I have to admit, this class exceeded all my expectations. You guys all came away as solid engravers, which astounded me that you could make such progress in such a short time.
The basis for this class goes back to the time when I took engraving lessons from Jerry Huddleston. He's told me in essence "if you have a sharp graver, you'll be able to engrave. Without a sharp graver, you'll go nowhere. You MUST learn to sharpen your own gravers."
In about an hour on the first day, everyone was sharpening their gravers perfectly, thanks to Steve Lindsay's template system. The rest of the day was spent breaking the points off their gravers. Not intentionally, of course, but in the process of learning the feel of cutting. Your cuts aren't quite right? Your graver is not moving through the metal? Take a look at your point. Sharpen it up, and in five minutes, you're back cutting again.
The end result was that we spent more time on actual cutting than sharpening. Getting that feel is a matter of delicacy, and how do I say this, but some get that feel sooner than others. But everyone 'got it' by the end of the class, and were producing nice clean cuts.
Everyone in the class gave their all into this, and I am very touched to see and appreciate the heart that they put into their learning. Wait, I gotta get a kleenex. Serious effort by all, and thanks for the opportunity to work with you guys.
And a great thank you goes to our hosts, Southern Ohio Artisan Workshops for the great setting and accommodations, and a great porch to sit out in the twilight and talk into the late hours.
Link to Southern Ohio Artisan Workshops:
http://www.southernohioartisanworkshops.com/
