Smoky Mountain Wood Carvers Association

05/29/2026

Hello!

Trying to catch up on information I promised to send.



First, let's confirm the dates. Show is Sat/Sun October 3,4



The brochure is attached for all the check-in times, categories, table rentals raffles.

Training is before and after the show. Previous emails had information on all the instructors but Phil Gentry and Vic Hood. Phil's projects and information on Vic Hood's class will be attached on a second email.

I don't want to hurry you, but I had 4 people sign up for classes today. So don't delay too long!

Before the Show

Phil Gentry caricature Roughout Sept. 30, Oct 1 and 2
Phil's projects are roughouts that he created or Gary Falin created. The pictures attached show what is available...but there may be a few more Phil Gentry roughouts! You could be the first to do one! Don't think there is only 6 projects.. actually 13 since some attachments have multiple projects. Pictures are attached

Doug Stainbrook pyrography Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and 2

Vic Hood Realistic bust Sept 30, Oct 1 and 2
Vic Hood is doing mallet and chisel realistic busts. You can google him to get the examples of his work. Tom Kubota is organizing this class. He has provided details below and if you have any questions on the class, it's best to go directly to Tom for the information or to register for this class.

From Tom Kubota:

Please send a deposit of 50 dollars to hold a space. It would be helpful to send me an email or text at the same time,so I know to look for it, and can acknowledge receipt.

Sorry for the omission.

TKubota



Vic Hood will be holding a 3 day class on carving busts on Wednesday to Friday, 9/30/26 – 10/2/26 at the My People Senior Center in Sevierville Tn. 1220 W. Main Street, Sevierville, TN, United States, Tennessee. The class will run from 9-4 and precedes the Smoky Mountain Woodcarving Show, which will be Saturday and Sunday. The cost for the three days will be 250.00. The cost of the butternut blank, will be an additional 70-80 dollars

A place can be reserved by sending a check addressed to Thomas Kubota. I will be paying Vic in cash at the time of the class. The check won’t be deposited until 4 weeks before the class. The balance of tuition will be requested at least two weeks before the class starts. Please bring cash for the butternut blank. The class will be limited to the first 10 people who sign up. In two weeks, registration will be announced to the participants of the Smoky Mountain woodcarving Show.

For those of you who are from out of town, there are multiple hotels and places to eat in the area.

Look forward to seeing you there. Sorry for the delay in the announcement.

Thomas T. Kubota

4639 Scenic Point Dr

Louisville, Tn 37777

865-567-3539

John Griscti Chip Carving Oct1 and 2

Ed Lampert Santa Caricature/painting Oct. 1 and 2

After the show

Rich Wetherbee Clay October 5,6

Roughouts, Bark 7,8



Show Highlights

Competition. We have one of the only shows that provides cash awards for each category besides receiving a ribbon. In addition, we have the best caricature ward and 1st and 2nd Best of Show awards. There is a separate category for instructor assisted carvings for intermediate and novice carvers. We want to recognize the great work instructors do to promote our hobby.



Raffles/silent auctions. Bragging a bit, but its a monster amount of prizes in the raffle. Carving tools, gift certificates, books, roughouts, supplies and a bunch of stuff you can't live without. Then the silent auction has finished carvngs from carvers like Gary Falin, the late Clair Smith and other great prizes...its very special.



Demonstrations will be held on Saturday and Sunday by known carvers.



Chainsaw carver will be demonstrating both days with available carvings for sale.



Saturday evening, there is a dinner with a free raffle for attendees.



Bob Stadtlander will be there with 8 tables of supplies and plenty of knives and tools. In addition, Gary Falin will have his carvings and roughouts for sale in addiition to Rich Wetherbee, Phil Gentry and a host of other craftsman.



Table Rentals $35 for non-members, 25 for members



Lodging

Last email had the list of motels. In addition, there is several campgrounds that have cabins for rent. Here are a couple. You might want to check the VRBO,Trivago and Booking.com sites.

Here are a couple opportunities a reasonable distance from the Senior Center

Riverside RV Park and Resort http://www.riversidecamp.com



Ripplin Waters RV Park http://www.ripplinwatersrvpark.com



Attached in the information on the show. You don't have to send in your competition form ahead of time...bring it to check in. You must reserve a table ahead of time. Normally, we don't have extras.

About the attachments. There is two pages for the brochure. The registration form might have an unwanted PDF stamp...ignore it...I will correct it after I discuss with Dean, the tech giant. You can use that form for your carvng registration but hopefully another one will be available soon. Fill it out and you will be assigned a carver number at registration so you can fill out the last column. All carvings must be completed by the carver except in the instructor assisted class.

