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Welcome
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Rochester Woodcarvers!
The Rochester Woodcarvers Club is a gathering of individuals from around the Rochester Minnesota area who are interested in woodcarving. Everyone is welcome whether they are just interested in learning about woodcarving, are considering starting to carve, or are beginner, experienced or master carvers.
Join us at the next meeting of the 2023-2024 season
Visitors welcome!
For general meeting information and location check out the Club Information menu above.
Upcoming Meetings & Speakers
Special Alert – Last Minute Change – Live Speaker for November
16-Nov-2024: Alex Yerks – Roughing out a Kuksa (traditional wooden cup)
Special Alert – Last Minute Change – Live Speaker for November
21-Dec-2024: Holiday Potluck
18-Jan-2025: Jennifer Felton – Q & A about Bird Carving
Weekly Carve-Ins on Tuesday and Wednesday (details here)
Please invite your spouse, family, friends and neighbors to our meetings!
Remember to bring your “Show and Tell” items to let us know what you have been doing!
Recent Club Events
Our 48th Anniversary Annual Show was fun for both visitors and exhibitors. Details about the show including links to media coverage and photos at the show are on the 2024 Annual Show page.
“Dala Horses Ride into Rochester” started with a call to members to create Dala horses. A summary with photos is on the Events>Dala Posse page.
A Call for Carvings – The Dala Posse is headed to the Festival of Trees. People are invited to carve decorations for this year’s tree. See the details on the Dala Posse page.
The Festival of Trees is coming in November
Work is progressing on the ornaments and decorations for our tree this year. Our theme is a Dala Horse Ranch under the tree and ornaments of Dalas and other Swedish items.
Here is the web page about this year’s Festival. It includes everything from dates and location, through maps, registration and other Hiawatha Homes links and even a sneak-peak of some Dala horses. This page will continue to be updated when extra things become available (like photos of the tree).
Next Monthly Meeting – November 16
Alex Yerks
Roughing out a Kuksa (traditional wooden cup)
Northeast Native, Alex was born and raised on a mountain in Upstate New York and grew up wandering around the surrounding woods. Alex quickly learned to conjure up things he needed – instead of hopping in the truck, and driving miles to buy things for the home. Brought up to rely on his natural surroundings, he instinctively works with the natural resources of the forest, utilizing the unique qualities of each tree, in his projects.
Utensils and cups have always been the focus of his craft for almost 12 years – creating functional and beautiful pieces with the capacity to enrich our lives and our homes. He calls his handicraft, American Sloyd.
Since 2016 Alex has been living on the road or traveling by air to teach and search for other makers. Documenting, filming, experimenting with tools & technique, cross pollinating, picking up traditional handcrafts, as well as transplanting and teaching crafts to other makers in countries such as The United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Building community through handcraft across borders, and working to put a stop to throw away culture has been his main focus recently. He also helps run the world’s oldest Spoon Carving Festival – The Milan Spoon Gathering in Minnesota.
His website is https://www.alexyerks.com/
