The Nye's

Sally and David Nye (classes broken up into ½ day segments) Class: Wednesday, 9/19/07:  9:00-noon: Carving a fan bird Dove Class: Wednesday, 9/19/07: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm: Carving a fan butterfly Class: Thursday, 9/20/07: 9:00-noon: Carving a fan tailed humming bird Tools needed: Flexcut pelican knife, 3-inch drawknife, scorps. Bring whatever tools you have. Loaner tools available for the students: Minimum/maximum students: 12 students max. Material fee: $6.00 per blank Level: any level including beginners Web site: http://www.FanCarversWorld.com

Sally and David Nye are world renowned for their determination to preserve fan-carving.  This Old World folk art is the process of riving long-fibered wood and then fanning it to create a three-dimensional design. The most common design is the fan bird.  It is also known on the European continent as the bird-of-inspiration or the dove-of-peace.  Fan-carving is almost a lost art.  The Nye’s became captivated by the fan bird when they saw one in the 1990’s.  Thus, began their extensive research that has taken them through much of Europe and Scandinavia.  By working with universities and museum curators, they found that fan-carving dates back to the 1600’s. In some parts of Europe, fan-carving is so lost that the Nye’s find themselves in the unique position of teaching these people their own heritage about the fan bird.