Hand me a chisel, nurse

The list of things that I am not very good at continues to expand. Do lists expand? Extend… maybe that’s better. Anyway, my latest failure is wood carving.

I decided to do a day workshop and went along with great excitement. The tutor, Peter, was a small man with very sparkling eyes and a lovely manner. He set the task of carving a flower in the morning session.

There were four other participants.

A man whose nearly grown-up daughters had bought it for his birthday present. He runs a housing association in London which tries to be environmentally sound and is certainly welcoming to refugees. He does DIY but had never done anything like this. He chose a Celtic symbol for his afternoon project.

A woman who is soon to retire from her job as a chemotherapy nurse. She does drawing, painting and felting. She is very green – put her kids in cotton nappies twenty years ago. She opted for a wren on a branch from one of Peter’s designs.

There was a couple. The man found it easy – he’s done something with fibreglass which appeared similar. I didn’t talk so much to them. He did a maple leaf and she an oak leaf and acorns.

Me? I’d asked a volunteer at Pitsford for a photograph of a crow. It was an ambitious project. I’d say that Peter did about 65% of the carving.

Still, I enjoyed the day. Peter was great and the venue was pleasant. There is another day in October and maybe I will go again and give it another try.