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CCA 2005 National Caricature Carving Competition

The 2005 National Caricature Carving Competition sponsored by the Caricature Carvers of America and Dollywood Theme Park in Pigeon Forge, TN is now history. Fall in the southern Appalachian Mountains, and close to 134 caricature carvings under one roof - what could be better? The collection of carvings was on display from September 23rd and through the month of October for the Dollywood Fall Festival.

Best-of-Show - The National Competition seems to improve every year and this was certainly no exception. Perennial entrant and frequent blue ribbon winner Floyd Rhadigan of Saline, MI claimed Best-of-Show with "The Road to Mirth & Happiness". We received a nice e-mail from Floyd in which he said this was the "Biggest thing in his carving career". Of course, we all assumed Floyd was referring to the ribbon and trophy rather than the $500 award.

Second Best-of Show ($400) went to Paul Enochs, Carrollton, IL for "Felt a Drop, Must be Going to Rain". We were pleased that Paul entered the competition this year. Many of us remember some great carvings that he did several years ago, but then he seemed to drop out of sight. Welcome back Paul.

Len Hill, Medway, MA was awarded Third Best-of-Show ($300) for his "Dancing Monk". Gene Fuller, Boise, ID claimed Fourth Best-of-Show ($200) with his "Apple Carver". (Special congratulations to Gene as he, and Joe Schumacher, was elected to membership into the CCA at the annual meeting held in conjunction with the competition.) Doug Wilson, Keller, TX took home the Fifth Best-of-Show ribbon and $100 for "Smokin' Sam". The Caricature Carvers of America wish to extend congratulations to each of these carvers.

Others on the winners' list were:

• Single Human under 7": Werner Bock, Ron Boone, Dee Halbrook, Jimmy Bates Jr., Edsel Johnson
• Single Human under 7" in a Scene: Chet Blay 1st and 5th, Floyd Rhadigan, Werner Bock, Jim O'Harra
• Single Human 7"-15": Gene Fuller 1st and 2nd, Werner Bock, Phil LaGreco 4th and 5th
• Single Human 7"-15" in a Scene: Bob Maiers, Robert Sorensen, Doug Wilson, Floyd Rhadigan, Rusty Johnson
• Single Human over 15": Bob Maiers, Carole Jean Boyd.
• Single Animal: Bruce Futterer, Bruce Henn 2nd and 3rd.
• Group Animal: Floyd Rhadigan, Paul Enochs, Bob Maiers, Roger Newhouse, Ed Paulsen
• Human: Phil LaGreco, Linda Langenburg Curtis, Edsel Johnson, Ron Boone, Werner Bock
• Mixed: Len Hill, Wayne Shinlever, John Anderson, Rusty Johnson, P. J. Driscoll.
• Relief : Bruce Futterer 1st and 3rd, Carole Jean Boyd, Bruce Henn, Werner Bock.
• Bust/Head/Mask: Gene Fuller 1st and 2nd, Wayne Shinlever 3rd and 4th, Carole Jean Boyd.
• Miniature: Doug Wilson, Rusty Johnson, Wayne Shinlever, Mitchell Cartledge 4th and 5th.
• Miscellaneous: Wayne Shinlever 1st and 3rd and 4th, Bob Maiers, Doug Wilson.
• Rough-out: Mitchell Cartledge, Jim O'Harra, Bruce Futterer, Mark Akers 4th and 5th.

The judges had their say - then the people spoke. Each exhibit visitor was asked to vote for their favorite carving. This year the people selected "Old Man with Cane" by Ron Boone, Gardner, MA for the People's Choice award.

One hundred thirty four carvings entered in the competition this year and of those sixty-five carvings were awarded ribbons. There were 14 blue ribbon winners ($100) and 14 red ribbon winners ($50). To each of the entrants we offer a special thank you: it is you who make this competition a success. To the rest of you caricature carvers out there we wish to extend an invitation to join the fun next year. The competition will return to Dollywood in 2006. There is no entry fee so the only expense you will incur is the shipping charge. Start planning your entry now so when September rolls around you will be ready to compete. The deadline for entries in 2006 is September 11th. Watch the CCA web site www.cca-carvers.org for the entry form and competition guidelines.

The CCA Annual Exhibit is always included as part of the month-long competition festivities. The CCA Train made its debut this year. The 1880's era western train includes an engine and tender, boxcar, passenger car, log car, and caboose. Unfortunately the airline lost the log car so it is not included in the exhibit. The good news is that they found it a couple weeks later, in excellent condition, so it will be displayed next year. The train measures about 15 feet in length. In addition the display includes about 40 carvings by CCA members. The average figure height is seven inches. As the train was being set up there were numerous comments about what was missing. Everyone had at least one suggestion, and most had several, so we will display the train again at the 2006 Competition with even more carvings. We will share more train photos in a future article.