|
Older News & Events ScrapBook . . . Page 15
|
|
|
Leaf through OHNS ScrapBook... 
|
|
|
|
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
30 May 2007
Joe Paonessa here...
This is just a short note to let you know something good has happened to me! The American Numismatic Association has a summer seminar program in Colorado Springs each summer. Part of the program includes a two year scholarship - one week each summer - for an engraving program. It is fully paid for, but requires submission
of previous engraving or artwork to be considered.
Well... I submitted, they considered, and I won! I'm still not sure if this means
they think my work is really good... or they think I need more training, but hey,
I'm going to Colorado Springs for a week on their dime! ~ Joe Paonessa
THE ART OF ENGRAVING, ANA Summer Seminar, Colorado Springs, Colorado
June 30 - July 6, 2007 and June 28 – July 4, 2008
SIX FULL SCHOLARSHIPS WERE AVAILABLE FOR THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND CLASS TO TEACH AND PROMOTE THE VANISHING ART OF ENGRAVING UNDERWRITTEN BY THE GILROY AND LILIAN P. ROBERTS FOUNDATION
The Art of Engraving is a two-week (one week per year) seminar offered by the American Numismatic Association and fully underwritten by the Gilroy and Lilian P. Roberts Foundation. Mr. Roberts, a renowned engraver and artist, was the 9th Chief Engraver of the United States Mint and chairman of the board of the forerunner of the Franklin Mint.
Here is an active link to ANA’s flyer giving the full details…
www.money.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NumismaticEvents/SummerSeminar/Art_Of_Engraving_Flyer.pdf
|
Carving Chips.....
•
A Year In The Makin'
•
|
| Nathaniel 'Nate' Hawthorne
| Robert 'Smokie Bob' Brume
| Prairie Lawyer
| Jeanne d'Arc
|
| The Other Guy
| Mkinda Ellie
| Chakavu Ellie
|
|
Exquisite Nickel Carvings by Joe Paonessa
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
Carving Chips.....
•
Summer 2007 BoTales Is Progressing!
•
I generated these graphics while creating this header and just had to share them with all y'all! ~ V-Dubya
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
9 May 2007
Coin Carving Software Discussion
−from “The Engraver's Café”
|
Degs... Just found this today...
Virtual Sculptor VS3D/VScad3 Software
carving/engraving software. I think it's output is for a three axis engraving/laser machine. The demo version has the output disabled, but it will print. Nickel carvers or any one having a go at bas-relief may find it useful. I'm still playing...good fun! 
Monk... I have a need to hold onto some of the primordial skills. Machines can earn you quick bucks- but they can't deliver the fun and joy of doing some of this stuff by hand. We can all play a stereo- how many can play a harpsichord, a banjo, or a trumpet? Maybe a guitar, a dulcimer, perhaps the minstrel bones? I got a laser, but my nickel is strictly goin' the old way.
Degs... I'm of the same mind. I prefer creating my chips by hand, but the software would be useful as an aid to viewing. Say.. a photo rendered as a bas relief. Thought it may be a good self teaching aid, free demo just outputs to screen and print. I play lead guitar, for a heavy rock/metal band. Far too loud, wife says I should know better at my age!!!!!
Crazy Horse... That's an interesting program, but I'd rather do it by hand. There's a certain personal satisfaction from making something out of nothing, using nothing more than your hands and your mind. “Degs” if you have Photo Shop there is a feature that allows you to view any photo in relief and more.
Steve Adams... There is a place for technology in the world of engraving, but don't worry, it does not replace a true artist and craftsman. Human hands and the brain that guides them can do things that software and 3D engraving machines cannot. Technology is improving, is useful in production, but is not meant to take over a skilled craft such as hand engraving. There is no heart and soul in a computer and although the software engineer, and the Cad-Cam operator possess these qualities, the machine itself does not and is therefore limited.
No 3D axis can match an unlimited axis of the hand, or the improvising of our brain. Only a human can sit at a bench and select from hundreds of tools at their disposal and know exactly how to use them for a desired effect. 3D machines are in my field and have been for a number of years now. They are bennificial, but it still takes a hand guy to make a design come alive. Even if software and machines ever get that good, there will still be a demand for hand engravers by people who desire true art.
