walk-I will be there on opening night and the next couple of days doing some work.  As always measure twice and cut once and if you have time to get out on the water, keep a tight line.  Thanks for reading.

Nelson   Papa Richter