Due to previously-registered participants being unable to attend at this new time, we have at least four openings available for our weekend-long woodcarving class to be taught by master woodcarver Fredy Huaman Mallqui on July 9-10, 2022. Participants do not need to have any woodcarving experience. The participants in the weekend workshop will explore a variety of carving tools to appreciate their function. Fredy will demonstrate the correct approach to handle tools safely. He will show how to use gouges with a mallet, how to make basic carving cuts, and other important beginning techniques. The student will apply these newly-introduced techniques of woodcarving to carve an acanthus leaf. The acanthus leaf is a traditional ornamental element adorning many 18th and 19th-century chair and table legs, aprons, pediments, corbels, vessels, and frames. The goal of the workshop is to give students the ability and inspiration to apply these introductory techniques to their own future projects such as furniture ornamentation, carving in the round, or architectural elements. Future more advanced classes will likely take place.
This was the woodcarving class that was supposed to take place in March 2020, but postponed because of Covid. Our normal practices of cross-ventilation and personal spacing (the shop is large with plenty of bench space to spread out) will be observed and masks are optional. If you would like to join us, please let Elmer know via email, text, or telephone. The cost is $160 (one of the few things where the price hasn’t gone up)!.
Please see the information below for additional information about Fredy, the class, and a list of the gouges that you will need to get the most from the class:
A two-day woodcarving workshop will be offered at the Back Channel School of Woodworking with master woodcarver Fredy Huamán Mallqui. This workshop, offered at a reduced rate via the Western Pennsylvania Woodworkers, will provide an excellent introduction to the basics of woodcarving combining design with execution. The course starts off with essential techniques of sharpening carving gouges employing a method that is readily available to all.
A two-day woodcarving workshop will be offered at the Back Channel School of Woodworking with master woodcarver Fredy Huamán Mallqui. This workshop, offered at a reduced rate via the Western Pennsylvania Woodworkers, will provide an excellent introduction to the basics of woodcarving combining design with execution. The course starts off with essential techniques of sharpening carving gouges employing a method that is readily available to all.
This sharpening technique will be discussed and practiced by all attendees who attend the Friday evening presentation before the class and is mandatory for all attendees of the weekend workshop. The Friday sharpening session will be offered for free to all members of the Western Pennsylvania Woodworkers. For that Friday meeting, Fredy will discuss his career as a carver, then we will learn his sharpening technique.
The weekend workshop participants will explore a variety of carving tools to appreciate their function. Fredy will demonstrate the correct approach to handle tools safely. He will show how to use gouges with a mallet, how to make basic carving cuts, and other important beginning techniques.
The student will apply these newly introduced techniques of woodcarving to carve an acanthus leaf. The acanthus leaf is a traditional ornamental element adorning many 18th and 19th-century chair and table legs, aprons, pediments, corbels, vessels and frames. This form has its roots in ancient Grecian and Roman architecture and ceramics. The acanthus leaf’s ability to conform to various shaped surfaces accompanied with a timeless beauty explains its ubiquity.
The goal of the workshop is to give students the ability and inspiration to apply these introductory techniques to their own future projects such as furniture ornamentation, carving in the round, or architectural elements.
Please see the attached flyer for more information about the workshop.
Please see the attached recommended tool list for the workshop
About the Presenter
Fredy Huaman Mallqui
Fredy moved to the United States from Ayacucho, Peru in Spring 2012 carrying his wood carving tools that served as extensions of his own hands and his design philosophy. Fredy also brought with him the most precious tools: sensibility, creativity, skills, and expertise that he has accumulated since he started his woodcarving profession at the age of nine. His carving pieces are not just merely decorative pieces, they are intricate pieces of art. Exquisitely detailed and of the highest quality of craftsmanship.
Fredy’s work demonstrates his learning throughout the years from several master carvers, as well as the development and mastery of his own techniques of designing and hand carving unique pieces of art. Trained by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture in the conservation of diverse objects of art, Fredy worked conserving historical art pieces, dating from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries in Peru.
See more of Fredy’s work on his website or on his Instagram page