Swede... I think Degs referenced the software purely as an item of interest, and a curiosity - I don't think he's advocating using it and perhaps trying to pass it off as hand cut. There are two things that reveal machine vs hand... the first is that 98% of machines use either a rotating cutter which leaves telltale tool marks, or a diamond drag. The second is that the lines are too perfect. A computerized straight line is TOO straight. And of course, there's something missing, and that is the soul of the artist who did it by hand.
I've got a very tight little CNC machine that could easily clean up a hobo nickel field to perfection prior to hand work, but that too would be “cheating,” and even if the machine cut field is perhaps abrasive blasted or otherwise retouched, it'd be detectable due to the perfection (flatness) of the field. I suppose if you were desperate to counterfeit a hand-cut field, you could probably program in very minor and random “errors” for the cutter, just enough to make it look like hand work.
Again, I think the intent of the post was just a “hey, this is cool software of interest” and not a promotion of computer coin carving as a replacment for hand cutting.
Steve Adams... I do agree that the software was the point, but it still brings up an interesting aspect of engraving, and one that has actually been debated for several years now. The moment you mention CAD-CAM in my field it brings up some pretty strong emotions one way or another. CAD-CAM probably doesn't relate to the gun and knife engravers very much or at all, is that correct? Die engraving is a big difference in that CAD-CAM is sweeping through the industry. I am happy to report however that a $250,000 software and machine set up is lacking in comparrison to a good hand die engraver. The ironic part is that a hand man is needed to make the computer cut dies cleaner and more detailed. “John Henry” is still the champ. Out of curiosity, how would the gun and knife engravers feel if people started having their work done by by a computer controled machine? I know this isn't likely to happen, just a what if, and sorry for straying off the subject. Computer art programs do amaze me. I just don't like mixing computers and craftsmanship.
Tom Curran... Some folks won't care HOW their product is made. That's the market to seek if you want to produce work with a machine.
Handwork is appreciated by those who do it, and by their clientele. I don't think this machinery is a threat to our business.
I have to say that it's pretty cool stuff. I have a machine shop and a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Mill, and with the right software, I could do this too. Electronics and machinery have come a long way. Would it be fun? Not as much as hand work.
Ray Cover... I see it as no different than prototype machining and CNC machining in industry. My father worked for most of his life as a prototype machinist. He is a very exacting and skilled craftsman who has no idea how to even aproach a CNC set up. Each has its advantages.
My dad can make a one part in about 10% of the time it takes a guy with a CNC set up to do the programing set his tooling up and make the one part.
However, The guy with the CNC set up can make a 1000 parts in 10% of the time it takes my dad to make 1000 parts.
Computer engraving is no different. If a customer is looking for a one of a kind gun his best investment and lowest cost is to get a hand engraver. If he wants a 1000 or more identical guns he is better off going to a computer aided set up.
Another thing to throw into the mix is this. We have discussed on here many times in the past how each individual engraver's work has its own nuances that are very hard for another person to completely replicate. It is even more difficult for an machine to replicate a hand engravers look. I suspect it always will be.
Steve Adams... Well said Ray!
Degs... Thanks Swede, couldn't have put t better myself. I just thought some one starting carving might find it useful to see a photo in bas-relief, give them some ideas on cutting... with hand tools...
and it's free. I was actually researching the possibility of striking large art medals from my own HANDCUT dies when I came across the software.
Very nice work Crazy Horse, I prefer hand work, although I have moved to airpower recently.
I think there's a place for computers etc, alot of people on the forum use them for designing and transfering artwork... Oooooh... now I've done it! I use this technique now, but there is still a lot of occasions when I have to go back to plasticine and french chalk and hand drawing. I don't think a computer controlled machine could follow a line in french chalk????
