Naperville woodcarver teaches young people the craft

Shelly Weiser was amazed by what he saw at a woodcarving show of the North Suburban Carvers.

The retiree quickly joined the club and started taking lessons from a master woodcarver in Chicago.

The Naperville resident, who started woodcarving at 75 and will turn 81 next month, now is amazing others with the work he does.

"People think you've been carving all your life. I haven't," he said.

Fond of Asian art, Weiser has carved statues of the emperor and empress of China who started the Forbidden City and of the Quan Yin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy.

His carving of a graceful figure of a woman in a flowing dress holding a basket of fruit won first place in an international contest. Hummingbirds and dragonflies are a favorite pattern in his relief work that could be hung above a mantle. He carves platters, clocks and candlesticks.

"He enjoys detail work. I think that's what makes him stand out," said Hector Fuster, a fellow member of the North Suburban Carvers and of the Naperville Woodcarvers group that meets at the Alfred Rubin Riverwalk Community Center in Naperville on Tuesdays. Fuster also has joined Weiser in teaching a woodcarving group for young people that meets at the Rubin Center.

"I love creating," Weiser said. "I have more fun teaching those kids how to do it."

The woodcarving group for kids got started about three years ago after Naperville mom Wendy Welch noticed her son and some of his friends whittling sticks in the yard and wanted to find someone to teach them carving. Weiser took up the challenge. The group started with four and has had as many as 20 at a time, he said.

"They really got into it. They loved it. They didn't want to go home," he said.

During the summer, the young woodcarvers meet from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the Rubin Center and they meet at 4 p.m. Tuesdays during the school year. Welch's two sons, Jack, 13, and Brian, 10, are in it, along with her daughter, Becky, 12. Welch said she likes the intergenerational nature of the group.

"They like sharing their skill and the kids really respect them," she said. "It's nice they spend time with the kids. They're so patient."

Weiser's grandson, Jake Miklasz, 11, is part of the group, along with Ragav Sharma, 13, a three-year member.

Ragav, who has carved a sword and now is working on a duck, said he likes seeing a block of wood turn into something else.

"He (Weiser) has a solution to everything related to wood," Ragav said.

For safety's sake, Weiser teaches the young people relief carving in which they use gouges to dig out the wood to create the image, rather than have them carve with sharp knives.

Weiser, who refuses payment for teaching, supplies the wood and many of the tools, but the young people, led by Welch, have held a garage sale and worked at Naperville's Last Fling last year to raise money for supplies.

Weiser draws the image the young people want on the wood, coaches them along the way, and applies oil and wood sealer when they're done. He's encouraged them to enter their work in woodcarving shows.

"He's great. He's fun. He's really into it," Becky Welch said.

Weiser said because many woodcarvers are senior citizens, he's pleased to introduce a new generation to the hobby.

"I was amazed once I got into it how many people are into woodcarving," he said. "There are thousands and thousands of clubs."

Weiser likes to enter his work in an international show held every year in Bettenndorf, Iowa, as well as a number of other shows in Illinois.

"Every piece I've ever put in competition has won first or second prize (in its division)," he said.

Weiser, who is serving as president of the North Suburban Carvers this year, said the group will have its annual show at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in October. They also hold a spring show at Cantigny in Wheaton, and carve Christmas ornaments to raise money for charity.

Much as Weiser likes to show his work and give it to friends and family, he doesn't like to sell it even though he's been offered thousands of dollars for some pieces.

"They're like my children," he said.

A major piece takes him about four months to carve, he said. Using all hand tools, he carves two to three days a week for four or five hours at a time.

Weiser buys his wood in two-inch boards and glues it together to avoid having imperfections. Basswood is the choice material of carvers, he said.

"It has a very tight grain so it doesn't splinter when you start carving," he said.

An Oak Park resident until he moved to Naperville five years ago with his daughter and her family, Weiser spent his working career in the shoe business. But art has always been close to his heart.

His late wife, Lisabeth, painted and he did some oil painting himself when he was in his 20s. The couple belonged to the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago, and frequented art shows and galleries.

Weiser said some artistic ability is needed for woodcarving, but it's a hobby that draws people from all kinds of backgrounds. There's another quality needed by woodcarvers no matter what their artistic leanings may be, he said.

"Patience. It takes a lot of time," he said.

The North Suburban Carvers meet 6 to 9 p.m. the first and third Mondays of the month at Deer Grove Leisure Center, 1000 W. Wood St., Bensenville. The Naperville Woodcarvers adult group meets from 9 to noon Tuesdays at the Alfred Rubin Riverwalk Community Center, 305 W. Jackson St., Naperville. The Naperville Woodcarvers youth group meets from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the Rubin Center during the summer and a 4 p.m. Tuesday during the school year. For details, call Shelly Weiser at (630) 753-0017.