By Sara StrongOne of Rock County's respected woodcarvers is leading the Minnesota Woodcarvers as its newest president.Mark Wieneke, Luverne, was recently elected at a state club meeting. His responsibilities now include more paperwork and communication... but it's the woodcarving he still loves.He?s only been at it for about six years, but has enjoyed other woodwork and crafting most of his life."It?s fun to take some junk or a piece of wood, and make something of it," Wieneke said.He?s found over the years that he enjoys making useful things and using his imagination and talent before anything else. "If I can?t make it, I really don?t want it that bad," he said.The local woodcarvers group, the Blue Mound Woodcarvers, has more than 30 members who meet monthly to carve."The camaraderie between all those carvers present and their willingness to share their expertise is great," Wieneke said. "If you don?t know how to carve a feather or eyes or nose or whatever, someone will show you. We have a common goal of learning to carve better and improve our craft."People know the local woodcarvers as organizers of Arts in the Park during Buffalo Days, until last year. They also display their group projects, such as a quilt with blocks for each square and a United States map with symbols on each state, at the Carnegie Cultural Center.Their work is also found at the Rock County Fair but not many are sold locally. They can?t recoup the cost of the hours it takes to complete most projects, so they often share their work with family and friends instead of selling it.The February woodcarving classes are an important time for Wieneke. "My main concern is to see this art passed down," he said. "In this high-tech age, people don?t do things like this and they don?t seem to have the attention span."He looks forward to the classes as a recruiting tool for more woodcarvers, but even if people don?t join, he hopes they can gain from the craft."If we can get that spark lit and get their interest when they?re young, during their teen and college years they might not have time, but they can pick it up and start again right where they left off," he said.Wieneke prefers to do his work in the backyard or at the kitchen table. "You know you?re in a woodcarvers home when there?s chips in the carpet and the smell of fresh-cut wood is in the air or the smell of varnish ? "Members of the local club range in age from 14 to well into retirement. The more the merrier, Wieneke said. It?s an inexpensive hobby because club members buy wood and tools in bulk, but the art of it is worth every penny, he said."Nobody?s going to do the same, and there?s no right or wrong. It?s an art that?s all in the eye of the beholder. ? In every piece of wood ? whether it?s pine, oak, birch or butternut ? is a life that?s waiting to come out. And with every chip it is revealed."
