Mike Denaro, wood carver

Photo by Ewa Rumprecht

Mike Denaro of Oyster Bay considers himself a folk artist. Carving is not his only artistic form of expression; Mike also does floor cloth, stained glass, and plays fiddle in his free time.

Mike, a second grade teacher, is a trained horticulturalist and confirmed nature lover. He walks in the woods at least once a week; couple of times a year he joins the organized trips of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the oldest conservation club in America, as a backpack leader.

An avid fishermen, he was not willing to shell out a large amounts of money on fishing decoys; got himself a piece of wood and a knife and carved his first decoy. Eventually his ice fishing decoys won prizes at juried shows. There is a science to making ice fishing decoys - lead is inserted into the belly to keep the wooden decoy fully immersed; it must sit in water horizontally like a live fish would.

Photo by Ewa Rumprecht

In the years that followed Mike's subjects varied from Americana, Christmas ornaments, fiddles to walking sticks.

He uses mostly basswood, but also butternut, dogwood, mountain laurel, and Eastern red cedar if he finds it during his rambles. He likes wormy wood, he feels it has more character. Mike applies colors rather sparingly and washes it out a lot to allow the grain to show a bit. The final coat is of floor wax, clearer or darker depending on the piece. In general, he prefers matted look; shine on the handles of his walking sticks comes from buffing the wax.

With the exception of a band saw to cut wood, all carving is done by hand. Mike prefers to work with knives over gouges which, technically speaking, makes his art whittling and not carving. Whatever the technicalities, the end results are captivating.



You will get a chance to meet Mike at the store on Saturday, March 12th, between 10 am and 12:30 pm, when he will be one of the instructors at the Introduction to Wood Carving event.

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Wood carving by Don Dailey

Photo by Ewa Rumprecht

Don Dailey's carving adventure started with his obsession with Rock and Roll - his first carvings were of electric guitars. It seems quite common for creative folks to develop interests in many branches of art. His involvement with music continued. Don, a composer, Emmy award winner for music for All My Children, creator of a meditation CD Inner Aura (with his long-time friend M.B. Gordy), is still frequently engaged in music post-production.

Photo by Ewa Rumprecht

In his professional life of a cabinet maker he became well acquainted with wood and its qualities. A subscription to Fine Woodworking magazine opened his eyes to other creative uses of wood. He experimented with wood sculpture by so called woodworm method, he drilled random holes in a chunk of wood and then discovered where wood would take him.

As a scout master of a local troop in Huntington he teaches scouts to carve safely. As a demonstration, he frequently makes neckerchief slides for the scouts, the hand grenade shaped one never fails to amuse.

Photo by Ewa Rumprecht

Don creates various figurines like the wizard displayed in the photo on the left. Our store carries his Santas and other Christmas ornaments in season and we currently display his gnomes and birds.

Don carves in basswood and except for the rough work uses mostly hand tools. He strives to have his carving come off the tool. Sharp tools are his mantra.

Don's output increased greatly since he built himself a portable working table allowing him to carve outside his workshop. He now carves while he watches tv or relaxes on his porch on a summer evening.



Don started a blog The Sunday Woodcarver where he describes his creative process, tools, and techniques. He will be one of the instructors at the Introduction to Wood Carving event at the store on Saturday, March 12th, between 10 am and 12:30 pm.

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Knitting, weaving, spinning, instruction, fun

We had an excellent time at our Long Island Knits event today. Our guests, Donna Lee Trunk, Carrie Wood, and Theresa Wasserman, were busy giving instructions and explaining the work required to make the beautiful woven, knitted, spun or crocheted things they do.

It was great having the three ladies and other guests at one table. Aside from expert instructions, the ladies were fun! We were occasionally surprising the Buckingham shoppers with outbursts of laughter. And why not?

Carrie took her spinning wheel outside; passersby were curious to see the demonstration, we even had one man try his hand at spinning. Jolanta and a few guests joined Carrie with their work on the sidewalk.

Hope you will enjoy the photos from the event.

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Long Island knits

Saturday, November 13th, between 11 am and 3 pm

Come join us with your yarn and needles at the Think Long Island First store in Oyster Bay on Saturday, November 13th, between 11 am and 3 pm.

Knit alongside the three accomplished Long Island knitters - Donna Lee Trunk of Shoreham, Carrie Wood of Baldwin and Theresa Wasserman of Hicksville.

See the yarns transformed into wonderful, warm, decorative wearables.

Take this opportunity to stock up on hats, scarves, handbags, etc.

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