Southern Tier Wood Carvers preparing for a show at Prendergast Library include,  front row left to right, Bill Hazenberg, Joe  Griffo, Dave Videll, Dottie Levin, and Richard Blasengame, and, back row, Ray Carlson, Richard Hall, and Terry Dailey.

          JAMESTOWN – Members of the Southern Tier Wood Carvers will display their work at the James Prendergast Library Art Gallery Jan. 13 through Feb. 10.

            An opening reception to meet the carvers and view their work will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, in the Fireplace Room at the library. The reception is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.    

            Some members of the club carve ducks, fish, or birds. Others do chip carving, using knives or chisels to dig into wood and remove small chips to form letters or create a design. Another technique, relief carving, involves using hand tools such as chisels and gouges to remove wood from a flat panel so that a figure or object stands out.

Members also create figurines ranging from comic heroes to angels, animals, Santas, and nativity sets.

            Officers are Bill Hazenberg, president; Dave Videll, treasurer; and Diane Grodecki, secretary.

            For information about joining the group, which requires a $10 annual membership fee, contact Ms. Grodecki  at 487-1714 or Joe Griffo at 664-2959.  

The group was started by Philip Wall around 1975, when he and seven or eight other carvers started meeting informally at the Ivystone on Fluvanna Avenue Extension. Some of the founding members were Trevor Woodward, Lanny Nelson, and Harold Johnson.

            About two years later, the group adopted its official name and began meeting at Topcraft in Falconer. Participants later met at Jamestown High School and now get together weekly during the school year at the Lutheran Social Services campus on Falconer Street.

            In the past, members often showed their work at the Grange in Falconer. One of the group’s well-known alumni is local carver Ralph Sandquist.

            Gallery hours for the carvers’ library exhibit will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays; and 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays.

            Pairs of members plan to be available in the gallery to demonstrate carving and answer questions about their work from 1 to 4 p.m. on days the library is open Jan. 14 – 23. To check on their availability, call 484-7135.

            The next Prendergast exhibit will be The Amish Art of Anna J. Weaver.