A half a dozen meticulously hand carved wooden art pieces filled one of the tables at Wheatland Society of Arts on the morning of January 30. That was when members of the Strathmore Carving Club met in order to work on pieces.

The club meets on Wednesday mornings from 9 a.m. to 11 a,m. At the art studio in Strathmore. It’s where individuals of all skill ranges come to learn how to whittle, or carve wood and about the tools required to make the pieces.

Artist Bruce Heming, who was working on a small bird carved from wood, explained, “When you are carving you need to have a very sharp blade. I have been instructed that if you are carving with a knife for a minute or maybe two, then you need to sharpen it for maybe three minutes to make sure that it’s real sharp again, because a dull blade doesn’t do anything for you.”

He also described some of the tools, like curved and square blades and chisels, and the tools used to sharpen blades, like a leather strop and a sharpening stone.

The strop is used in the final stages of sharpening.

The group features new and more seasoned wood carvers. During the meeting some members were also painting their finished pieces.

More information can be found on the Wheatland Society of Arts website at wheatlandarts.ca.