Woodcarver Festival Brochure:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WMg0gJ6Ga3ItSGhimpI6P9DqHQ2Q4noJ/view?usp=sharing

2026 Registration Form:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OQn9EWVrhxZ-5BymQB8OLBIVwd6d_J79/view?usp=sharing

Any questions, call text or email me.

JR Hemmerlein

309-620-1197

05/26/2026

Brochures will be available soon. Rental tables are $35 for non-members and $25 for members. Please sign up for seminars so we can get the instructors schedules firmed up. Costs are for seminars, most of the projects are extra.

September 30 Oct. 1-2

Phil Gentry caricature $150 (Does have some Falin Roughouts besides his)

Doug Stainbrook pyrography $150

Vic Hood Bust (chisel/mallet) $250

October 1/2

John Griscti Chip carving $50 per day. Beginners on first day and Experienced. both days

Ed Lampert Santa Egg, $60/day, $110 2 days. includes project . Painting available seconday

October 5,6

Rich Wetherbee clay(priority) will take some carvers

October 7/8 roughouts/bark



Lodging Update

Here are a few choices for lodging. The best alternative is using the booking apps like Trivago and Booking.com. However, you can try direct. October begins the craft activities for area including Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville. This can be good since there is plenty to do besides our show but it does put motel rooms on a premium.

Here are some places,

Seymour Tennessee 10 miles away on same road as show)

Wattle Motel (on Booking.com) $105 per night

Comfort Inn (on Booking.com) $138



In attachment, are some names that are closer to the action....not necessarily quicker since traffic is stronger in the area.

In addition, there are some cabins and I am working on getting the details. They will house multiple people.



So next note will have a footnote about the cabins plus Phil Gentry's pictures of his work.



Any questions, let me know



JR

309-620-1197

05/19/2026

If you are looking for a fancy door or interior decorations check out the FB of Carvers of the Smokies. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Send a message to learn more

05/04/2026

Our Show is Saturday/Sunday, October 3 and 4 at My People Senior Center in Sevierville, TN. The Seminars will be before and after the show and listed below. Right now, working on interest/reservations, no $$ necessary now. If you have questions or would like to make a reservation, email me or text/call at 309-620-1197. Unfortunatley, Gary Falin will not be having classes. He is improving but not at the point to handle three days of classes. He will be at the show with a table. He is carving and has plenty of carvings/roughouts for sale. Classes are 9 am-4pm.


September 30, October 1,2

Phil Gentry will have a 3-day caricature class with his roughouts and some of Gary Falin's roughouts. Phil has won several competitions and his work is impressive and his painting puts them in the awesome stage. Examples of his work will be available on a later note.

Cost is $150 plus the roughout cost.


Ed Lampert will have a 2-day caricature Santa egg class October 1, 2. Ed is on of the best Santa carvers in East Tennessee. Ed sells his carvings in Gatlinburg craft community. The class will include carving and painting if you want to finish your carving. The goal is to have a completed project at the end of class. However, you can carve on both days. Examples of his project are show below.

Cost is $60 for one day or $110 for two days and includes the first project.


Doug Stainbrook will have a 3-day pyrography (wood burning) class. If you attended our show in the past, Doug had a table with some fantastic work displayed. He also displays in the craft area at Dollywood. Doug's background is drawing, oil painting, artistic engraving and woodworking. He took a class from Michele Parson years ago and was hooked on pyrography. One of his projects was featured in the Pyrography magazine in 2020. You can check out examples of his work on his website, SlyFoxArt.com. If you have questions on his class, email [email protected]. Cost is $150 and will include a board and patterns available for your project. He will have a tracing paper and pens to transfer your pattern to the board. Plan to bring your woodburning unit so you learn with it. He does have 3 loaner woodburning units; if you need to borrow a unit, let me know in advance.


John Griscti will have two 1-day classes. You can attend either or both.

Beginner Class Thursday, Oct. 1 class is primarily for beginners where he will teach the basics on tools, safety and basic/intermediate techniques. Experienced chip carvers are welcome, and he will assist you on your project on day 1.. Most of the focus will be on techniques for the beginner. Cost is $50 plus $15 for basic project, advanced project pricing listed below. John will have loaner chip knives so you can take class and see if that is your passion. Chip carving techniques can add to your other projects.


Experienced class Friday, Oct.2. You must have taken the basic class or have experience in chip carving to select this class. Projects are the sunflower $35, Trivets $10-15, ornament blanks $5 and free tree form blanks are $10. Pictures are below He address painting techniques if interested. If you would like to do the Sunflower project, we need know before June 30 to prepare it for class.


Vic Hood will have a 3-day class on realistic busts. This class is using mallet/chisels and limited to 8-10 people. I don't have all the details yet but will share later. If interested, let me know since sign up for this new class is underway. Vic is very popular so don't linger with your reservation.


