Newspapers / Olin Profile (Brevard, N.C.) / Jan. 1, 1985, edition 1 / Page 5
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Olin A Quest For Perfection Clarence Goodson is a man living with a burning challenge. He wants to carve a duck that looks so lifelike that it can’t be distinguished from the real a thing. He’s not alone in this quest. He is part of an elite society of artists who have brought to wood carving un imagined achievements in sculpturing and painting. Collectors pay five and six figure prices for the work of these artists. A single carved feather can bring $300. Up to about 10 years ago Clarence, an Engineering Technician in Film, enjoyed painting wildlife. A friend showed Clarence a carved duck he had received as a present and Clar ence thought he would try his hand. That was the end of the painting. He began carving a variety of animals and birds, but soon decided to just concentrate on ducks. Since then Clarence has bought every book written on carving. He has studied with the masters of the craft. He constantly experiments with new techniques. “I probably put 100 hours into a single duck,” Clarence explained. “I may just sit and look at a piece for a couple of hours before I take the next step. Sometimes I think I should relax and take some short cuts so I could produce more, but quality is more important to me than quantity. “That’s one reason I don’t take or ders for my carvings. I can carve what I want, when I want to. I can’t do good work unless I’m in the mood.” Clarence begins each duck by carv ing the basic pattern out of Bass Wood or Tupalow Gum. The head and the primary feathers are carved as separate items and inserted into the body. His carving tools include elec tric sanders and grinders as well as wood burning irons. Painting the duck accounts for at least half of Clarence’s time. Nine to sixteen coats of paint are applied to attain a realistic looking finish. De tails are often painted on with a pin. Clarence is a member of the presti gious Highlands Handicraft Guild. He demonstrates his craft at Guild Centers and he is working towards a show of his work. He also plans to enter one of his ducks in a national duck carvers competition where he will go up against the biggest names in the business. O Clarence says that painting the duck will take as long as the carving. Three finished ducks are displayed on antique Winches ter ammo boxes. Give Your Back A Break Ask your friend how he hurt his back and the answer is often an un- dramatic “I was getting out of bed” or “I bent over to tie my shoes” or “I was just washing my face”. It seems that none of these acts in volve putting a lot of stress on the back, but that conclusion is wrong. Every time we bend and then raise our body up right, we are asking our lower back muscles and lower spine to handle high torque forces that are multiplied by the weight of our upper body, the weight of any object being lifted and the amount of bend. The way to avoid back injury is to avoid those actions that put high for ward bending torque on the lower back. From the moment you get up in the morning until you retire you have many opportunities to give your back a break. Push yourself into a sitting position. Let the sink hold the pot while it is filling up. Pick up the baby Jflf as close to your side as possible. your back. Never pull up, always push down. Use your foot if necessary. Pull the window open behind you. If it won’t open, forget it. on Carry heavy loads on your back or in back of you. Slide a chair or carry it at your side or behind you. Balance the torque on your back by pushing with your arm. If you must shovel, shovel it backwards. Pull the garage door open behind you. Push the last few fee! at your side. Sendee Clubs 40 YEARS Drag it or carry it Lillie G. Galloway Paper Finishing 30 YEARS Adam Justice Paper Maintenance Harold E. Searcy Gum, Repse, Reaming 25 YEARS Charles E. Hudson Shipping & Receiving James W. Owen Winding & Calendering John H. Corhn, Jr. Machines 1-9 On The Move C. Greg Johnson has been employed as a printing ink supervisor. Johnson was employed with Daniels Packaging Co., Inc., in Hen dersonville prior to joining Olin.
Olin Profile (Brevard, N.C.)
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Jan. 1, 1985, edition 1
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