THE ARTFORM OF WOODEN PADDLES
Local artists decorate replica paddles manufactured by Kirtland Community College Wood Science Technology students New paddle partners have come together to support the AuSable River Canoe Marathon. Students and faculty from the Kirtland Community College Wood Science Technology program worked last semester on crafting replica wooden paddles and paddle-shaped keychains, which were then decorated by local artists to reflect the spirit of the marathon and northern Michigan. The paddles will be on display in Grayling and Oscoda throughout the summer before being auctioned off to provide financial support for the marathon. Approximately 20 replica, scaled-down paddles were crafted from locally milled lumber—white cedar, red pine, red oak and soft maple. Students used CNC router technology with traditional woodworking tools to manufacture the paddles, which were then turned over to local artists. From there, the artists decorated the paddles with paintings, carvings or any medium the artist selected, and all paddles required a custom mounting tool from the artist. Wood Science Technology Instructor Randi Dodgson even made a paddle of her own, and is one of the featured artists. “I made my paddle doing a geometric end-grain pattern,” she said. “I used scrap generated from the other paddles manufactured by the students.”
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73rd Annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon
