Bob Deibert, Roy Hanks and their friends use knives and gouges to make wood come to life. Deibert carves faces. Hanks makes Santa Clauses and Christmas tree ornaments.

Their works will be among the wooden art on display during the Cornbelt Carving Club's 8th annual Sculptures in Wood gathering Saturday and May 18 at the Challenger Learning Center at the old Central Illinois Regional Airport property on Illinois 9 east in Bloomington.

The club based, in Bloomington, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

"Bob is one of the founders. We call him 'Grandpa,' " Hanks said.

At 73, Deibert is a longtime past president of the club and current member of the board. He was just a little shaver when he started carving as a Cub Scout. He made a deer, which he still has. Years later, he was in his mid-30s when he saw an announcement about a wood carvers' class Harry Riddle was teaching for an adult education program for Bloomington High School. Deibert went with his buddy from work, Davie Griffith.

Students were grouped according to their abilities. Beginners worked at one table, advanced carvers worked at the other. Deibert liked the arrangement. He could look over to people who had a better grasp of the art and see what was possible if he stayed with it.

"It was an inspiration," he said.

He first carved an egg, then a face in the egg. He still has that piece, too. His next project was a relief sign with words telling about "God's gift to you is who you are, your gift to God is what you make of yourself."

Today, he still spends six to eight hours a week in his basement workshop.

"Not as much during golf season," he said with a grin.

The wood itself, its grain, its cracks and its contours guide the direction of his work. He'll carve for a while until he gets bored or until he reaches a point he is unclear what to do next. That's when it's time to set it down for a while, he said.

With the faces Deibert carves, the features are shaped from the light grain of basswood or butternut, a cousin of black walnut. He prefers basswood, a lighter wood, because carvers depend on shadows to give each face character. He also carves animals, and he works with clay and "dabbles" with watercolors.

Hanks, who is chairman of the Sculptures in Wood event, was self-taught. His daughter was a little girl when she wanted some toy farm animals, so dad cut some with a saw. They looked flat and lifeless to him. So, he began rounding off the edges to make them look more realistic. He was soon putting a twist in the pig's tail.

"I just played around with it," said Hanks, who first joined the Illini Carvers club, which is based in Champaign where he lived at the time.

He started picking up more ideas from other carvers. He eventually began carving Santas after seeing a picture of a carved Claus holding a goose in the pages of a woodworking magazine. Later, he saw another carved Santa wearing a sailor hat in the pages of a sailing magazine. Family members are the usual recipients of his work, though a six-piece set of his ornaments will be among raffle prizes next weekend.

He's also helped club members carve totem poles, an ancient carving art form. One is on display at State Farm Park in Bloomington. Like him, several members were and are employees of the company. Another totem went to a hunting lodge in Pennsylvania. A third is under construction. It's bound for one of Hanks' friends in Missouri.

The club has only a couple dozen members. The Sculpture of Wood is one of its annual ways to reach out to attract more. The Cornbelt Carving Club also hosts a wood-carving course every spring through Bloomington Parks & Recreation Department at Lincoln Leisure Center.

The only tool that's really needed for the work is a knife with an 1¼ fixed blade, which sells for $10. More advanced carvers pick up a few gouges, or they wait until someone makes gifts of them on Father's Day. Some wood carvers work with power tools, but they aren't needed.

The club has a special presentation each year when an expert carver teaches a series of seminars.

Asked how carvers create such beauty from wood, Deibert first told how wood and clay differ. With clay, he starts from scratch and builds something. With wood, he starts with a block, sees what it could become and carves the waste off. To illustrate further, he repeated an old joke about what a carver once said when asked how to carve a bear;

"You take the wood and look at it, and anything that doesn't look like a bear, you cut it away."

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If you go

What: Sculptures in Wood, a presentation of the Corn Belt Carving Club

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. May 18

Where: Challenger Learning Center, Illinois 9 east, Bloomington

What it is: A chance for the public to see wood carvings the club members have done. Some are offered for sale. The event also includes a raffle featuring duck decoys, Christmas ornaments and a wooden plate.

Meetings: Club meetings are 7 to 9 p.m. the third Thursday of each month at the Normal Township Building. Agendas include brief business meetings followed by a carving demonstration. Dues are $15 per family per year.

More information: Mike Hartzler, president, at (309) 662-4276 or visit www,cornbeltcarving.org