Decorate your Woodwork: Chip Carving, Painting and Finishing – February 24 & 25

This is a great TWO-day class if you’d like to learn the basics of chip carving, texturing, carving letters, painting with milk paint, and finishing cuts. We’ll be working on practice boards, but we recommend that students bring finished spoons, bowls, and any other carvings they’d like to add some decoration to.  Tools students should bring:

• Sloyd knife
• any other tools you think may be useful like chip carving knives, pen knives, gouges, etc.

The goal of the workshop is to continue to build a relationship with each of the tools we will be using while gaining an understanding of how they work in relation to the timber itself.

This is a great course aimed at both beginners and more experienced wood carvers.
*This class takes place over two day: Saturday, Feb. 24 from 9 a.m.-5 pm. and Sunday, Feb. 25 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

We will be swinging axes and adzes, and using specialty gouges, hook tools, and the humble, but versatile, sloyd knife. This is a very unique opportunity because you will be learning to safely use such a large array of tools while developing techniques which bridge the gap between spoon and bowl carving. 

The course will also cover just about all you need to know, including sourcing wood, innovative ways to use tools, finishing and decorative carving and painting, learning Alex’s unique and advanced wood carving techniques. We will even discuss tool maintenance.

Alex will be bringing his collection of he as created to use as design examples, and he will have items for sale.

Your instructor will provide:

• Adze
• Hook knives
• Sloyd Knives
• Axes

Students will have access to the instructor’s tools if needed.

 Students are asked to bring:

• Hook knife or gouge
• Sloyd Knife (Mora 106)
• Pruning Saw
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Compass or Dividers
• Carving gloves or work gloves 
• As your class is scheduled over a lunch hour, we highly recommend you bring a lunch or click here to learn about local eating opportunities in the area.

Students can find these items online. 

Age Requirement
Students ages 18 and older are welcome to attend this class.

Skill Level 
No experience needed

Location Details
Marine Mills Folk School
550 Pine Street, Marine on St. Croix, MN

Cost Details
Tuition: $225
Material Fee: $40
Total Cost: $265

NOTE: Be aware we may cancel class if a minimum number of registrations is not reached. We work to balance a teacher’s need to plan for a class with students’ busy schedules — not an easy task. Please register as early as possible!

If interested, you can find our cancellation policy here.