FEATURES Saluting the Best  By Mindy Kinsey Announcing the winners of the 2012 Best Carving Design Contest 2012 Woodcarver of the Year: By Bob Duncan Honoring the flat-plane carving pioneer for keeping a dying art alive Gifts for Carvers A handy guide to popular gifts for the carvers on your list PROJECTS Learn to Carve Low Relief By Chris Pye These progressively harder projects teach basic relief techniques Creating a Layered Relief Carving By Wayne Culley Combine individually carved layers to add depth and dimension to your work Unique Bark Houses in the Round By Rick Jensen New technique combines two pieces of bark to create freestanding carvings Whittling Lovespoons By David Western Quick and easy project makes a meaningful gift for a loved one Quick & Easy Ark Animals By Tom Hindes Use one technique to power-carve an assortment of animals two by two Creating a Tricky Troll By Floyd Rhadigan Crafty caricature hides a sinister surprise Making a Caricature Amish Man By Don Dearolf Learn to carve this iconic figure in 20 steps Quick-Carve Pumpkin House By Tim Jackson and Dennis Cabot Simple steps turn a bark house into a festive jack o’lantern Carving a Caricature Canine By Lori Dickie Use a premade blank and simple cuts to carve this adorable dog TECHNIQUES Carving a Woman’s Eyes By Ian Norbury Learn to carve these difficult but expressive features Using a Carving Arm By Laverne “Sid” Sidler How – and why – to attach a project to a carving arm