Son of the Ottawa by Neil Z Cox

At the moment the best-of-show carving was crowned at the International Woodcarvers Congress, held June 19-22 in Davenport, Iowa, the entire crowd broke into a rousing rendition of Oh, Canada. Well, that’s not exactly true, but everyone was really excited when Canadian Neil Z. Cox took top honors at the 31st annual Congress. His exquisite carving entitled “Son of the Ottawa” (see cover) garnered the top prize of $1,500 cash from Henry Taylor Tools, and an additional $1,000 check from Nancy and John Burke’s Western Woodcarvers.

First runner-up honors went to perennial favorite Fred Cogelow of Willmar, Minn., for his multi-faceted carving entitled “Don’t Look Like Much of a Horse.” Fellow Minnesotan Marv Kaisersatt gained hero status among caricature carvers when his humorous depiction of construction work aptly named “The Oops Side Has Its Downslide” was declared second runner-up to best-of-show.

In all, the ’97 International Woodcarvers Congress awarded a record $21,000 in cash and prizes, thanks to the generosity of AWC sponsors and supporters.
— Photos by Marc Featherly

This article, pictures of the carvings mentioned here, and MUCH more can be found in Chip Chats Volume 44, Issue #5.