October 5,6 (Monday/Tuesday after the show)

Rich Wetherbee will have a two-day clay carving class. This class is ideal for developing ideas for future carvings. The project can be a go-by or even stand as an art piece itself since it can by painted. Carving students can do these days as well but priority reservation to clay participants. Last year, he had room for carving students. Cost is $85/day plus clay costs.


October 7/8 (Wednesday/Thursday after the show)

Rich Wetherbee will have a 2-day realistic/caricature or bark carving class. The class will start from roughouts (wetherbeecollectionllc.com) or bark with your original idea. Cost is $85/day plus the cost of roughout/bark. The website might not have his most recent projects; I will include them later. Last year, the Wetherbee classes filled up, please don't delay on getting your reservation.



You can call or email for a reservation, course fees will be collected in August. It's important to get these reservations in so we can insure we have a viable class, and instructor can get us in his schedule and plan for a great class. If you have trouble getting information from websites, let me know.


Lodging info will be coming soon. Only 151 days till the first class!


If you want off this distribution list, please contact me with "Reply". Same for questions and reservations, please avoid reply all for individual communications.


JR

309-620-1197

04/01/2026

First, sorry for the late start on our show. I had some life problems to deal with as we all do. The carving community including our two local clubs and the Lebanon Renegade gang have really uplifted me and I want to thank them for the support. I am back and want to introduce the 2026 Show, competition and available seminars. This first note will give you the basics and hopefully getting you looking forward to the next note. I hope to see you all this fall!

Key Dates.
Show Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4 at the Sevierville My People Senior Center. Same as last year.
Seminars
September 30, October 1,2
October 5,6,7 and 8
See the instructor schedules below.

Show Details
Seminar Instructors
Ed Lampert Caricatures and Painting (we all need help with this!) (Oct. 1,2) $60/day $110/2days includes project

Phil Gentry Caricatures Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and 2 ($150 + roughout)

Doug Stainbrook Pyrography Sept, 30 Oct 1 and 2 ($150 includes basic project)

John Griscti Chip Carving Oct 1,2 (1 day beginner, 1 day, experienced) $50 plus project

Rich Wetherbee Clay Oct 4,5 and roughouts/bark Oct 6,7 $85/day
More details on each seminar in upcoming notes. You can start to sign up now and we will worry about the $$ as we get closer. Please don't wait too long, I received our first reservations this week.

Stadtlander Carving Supplies will be at the show. He has the most extensive supply of tools and supplies. We all need something!

Gary Falin Carving and Roughout Sales. Gary is doing fine and would like to see all his carving friends. He will be set up at the show.

Power Carving Depot, Ken Rizzo, who made a great hit last year hasn't confirmed yet but hoping his team will be there to share their expertise with a demonstration and have supplies available.

*Raffles, free raffles during show, silent auctions, demonstrations, craft sales, carving for beginners, and hope like every year to add a few additional activities to the show.

*As always, we will have a get together on Saturday evening with another free raffle. We will have breakfast of some sort and lunch available at the show.

*Wood Sales. We will have wood available. We can have specific sizes if you let us know in advance. You can avoid shipping costs.

*And don't forget the carving show/competition. Every year, the entries grow and expect a tough competition this year!

*Lodging information will be provided soon,

If you read this far, reply to me and if you are present at the show, you will have earned one entry to a special free raffle. Sssshhhh. don't tell anyone...you might be the only one entered.

Hope everyone has a great time at Charlotte Woodcarving Show in April. Our show postcards will be available there. (They are attached below. If you can't open it, let me know and I will try to get my tech buddy Dean to help me). The brochures will be available in May and sent out in an email.

As always, if you want to be removed from distribution, let me know by "reply" and not "reply all". Same with any questions or comments or seminar reservations.

JR
309-620-1197
[email protected]

02/17/2026

The Holiday Gnome was our demonstration project on Saturday for the Smoky Mountain Wood Carvers Association. Twenty three carvers partipated in the event. You can paint your holiday design on each gnome.

Next month, the 2nd Saturday of month, our project is a Leprechaun or an Easter project.

Hope you can join us.

JR

02/15/2026

Valentines Day Carving Meeting

02/13/2026

he Holiday Gnome was our demonstration project for the Smokey Mountain Wood Carvers Association on Saturday, February, 14. You can paint to highlight any holiday.

Beginners to experiened carvers enjoyed the project with assistance from JR Hemmerlein, Richard Phillips and Dean Irving.


Demonstrations are held each month promote the carving hobby. Beginners and visitors are welcome. Contact Richard Phillips, club president.



JR

01/25/2026

January 2026 Newsletter for our association:

11/07/2025

The Santa, penguin, and turkey are projects the SMWC club will be doing the 8th of Nov at our regular meeting.

Send a message to learn more