By Misty Humes Valestin
Note: Misty Valestin is the new president of the Scrollsaw Association of the World (SAW). She recently participated in one of Judy’s beginner intarsia classes and shared her insider view of the experience with us.
On Wednesday morning, the first day of class, it was a little intimidating to walk into Judy’s studio and see her amazing work. If you ever get a chance, stop in to visit her and just look around; you will not be disappointed. As I walked back to the classroom and workshop area, I was hoping and praying that I could do this. I … was nervous. But it didn’t take long for Judy to make me feel right at home. It was Judy’s 17th summer teaching her intarsia school, so she has learned what works and what doesn’t.
This class started with Judy teaching us some basics. Then, we went to our stations, which had an Excalibur scroll saw, a flex drum sander, and a Wonder Wheel. She provides all of the supplies you need. We picked out our wood, put our pattern on the wood, and cut it out to finish Day 1.
On Day 2, we began to shape and make our trigger fish come to life. We had a special visit from Ray Seymore and his wife, along with Steve Good. They brought their new scroll saw for us to watch a demonstration. Spectacular. Ray and Steve are such nice people. But even with all of that going on, Judy kept us on a tight schedule. She had every minute of each class well thought out, and we followed her schedule. We left that day with our fish really coming to life.
Day 3 started with learning how to finish our fish and fine-tune whatever you had left. Some people left just after lunch, but several of us stayed and soaked up all we could from a great artist and teacher. How often do you get that kind of time with an expert? I don’t think I could put a price tag on the precious time Judy gives to each one of her students. Judy Gale Roberts is a gem and a true asset to the scroll sawing community.