Ron Smith... I think you hit the nail square on the head Ray. I think however, it goes even deeper than that. the satisfaction of being self sufficient is one of the basic human desires and means of self esteem. At any time you choose, you could let go of the world of technology and make it on your own. that is really what i think part of it is about, and it is about quality over quantity as well. Artists seem to have a depth about them that the rest of the world can't and doesn't relate to. That sensitivity to simple, original, uncomplicated things that can remain under ones own control is a great sorce of satisfaction ...and that is my contribution and two cents on the subject. One thing machines or men will never reproduce is another mans personality because that is the reflection of ones own individual uniqueness and machines also can never replace the loving touch of the human hand. So be it. Forward!
This interesting discussion occurred on Sam Alfano's “The Engraver's Café” website. It will continue on after I post this so following
is an active link so you can go check for any more recent thoughts posted on this subject...
Coin Carving Software
~ V-Dubya
|
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
Bill Daniel's Who Is Bozo Texino?
“The Epic Tale of the Improbable Discovery of
the True Identity of the World's Greatest Boxcar Artist.”
Man of Many Marks
−by Johnny Ray Huston for the San Francisco “Bay Guardian”, September 28, 2005
|
|
|
9 May 2007
This may well be an all-time record price for a first carving by a new carver!
|
|
“The Little Gromit” $395
|
“Crush” $104.25
|
“Think Tank” $56.66
|
“Mimicry” $57.50
|
“Little Fella” $292
|
|
“The Little Gromit” was named for its likeness to my little brother, at an age when he skated with a group that called themselves “The Gromits.” This is my very FIRST Hobo nickel ever. I loved doing it, and as I am an engraver by trade, I will certainly be doing more of them. It is carved on a 1972 nickel, and on the edge initialed, numbered and dated, “JLS #1 4-27-07”
“Crush” is my second Hobo nickel. A creative creature of my imagination engraved into a nickel to add a little flair to any Hobo nickel collection. The nickel is initialed, numbered and dated along the edge of the coin. “JS #2 5/3/07” ~ John Schipp
“Think Tank” is the third “JS” Hobo nickel. Johnny is constantly sketching or doodling something. He actually says that drawing helps him pay attention! He sketches on anything that isn't moving and sometimes the kids. He does not consider himself an abstract artist. Call him what you will, but no matter what you call him, you have to admit he is different. These faces, like a lot of his work, just happen as he is working on them. He starts with nothing and just engraves. And ta-da, a masterpiece. And sometimes not. He enjoys tattooing and sketching, but he LOVES engraving. Johnny loves to create. He is a very creative individual and just likes to have fun. After spending all his time at work setting stones, sizing, and engraving high end jewelry he deserves to have a little fun. I know I am his wife! “JS #3 5/5/07”
“Mimicry” is aptly named for the a way that the face does not instantly stand out, like it is camoflauged with its surrounding. This is my fourth Hobo nickel and like the others it is Initialed, numbered and, dated along its edge.
“Little Fella” is the first one that I have done on a buffalo nickel. He is initialed, numbered and dated along the edge "JS #5 5/07" ~ John Schipp
Actually “Crush” sold on eBay a day before “The Little Gromit” due to the listing choices the Seller made. Had it sold second then likely there would have been some “carry over” effect as a result of the astounding final price that “The Little Gromit” realized. Personally I attribute this fantastic sales result to Johnny's originality... these are uniquely his own creations! Nothing even vaguely similar has ever been carved on a nickel before. ~ V-Dubya
|
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
7 May 2007
The Heart And Soul Of OHNS Is Its People !
|
All of these good folks enjoyed each other's company at FUN2007 in Orlando, Florida during January.
       
        
      
Other attractions were the ANA Small Traveling Exhibit, the OHNS Annual Auction and the Heritage “Hobo Nickel” Auction.
Click on photograph to view all three exhibit panels.
|
From... Gail Baker, Manager of Market and Brand Development, American Numismatic Association
Click to view this announcement.
|
As a part of its mission, the ANA Money Museum circulates a
number of small, easily transported traveling exhibits for circulation
to ANA member clubs, museums, schools, libraries, and banks.
The exhibits should be booked at least 6 to 8 weeks
in advance of the exhibit dates.
Loan periods are flexible.
|
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
Carving Chips.....
