An interesting story submitted by David Calvo:

Hello, Mr. Calvo.  

I’m Jason Chu, living in Korea.

I took your one-week class in 2015. Do you remember?

Your teaching was excellent, and I’m grateful.

And the beautiful scenery of Gloucester was so inspiring and unforgettable.

I still enjoy woodcarving. However, it’s hard to find people in Korea who enjoy it as a hobby.  So, I set up a small workshop in my home and work alone. Last year, I entered my woodcarving work for the first time in a local art competition and was honored to receive a special award. This December, I’ll be holding my first woodcarving exhibition. This is my first exhibition. I’m not a professional artist, but an amateur, so I’m not looking to make money.

I want to introduce people to woodcarving through this exhibition. So, the provincial government provided a small grant to hold this exhibition.

I’m 69 years old. My eyesight is deteriorating, so it’s going to be increasingly difficult for me to continue woodcarving. How many more years will I be able to continue?

I’m sending you a photo of my special award piece. In Korea, there’s a folk belief that tying dried pollack with a string wards off misfortune and brings good luck. So, I carved dried pollack out of wood. I’m sending you a few more pieces of my work and some photos I took there 10 years ago.

I’ve been receiving your emails with pleasure. Your emails bring back memories of that time there 10 years ago. I hope your workshop attracts many students and your classes are enjoyable.

I wish you continued health and happiness. And please give my regards to the owner of “The Colonial Inn,” where I stayed. I still remember his kindness and hospitality.

Regards, from Korea

Jason Chu

And more from David on background:

Here is the back story on Jason chu

Jason Chu 나무방 came all the way from South Korea (a two-day flight) to take a workshop. His son contacted me and said my father has wanted to learn woodcarving from you but he can’t speak English. He said, “is that going to be a problem?” I told him no, I don’t need words to teach him. He said “okay, I will sign him up.” So his father got his plane tickets and showed up on the first day of class. He did great in the workshop and he managed to learn everything through hand demonstrations. On his last day, he had a car service pick him up to drive him to the airport for his flight back to South Korea. As he was driving away, he stuck his head and hand out the window, looked back, waived and yelled “Bye Calvo” that was his english.