Channel Islands Carvers Woodcarving Show
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Join the Channel Islands Carvers at its annual Woodcarving Show at Ventura Botanical Gardens on Saturday, June 13. Club members will be displaying their works of art and presenting live woodcarving demonstrations.
While you're there, check out Ventura Botanical Gardens' current Summer Hummerz immersive art exhibit. The club's own Michael Horwitz, an expert carver of animals and birds, helped design the six giant hummingbird-head viewing scopes that allow visitors a closer look at the daily lives of these fascinating pollinators.
Last spring, Mike began working on the project by designing a 51-inch hummingbird head. He then carved the oversized head from blocks of high-density foam, using his woodcarving gouges, rasps, and power-carving tools.
Six fiberglass shells were made from a mold of the carving, which Mike painted to portray six different hummingbirds: Anna’s (Calypte anna), Rufous (Selasphorus rufus), Calliope (Selasphorus calliope), Costa’s (Calypte costae), Black-Chinned (Archilochus alexandri), and Xantus’s (Basilinna xantusii).
Mounted on steel posts, the huge heads of the tiniest of birds were turned into interactive viewing scopes, each with a set of Mike's turned wood handles, which were beautifully hand carved and painted to look like flowers by Mike and fellow club carvers Chrystal Craver, Evy Eisele, Michelle Garcia, Jewelyn Vanoni, and Mario De San Pedro.
Throughout the summer, visitors can peer into the back of each bird, where an integrated video display reveals fascinating facts about hummingbirds and how they live, feed, and fly.
A seventh bird head has recently been completed and is waiting for electronics. It will be venturing beyond Ventura to land at the International Hummingbird Society in Sedona, Arizona.
While you're there, check out Ventura Botanical Gardens' current Summer Hummerz immersive art exhibit. The club's own Michael Horwitz, an expert carver of animals and birds, helped design the six giant hummingbird-head viewing scopes that allow visitors a closer look at the daily lives of these fascinating pollinators.
Last spring, Mike began working on the project by designing a 51-inch hummingbird head. He then carved the oversized head from blocks of high-density foam, using his woodcarving gouges, rasps, and power-carving tools.
Six fiberglass shells were made from a mold of the carving, which Mike painted to portray six different hummingbirds: Anna’s (Calypte anna), Rufous (Selasphorus rufus), Calliope (Selasphorus calliope), Costa’s (Calypte costae), Black-Chinned (Archilochus alexandri), and Xantus’s (Basilinna xantusii).
Mounted on steel posts, the huge heads of the tiniest of birds were turned into interactive viewing scopes, each with a set of Mike's turned wood handles, which were beautifully hand carved and painted to look like flowers by Mike and fellow club carvers Chrystal Craver, Evy Eisele, Michelle Garcia, Jewelyn Vanoni, and Mario De San Pedro.
Throughout the summer, visitors can peer into the back of each bird, where an integrated video display reveals fascinating facts about hummingbirds and how they live, feed, and fly.
A seventh bird head has recently been completed and is waiting for electronics. It will be venturing beyond Ventura to land at the International Hummingbird Society in Sedona, Arizona.
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Where is it happening?
Ventura Botanical Gardens, 183 N Chestnut St, Ventura, CA 93001-2661, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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