•
Spare any change? Canada Unveils C$1 Million Coin
•
|
Coin Carver's Dream!
|
A 100kg gold coin is seen next to gold bars and smaller gold coins in an undated publicity photo from the Royal Canadian Mint. The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a welcome addition to any piggy bank on Thursday, May 3, 2007 -- a monster gold coin with a face value of C$1 million
that it says is the world's biggest, purest and highest denomination coin.
{ Read news release...
}
530mm(21") in diameter, 30mm(1.2") thick,
weighing 100kg(220.5pounds/3,215TroyOz) and
worth $2,196,810US @$683.30US per TroyOz.
|
Michael Cirelli has this to say... “Please send photo or art of what you would like carved onto it. The final price will depend on the complexity of the project. Your estimated cost will be approximately 125,000 euros. That includes the coin and the labor... but you don't get the chips and it will be in deep relief.”
|
Royal Canadian Mint: “A WORLD FIRST”
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
4 May 2007
A piece of wood, a pocketknife, and nothing but time…
Hobo art and tramp art were uniquely born of independent spirit. Hobos whittle. Tramps carve. Both craft amazing objects from discarded items and found materials, recycling them into picture frames, jewelry boxes, functional furniture, and enchanting objects of whimsy. And one man, Adolph Vandertie – known as the Grand Duke of Hobos – has created and amassed over 4,000 rare and beautiful pieces of this distinctive folk art form.
As a child during the Depression, Adolph was captivated by a desire for travel. He frequented the hobo jungles, ate Mulligan Stew, and rode the rails. He was part of a world where freedom-loving men told preposterous stories of adventure and measured the time by whittling.
Preferring the company of hobos to school, Adolph once watched as a hobo whittled a ball-in-the-cage, the quintessential trademark of a hobo whittler. From that moment, Adolph was hooked, and a lifelong obsession with whittling and collecting took hold.
At the age of 21, Adolph put his traveling days behind him. His sweetheart Adeline proposed, they were married and began a life of 69 years together. Little did Adeline know that her future home – built piece by piece by Adolph – would also become home to thousands of unique and interesting pieces of tramp and hobo art. A living museum of a dying craft from a dying culture…
As he grew older, Adolph traded one addiction for another, using whittling as a compulsive form of therapy to battle addictions with alcohol and tobacco – freeing him to create more and more of his unbelievably intricate works of art. The end result is a man who found peace in a sharp blade and a good piece of wood. A man who created incredible works of art – in a way that only the most skilled hand could accomplish.
At 95 years young, Adolph has faced a lifetime of hardship and heartache, addiction and fascination. Westbound is his story captured as documentary - a story in which unflinching American history and uniquely American art merge.
This touchingly honest full-length film is the recollection of Adolph’s life and his obsession with preserving a culture he was never fully part of. It celebrates the joy of pure creative expression, and portrays the small and fading light of hobo culture. Its gentle insights strive to uncover how this scarcely educated man recognized the need to preserve the past in the hope of understanding the present.
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
2 May 2007
Mississippi Hobo Jungle
−by Sarah Ledbetter, Water Valley, MS, 27 April 2007
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
Carving Chips.....
•
The Nickel is but a Canvas to the Imagination
• {*}
“The Engraver's Café” is spawning new nickel carvers!
|
|
Degs
|
Tezash
|
HTandB
|
Harpuahound
|
Steichman
|
|
{*} Apologies to Henry David Thoreau who observed that “The world is but a canvas to the imagination.”
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
1 May 2007
Bill (Jameson) Zach Hobo Nickel Carvings
Archive of available scans as of 5/1/2007
These scans are in general but not precise REVERSE chronological order.
Click on any thumbnail scan below to see actual scan.
|
This is just a sample of Bill's online Photo Album! Click to access the entire album.
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
Carving Chips.....
