Disappointed in Woodcarving Illistrated Mag

[DiLeon]

Books should cover basics, magazines should cover new ideas and are great for those quiet times where no noise is highly appreciated, and videos are great for those you learn by watching. Magazines are great for fishing on the lake during those quiet long hours. Internet can cover a broad education of anything goes. The fact is each person is different and what works for one person may not work for the next. Person to person can learn basics faster.

But the whole of learning comes from the total desire to learn how to do it. Success comes from making mistakes and learning from them. There is no instant success, where you do it a few times and you got it. Especially in wood carving unlike the Youtube video on how to fix a broken toilet and I got it and I am done, ....the process of art and woodcarving lessons are forever learning new things. As far as how good I am?.... depends strictly on how serious I am to do what it takes to get there. Plus the willingness to change and to try new things....time, patience, and desire.

[Merle Rice]

Hi, Di. Very well said. Merle

[Claude]

...
If you want to provide the publishers with feedback I would recommend emailing as they do not actively monitor the forum.
...
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True. When BobD was the technical editor, he did monitor the forums a lot; Since he is gone, I have provided links to suggestions for the editors when I see them. That is one reason I asked Daliab to provide specifics on what he would like to see: Carving type (chip, caricature, animal & bird, flat plane, relief, etc.), realistic or stylized or folk, etc., and some specific examples, such as Folk art bird carving, or realistic squirrel carving, or cigar store indian or... Be assured I will get the specific suggestions to the editors. Also, If you have found an author or two in the past year that you really like, provide the name and article title and the editors will attempt to get that author to do another article.

Claude

[Daliab]

Claude, I already gave some examples in my post on 13 May @4:08 pm with names of carvers on youtube.

[Claude]

You are correct - you did provide the names of carvers whose work you liked - my mistake. But, you didn't provide any specific info about the carvings themselves these people are doing. I know Blake and Roger, and they carve a wide variety of things. Most are caricatures, but some are Santas, some are cowboys, some are cute little cartoon animals, etc. Arleen also carves a wide variety of things. Do you want more Santas, more gnomes, more mice, more dogs, more snowmen, or what? If you tell me you want more Santas carved by Blake for example, that is info I can get to the editors.

Claude

[Daliab]

This thread has gotten a lot of attention that I really didn't intend for it to get and hope the following explanation ends it. Claude, you miss the whole point of my displeasure with WCI. These folks put out fresh ideas every week via the internet....every week. Because of them, they have sparked renewed interest in woodcarving that, in my opinion the magazine has not. It's not just one area of interest that I'm looking at. It's all of them. I find WCI boring compared to the new, fresh ideas that are out on the internet by these carvers.... every week. The fresh ideas make me want to carve what ever they are presenting in their video. Both the WCI magazine and the YouTube carvers do it for monetary purposes. They both are presenting a product to their followers for monitary gain. The magazine, in my opinion is loosing unless they step up their game. Point made.

[Daliab]

FYI for those who have read and may have made a commented on this thread.... Feedback.
I received a private message from Kelly (her last name omitted for her privacy), a Fox Chapel Publishing staff member - editorial assistant of Woodcarving Illustrated. She asked some of the same questions that you folks asked. What is it I was interested in and what would I like to see in the magazine. I gave her the same answers I stated here. No more, no less.
The main point I wanted to make to all of you about her reaching out concerning my disappointment rating. Someone from Fox Chapel Publishing and the editorial assistant of Woodcarving Illustrated is monitoring this thread, as they should do. Kudos to FCP for taking the time to read feedback from subscribers.

[NoDNA]

And just checking in<<,, I also, finally have made the decision NOT to re-up It has become very boring and an add program. Although for a few years it was Ok and got me here. ..
And glad you Daliab for bringing this up!
Chuck

[Arthur C.]

Well, I hesitate to "bite the hand that feeds me" by sponsoring this forum, but I'll add my two cents worth (adjusted for inflation, worth about zero).

After several years of subscribing, I did not renew. WCI just does not fit my needs, as I'm not interested in carving caricatures, Santas, gnomes, etc. I would happily subscribe to a carving magazine featuring different subject matter by established professional carvers, such as (appearing in WCI in the past) Dylan Goodson, Joe Dillett, Chris Pye, Shawn Cipa (was in WCI last Winter issue, I think); and maybe some new blood like John Shortell and Alexander Grabovetsky.

This is merely what I want and am willing to pay for. By no means do I intend to disrespect or denigrate those whose interests lie is other areas. To each his own!

