Review of Tamaree Littlefield’s getting started carving and engraving class

About two years ago my husband gave me my own Turbo 300 high-speed hand piece for carving and engraving. I was very surprised that he did this because my only carving experience up to that point was when Keith Hone put me to work carving a turkey egg even after I adamantly insisted that I only wanted to watch everyone else carve! I think my husband felt a little guilty that he was the only one having “fun” carving, hence I got my own hand piece and what a great investment this has been.

I still considered myself a novice when Tamaree Littlefield told me

Wine glass engraving

that she was teaching at Hone Studio and asked if I would be interested. Are you kidding? Would I be interested? I jumped at this opportunity to learn from Tamaree.

Tamaree knows the high-speed hand piece inside and out! I had taken my hand piece apart before but I had no idea what I was looking at or if I was taking care of it the right way. Tamaree explained the different parts, proper care, and what to watch out for. I did not realize that this particular high-speed hand piece (the Turbo 300) can be repaired or rebuilt and Tamaree does a lot of the repairs herself. However, she’s also like the lonely Maytag repair person, since many hand pieces have been working forever, or at least decades without a repair.

My first experiences with the new high-speed hand piece were on a few wood projects, but working on glass made me very uncomfortable. What I discovered by taking Tamaree’s class is that if you are just starting or already have some experience, you can gain confidence quickly with the right teacher while exploring how to carve many types of materials. Tamaree shares her knowledge about carving or engraving on the different types and qualities of woods, the different types and qualities of glass, metal, eggshells, stone, etc. With Tamaree’s knowledge and patient teaching, I got over my jitters working on glass and was able to take home a couple of nice-looking glass projects.

Engraving on Balsamic Vinegar Bottle

It would be next to impossible to collect all the materials, bits, and patterns that are used in Tamaree’s class and try to teach yourself the carving techniques on your own. Just the carving materials alone that are provided and covered by Tamaree’s in-depth knowledge make it worth taking a class. When you add the expert instruction from Tamaree on which bits to use for a particular purpose, and the step-by-step carving processes, you’ll wonder why you didn’t sign up for a class sooner.

There are so many ideas that come from being exposed to all the different materials you can use for carving and engraving with a high-speed hand piece. Tamaree’s class unlocks the doors of opportunity and gets your creativity flowing. If you are a power carver and have been thinking about taking a class at Hone Studio, I recommend that you put Tamaree’s class at the top of your wish list and then immediately start planning how you are going to make a ‘Tamaree class’ at Hone Studio your reality.