•
Steve Cox Shows V-Dubya His Personal Collection
•
    
| Unknown
| Press
| Villarin
| Shamey
| Olivencia
|
|
Eye-catching Carved Nickels
from
Steve Cox's Personal Collection
Steve has carved his own extraordinary personal pocket pieces!
|
|
|
|
|
29 April 2007
Carving a Subject on a 2007 Washington Dollar
−by William Jameson ~ OHNS Member #599
“Stage One”
“Stage Two”
“Stage Three”
|
“Stage Four”
“Stage Five”
“Stage Six”
|
First:
This will be a thread you need to check daily for the steps in carving a subject on a 2007 Washington dollar. Before I start this thread... Please remember I have certain tools that I use and have been using many years and enjoy using, but I'm not promoting tools. I'm just describing what tools I use in carving coins, use the tools you feel best using. The main tools I'll be using are a #36 and a #42 hand push graver [no heel], my gravermax with a monarch handpiece, 3 different grits sanding sticks. Now to the carving of a Washington dollar, it's a lot different from carving a nickel. When I carve a coin, I want it to have a minted look, this means the field has to be smooth, no dips, no grooves, no nicks, and etcetera. The first picture is the host coin before we start to carve it, our subject to be carved will be a BillZach original design I've used on new nickels. We'll call the subject “The Sea Captain.” What we want on our finished coin is a new subject on the coin, but no telltale marks on the field or face that we recarved Washington...
Second:
This will be our first step in carving a 2007 Washington dollar. I've applied chinese white on the coin to show my scribe marks, this picture will show you a very roughed out image of the cap brim, cap design, beard, ear, and etcetera. Yours can be different to a degree, but the lines I've scribed will be the ones I cut. Don't start cutting on your coin until you see the next posting later today...
Third:
The only tool I've used so far has been a #36 hand push graver with no heel. I've taken my push graver and cut inward to the scribe lines and popped the metal out. We've got the outline of the beard cut, the cap bill, cap brim, bottom of cap behind ear and ear cut. Now this is very important about carving a new dollar, our field next to the subject has to be the same level as the rest of the field, we're going for that mint like field. All you new engravers who only have hand push gravers, you can carve this coin too. It's hard to get a good picture with the bright cuts, but pictures will get better on the next step...
Fourth:
Now I've cut the beard, sideburns, and etcetera with my monarch handpiece using a small flat graver. Remember keep the field level as the original field meets the subject. We are now ready to start detailing the cap and face and get the gravers marks out of the field and face. I dulled the coin so you can better view the cuts I make since last picture. It's about 50% completed at this point...
Fifth:
The coin carving is about 75% completed. I've added some texture to the bill on the cap, cut some seams in cap, added crowfeet on eyes and worked on field. Now I need to give it a few finishing touches, sandblast it and give it a uniform color to everything and it's finished...
Sixth:
It's finished, I changed the cap design a little, cleaned the field up some more, added lines in collar area, sandblasted and added aging to coin.
I'm getting a reflection from the light around the eyes, so forgive my picture taking...
|
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
|
|
I
t has been a thirteen year pursuit for this nickel. Back in “94” I met an antique dealer who told me he had some hobos, and of course they weren't for sale. Every time I saw this dealer, which is and was twice a year, I would ask him about them. Finally he agreed to show and sell me this one. He also vowed to let me have the rest, as he finds them.
P
ersistence pays off... also showing him my collection made him understand that I truly had a passion for these treasures. In the end he told me this one should be in the collection of someone who is inspired and enthusiastic about them.
| |
|
Cinco de Arturo, OHNS Member #552 and Active Nickel Carver
|
|
| |
|
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
|
Real hobos don't use cellular phones.
| |
Recreational hobos, however, ...
| |
... are an increasingly wired breed.
|
The New York Times, August 20, 1998
A Different Breed of Freight-Hoppers
−by Pamela LiCalzi O'Connell
|
|
27 April 2007
Fran's Hobo Page
~ Fran DeLorenzo ~
“The Hobo Minstrel”
 
The Texas Madman's 1998 Pennsburg Gathering Tapestry
|
|
This tapestry was made by “The Texas Madman” and was displayed at the 1998 Pennsburg Gathering. Madman raffled it off there and I was the lucky winner, to the dismay of many who would have liked to have been able to take it home. It's now hanging on my office wall and every visitor, to my house, | | | |
OHNS webpages often have too many graphics/pictures to display swiftly. Be patient while this page loads.