[Randy]

FYI for those who have read and may have made a commented on this thread.... Feedback.
I received a private message from Kelly (her last name omitted for her privacy), a Fox Chapel Publishing staff member - editorial assistant of Woodcarving Illustrated. She asked some of the same questions that you folks asked. What is it I was interested in and what would I like to see in the magazine. I gave her the same answers I stated here. No more, no less.
The main point I wanted to make to all of you about her reaching out concerning my disappointment rating. Someone from Fox Chapel Publishing and the editorial assistant of Woodcarving Illustrated is monitoring this thread, as they should do. Kudos to FCP for taking the time to read feedback from subscribers.

I think after Bob D left them, He was active on the forum, the forum was not mentored very offten. Kelly was the one who responded to the request for updating the carving club list. We may have a new voice at WCI. Thank you Kelly.

[DiLeon]

Honestly disappointed is not the word I use for a magazine that taught me basic wood carving, wood carving that was not about my favorite kind of carving but basics which is a major in learning. Today all luxury items are cut off my budget including driving to the beach. Today... the stock market, real estate, and the whole business world is breaking, and I do not have the money for some food today that I love, and downsizing. Gas is insane and still going up. Yesterday I could run to Micky Dees and get a two-dollar meal, that meal today is almost twenty dollars. My favorite radio station just shut down. I am shocked at today's world the magazine even still exists. I know these publishing companies are hanging by a thread as my sister works for one which has major downsized over the years. So I want to express my gratitude to the company and magazine/books that made this forum in the past as it has meant tons to me.

[NoDNA]

Honestly disappointed is not the word I use for a magazine that taught me basic wood carving, wood carving that was not about my favorite kind of carving but basics which is a major in learning. Today all luxury items are cut off my budget including driving to the beach. Today... the stock market, real estate, and the whole business world is breaking, and I do not have the money for some food today that I love, and downsizing. Gas is insane and still going up. Yesterday I could run to Micky Dees and get a two-dollar meal, that meal today is almost twenty dollars. My favorite radio station just shut down. I am shocked at today's world the magazine even still exists. I know these publishing companies are hanging by a thread as my sister works for one which has major downsized over the years. So I want to express my gratitude to the company and magazine/books that made this forum in the past as it has meant tons to me.

Di, I can see in every thing you say. And for me it is only partially true, I started carving on my own way before I found this site and the WCI mag. Even at the monstrous task they take on, in my view they have gotton the wayard path from "carving" to other sites and I for one love all you folks' ideas and info.

When I started, I read books from hardware stores then, a Woodcrafters in Portland had some books on carving, those were my start, now I find that I can just take a picture and carve what I wanted. Now that I have moved from a large city THANKS !! and still have a camera, it is OK for me. Not to have the WCI . So if they kick me off here.. Owch! .

And I agree with Arthur C. I have lost intrest in the repetiveness of the copies. Chainsaws? etc?
BUT it does keep us in converstaion right.
Cheers and keep safe.
Chuck

[mike swindell]

I am a total newbie and have been reading suggestions about this magazine editing and publishing. I was looking for books on carving, whittling, etc and found one by Chris Pye. A reader, who like me, likes to read larger font in lieu of glasses. Why do publishers use such a small font is beyond me. Saving paper, ink, I'd like to know. I have cancelled magazine subscriptions due to font size and the publishers are not alone. I have a laptop which I use and Microsoft uses small font in their program banners at the top of word and excell. May it's due to the fact that all the coding is done overseas and people are used to small font, I for one hate this progression in font reduction. Rant over.

[Don by the lake]

I too am disapointed in WCI.I will have 100 issues when my subscription ends and I seldom find anything in new issues that is interesting to me. I have all of my issues in my shop and I keep them for reference for carving projects. The older issues are alot more interesting and a great source of how to carve. I suggest the editors go through the old issues and maybe republish some of the old articles

[Brian T]

I sensed that the carving styles described in the WCI magazine wouldn't feed my interests very much.
What is it? Same bunch of authors in each issue? If that's true then it's up to the readers, the subscribers, to start writing about their carving passion.
Some magazines, I think they keep publishing the writings of a regular group of authors because they don't have many to pick from and nobody new is in the wings.

Fear not. You will get editorial advice. You are an investment to those people. They are quite willing to polish your writing to make the whole effort attractive to read and follow. That sells magazines.
I've been there and done that, writing science and technology for radio and for children's magazines. Over the years, I got to be pretty good at it (publish a first draft, some editing wood carving, etc).
Yes, there are text books that offer genuine advice for magazine & radio writing.

Next time you sit down at your bench, think about what those authors were trying to tell you. Can you tell a compact story about some independently contrived carving?

As you all know, I'm strongly influenced by PacNW First Nations art and carvings. Probably less than 2 dozen lavishly illustrated books of carvings. What keeps me going is visits with carvers in their individual websites. They all seem more than willing to help me overcome carving challenges such as left/right symmetry. I can cut 11 different geometries of kerfs for kerf bent box corners. I can do a 6" corner in about 30 minutes or less. All from museum collections. Will you ever see that in WCI?
I won't answer my own question.