2026 • April
MONTHLY HAPPENINGS
Club Meetings – April 2026
• Monday, April 6, 2026 – Monthly Club Meeting (First Monday)
• Monday, April 20, 2026 – Second Monthly Meeting (Third Monday)
• Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM
• Location: Higher Ground Church basement, 5160 Taylor Mill Road, Taylor Mill Ky., 41015
Saturday Workshop
• Saturday, April 25, 2026 (4th Saturday) (Fourth Saturday)
• Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• Our third “Workshop Meeting” of the year
• Location: Higher Ground Church basement, 5160 Taylor Mill Road, Taylor Mill Ky., 41015
Meeting Agenda Highlights
• Financial Report: Presented by Ralph Cooper
• Business Meeting to follow
• Knife Drawing Raffle at the first Monday meeting
2026 Club Dues
• $25 per individual
• $35 per family
If you have not yet paid your 2026 dues, please do so as soon as possible.
Show & Tell – First Monday of Each Month
At our first Monday meeting each month, please bring any new carvings completed since the last Show &
Tell. Ralph will photograph them for the club website.2026 Ohio Valley Wood Carvers Expo
We’re excited to announce that the 2026 Ohio Valley Woodcarvers Expo will take place on
September 26-27, 2026.
• Coordinator: Jim Provins has kindly agreed to serve as the expo coordinator. In the coming weeks, Jim will
reach out to each club member to enlist your help in making this event a success. We are still looking for
more help with this event. However, even if you are not interested in directly being involved with the show you
can also use your many connections to promote the show to friend’s neighbors and relatives.
• Our approach: By spreading the many tasks across numerous volunteers, we ensure that no single person is
overburdened—just as the old saying reminds us, “many hands make light work.”
• How to get involved: The show application will soon be live on the club website. We encourage all
members to submit their applications early so they can be sure to get a table for the expo.
The location for the Expo will once again be at the Newport Elks building in Cold Spring, Kentucky. For the
Expo we have commitments from both Bob Statlander and Dick Belcher as vendors at the show.
Let’s work together to create a memorable expo for the entire woodcarving community!
Community & Outreach
This month I have had great interest in the cancer research Hearts of Hope program. I would like your
support make this a yearly program similar to our Christmas Ornament program. We have an ornament to
carve and sell as a cancer awareness themed ornament. A portion of the proceeds (I propose 50%) will be
donated to cancer research organizations. To date these ornaments have created a very good reception
when introduced at the Middletown show and groups I have had contact with.
There are more than a dozen cancers represented by ribbon colors—many of us know someone who has
been affected one of these cancers. I will bring a color chart for the various cancers for coordination to this
month’s meetings. Promotion for the ornament in flyer form points to the web site for ordering information.
Christmas Ornament Project
It’s never too early to start carving Christmas ornaments!
Ralph Cooper has precut blanks ready and brings them to the meeting. It is with these cut out blanks that
have the features outlined that make it easy to carve and paint them in little time. The kids love receiving
these and those who have delivered them love seeing them smile.Club Projects
Saturday Workshops – “Carving Workshop Day”
Saturday, April 28, our fourth-Saturday meetings will officially become our third Carving Workshop meeting.
April Workshop Topic: Is a presentation of a study stick and hands on carving of
the face feature for lips by Candy Lytle
This workshop will focus on:
• Basic introduction of the techniques used for lip carving
• Demonstrations of their use on previous projects
• A sample study stick for future references
Please bring an open mind to this meeting it will be very enlightening. Candy is a very talented carver and her
realistic presentation of the human face is exceptional.
Candy will share concept development examples and finished pieces to inspire you to try using these
techniques. Additional information will be sent toward the end of April.
April Club Project – TBD
Monday, April 6, 2026 Paul Kremer will introduce us to the wonderful world of Cotton Wood Bark carving.
We have a supply of bark in the cabinet and welcome anyone interested in trying this to join the group at this
first Monday meeting. Cost for the wood blank will depend on the size of the piece you want to use.
Generally around a dollar an inch seems appropriate. Or Saturday “March’s 4th Cut” part of the presentation
will be photos of AI generated pieces as well as some of the works Paul has carved in the past. Hopefully you
will get inspired to try a carving.
FUTURE HAPPENINGS
“The 4th Cut” Saturday Workshop
• Saturday, April 25, 2026
• 9:00 AM – 12:00 PMCandy Lytle will present a hands on carving class teaching techniques for creating lips. Candy will focus on
both closed mouth and open mouth with teeth in her favorite medium the female face. If we hassle her
enough she probably get her to do a mouth with a real cowboy mustache also.
Guest Instructor – Bruce Henn
• May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 2026
• Three-Day Instruction Cost: $160
Bruce will provide expert carving instruction and sell rough-outs for class use.
