Editor's Note: Show Time

On the cover: Geoffrey Vine photographed his own wigeon drake. Geoff explains his painting strategy starting on page 50 in "The Blair School, Part Two."

Just flew in from the coast and, boy, are my arms tired. Part of that old joke is literally true. As I write this, I am freshly returned from the West Coast, where I attended the California Open show in beautiful, sun-drenched San Diego. Temperatures climbed into the upper 70s, and the region basked beneath a deep blue sky uninterrupted by pesky clouds. That was quite a refreshing change from the frigid, snow-clad Pennsylvania I left behind me. 

You'll have to wait until Competition 2011 to see the carvings from the show, but you'll find them well worth the wait. There was some fabulous work on display, including the show's signature palm frond carvings. We featured some of last year's winners in our Summer 2010 issue, and the offerings for 2011 were, if anything, even better. The show sensation was Daniel Montano's palm frond turkey. Daniel carved the peacock that graced the cover of the Summer issue, but with the turkey, Daniel managed to top himself. As I said, it will be worth the wait.

I always have a blast when I attend carving shows. It's great fun to talk to carvers, match faces to work we've featured in this magazine and Competition, and experience great carvings up close in three dimensions instead of the magazine's 2D. The shows also provide great opportunities to get ideas for future magazine articles and sign up some carvers to write those articles. The future will tell you how successful I was there.

Every show I attend, though, surprises me. I'm always gratified to see the exceptional work that skilled carvers from all over the place manage to create, and I'm excited by the excitement and passion of the people in attendance, whether they prefer the decoys or the decoratives—or like them both equally. And I have to mention how much I appreciate the hard work of the volunteers who make these shows possible. It is hard work, too, but you can tell that everyone involved knows, without a doubt, that it's all worthwhile. Just like your wait to see the California Open photos will be.

This article is from the Spring  2011 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.