Minimum of 8 participants required (currently 10 have signed up. A 15 student maximum for the class.).
More info:
• Caricature Carvers of America member
If you have an interest email, call or I will have a signup sheet at Mondays meetings. We currently have 5
people signed up and I plan to open it to the Miami Valley club during their show if we do not fill any open slots
before the Miami Valley show.
Buckeye Woodcarvers Roundup
• July 15–18, 2026
• Poor Farmers Campground
7211 Lostcreek-Shelby Rd, Fletcher, OH 45326
Phone: 937-368-2449
Contact Barb Foster: 937-214-0790
Website: www.buckeyewoodcarversroundup.com
A fantastic opportunity to learn, observe, and connect with fellow carvers and instructors.
Ohio Valley Woodcarving Expo
• Saturday, September 26: 10:00 AM –4:00 PM
• Sunday, September: 27 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Competition Entry: Saturday morning, September 26
• Newport Elks (Cold Spring, Ky)
Contact: Jim Provins: ( jrprovins@gmail.com)513.312.3640
Website: Home – River Valley Wood Carvers
Rainstree Woodcarvers Show & Sale
• DATE: Saturday, November 14, 2026
• TIME: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• LOCATION: Mt. Summit Christian Church, 508 S. Walnut Street, Mt. Summit, Indiana
Contact: Randy Sollars – rsollars@hotmail.com – PH: 765-730-0286\
Additional Info: Pat Coffey, CCA Member, will instruct a two-day carving seminar on Thursday and Friday
before the show and will judge the show’s competition.
PAST HAPPENINGS
Miami Valley Wood Carving Show
• 46th Annual Miami Valley Wood Carving Show was held March 7–8, 2026, continuing a long-
standing tradition in the carving community.
• The show featured 34 exhibitors and 2 vendors, providing a wide range of carvings, demonstrations,
and supplies for attendees.
• The River Valley Wood Carvers (RVWC) were well represented with seven exhibition spots and ten
club members participating in the show.
• John Broughton and Jim Cable donated items to the show raffle, helping make it a success.
• Jackson, the club’s youngest member, won two raffle prizes:
• A Deep Holler Knife
• A set of Swiss-made gouges
These tools will be valuable additions to his carving collection. RVWC members showed exceptional generosity:
• John Schneider assisted Dick Belcher of Belcher Carving Supplies with customer sales.
• Robin Hahn donated hand-carved Christmas ornaments to several young visitors at the RVWC
table.
• Jim Provins gave a woman with health challenges his carving of a hand holding a cross after
learning how meaningful it was to her.
• Robin Hahn, RVWC president, introduced the “Hearts For Hope” program:
• Hand-carved and hand-painted hearts with colored ribbons are sold.
• 50% of proceeds will go to cancer research.
• 50% will fund materials to continue the program.
• Channel 12 News visited the show on Saturday and aired a story about the event on Sunday morning.
For those interested, here is a link to the video that aired (twice) on Sunday morning on Channel 12:
https://local12.com/news/good-morning-cincinnati/middletown-woodcarvers-wood-carving-show-
festival-artists-art-sculpture-carvers-association-miami-valley-greater-cincinnati
• The event provided opportunities to renew friendships and make new ones within the carving
community.
• RVWC members performed very well in the carving competitions, earning ribbons and cash prizes:
• Category B – Animal Realistic
o Jim Provins – Second and Third Place
• Category C – Birds Realistic
o Bill Pauly – First Place
o Gwen Provins – Second and Third Place
• Category G – Mythical / Santa
o Bill Pauly – Third Place
• Category L – Open
o Robin Hahn – Third Place
• Category N – Wood Burning
o Jim Provins – Third Place
• Category O – Canes / Walking Sticks
o Ralph Cooper – First and Second Place
o Jim Provins – Third Place
• Category P – Religious
o Jim Provins – Second Place Category Q – Instructor Assisted
o Jim Provins – First Place
• Category R – Rough Out
• Jim Provins – First and Second Place
• Best of Show
• Ralph Cooper – Third Place
• River Valley Wood Carvers extend their thanks and appreciation to the Miami Valley Wood
Carvers for their hospitality and efforts in hosting another outstanding show.
The first workshop meeting, aka “The 4th Cut”
The first workshop Saturday was well attended and I would like to thank everyone for their insights and
participation. The site library has a recap of this meeting for future use.
MISCELLANEOUS
Be sure to visit the club website and check out the latest updates.
A heartfelt thank you to Ron Gabelman for keeping everything fresh and up to date.
Additional club agenda
Jim Provins had a discussion with Dick Belcher about the OVWC Expo. During that discussion Dick offered
his services to teach a one day knife sharpening class, a two day flat plane relief carving class, or a one day
face study stick carve. If you have an interest in any of these subjects please email me, call me or talk to me
