Classical Wood Carving Class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking, Indiana, July 12-16, 2027

Alexander Grabovetskiy teaches a five-day classical wood carving class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Franklin, Indiana, Monday, July 12 to Friday, July 16, 2027. The course title, tuition and registration are not posted yet, and Marc Adams lists its 2027 brochure as coming soon.

The video at the top was filmed in one of my Grinling Gibbons style classes in Franklin. Fourteen of my students talk in it, in their own words. It is also on YouTube.

What you want to know	The answer
Dates	Monday, July 12 to Friday, July 16, 2027
Length	Five full days at the bench
Place	Marc Adams School of Woodworking, 5504 E 500 N, Franklin, IN 46131
Level	My classes there usually mix beginners and experienced carvers
Course title and tuition	Waiting on Marc Adams
Registration	Through Marc Adams, not open yet
School phone	(317) 535-4013

Have you ever wanted one week where nobody needs you, the phone stays in the truck, and all you do is carve? Would it help to have someone standing at your bench the moment the grain tears out? And if your hands could learn one leaf the old way, the way carvers did it three hundred years ago, would you give it five days in July?

Then keep July 12 open.

Why do people call Marc Adams a fantasy camp?

Joe, a student in that video, called it "Marc Adams Woodworking fantasy camp" on camera, and he was not joking much. Bill, out of Wichita, Kansas, has been coming to the school for about 25 years. Keith is from Greenwood and joked about his "real long trip," about 15 minutes. A man named Roy is from Kingsport, Tennessee, and told the camera he has been in art for all his life, 77 years.

Marc Adams is in Franklin, Indiana, about 20 miles south of Indianapolis. Roy liked the clean air. Keith liked the lunches. Me, I like the benches, and the fact that everything you need is already in the room.

Many years ago Marc Adams invited me to teach. I was terrified of my English. I said yes anyway, and I fell in love with teaching in that room. Since then I have taught more than twenty classes there, and I keep coming back year after year.

What will you carve in July?

I'm going to be honest with you, I don't know yet. Every class carves a different project, and it is never the same, because people come back year after year, class after class. One year it was flowers in the style of Grinling Gibbons, who carved in England in the late 1600s and whose leaves and flowers look like they could move. Other classes carved an acanthus leaf, or grapes, or hazelnuts. For a Fundamentals class I planned French style work, a ribbon with a shell and the French acanthus leaf, which is probably the most complex acanthus in history.

The exact course for July 2027 has not been announced. But I can guarantee you this: whatever the project turns out to be, it will teach you the techniques. In my 2026 class there we started the first morning with sharpening, and then we carved. You learn to see the carving in 3D before the first chip comes off, how to hold the gouge so it slices and does not crush, and what to do when the grain changes direction halfway through a leaf.

If you want to see what Gibbons work takes before July, the Grinling Gibbons class I filmed in Maine is online as a full course. For the leaf itself, start with Carving Corinthian Acanthus Leaf.

Is a five-day class too hard for a beginner?

It is hard. I won't lie to you. But my classes there take beginners along with every other level, and I usually have a mixed group.

Kelly came to my class as her first woodcarving class ever. Somebody told her she was going to cry at some point that week. She said it on camera:

"I'm not crying over the woodworking. I'm probably going to cry, though, that it's over soon."

Susan Porter thought she would be intimidated and "fall flat on my face." She didn't. Ryan put it in one line, "I went from not being able to carve to carving this."

And for the ones who already carve, the room has plenty to chew on. Steve had never heard of Grinling Gibbons before he signed up, and he said that name would probably haunt him for the rest of his life. Gary from Illinois was in his fourth class with me.

What do students say after a week of carving with me?

I have filmed my students there for years. Here are three more of those videos, one each for 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Donny came in as what he called a brand new carver. His only carving before that week was a couple of turkeys at Thanksgiving dinner. He said one thing I like: "long after you forget the cost you'll always remember the skills and the experience." Kevin, a first-time carver in the same class, was not looking forward to the week at all, because his previous turn at carving, back in seventh grade, put a hole through his thumb. At the end he reported no bleeding and no injuries, "but the day is not over yet."

In 2021 every student got three pieces of wood, carved each layer a different way and stacked them into one panel. One student came in as a beginner carver and said that now, after one week, it felt like being "an intermediate carver." Another sent a photo home, and the answer came back, "oh what a beautiful carving."

In 2020 we carved hazelnuts. I grew up in Russia, where the hazelnut was a big deal, and in America most people think only of the coffee flavor, or chocolate with hazelnut. Richard was in his fourth year with me and worked on making the branches airborne. A first-time carver said seeing in 3D felt like "driving through the fog in the morning," where you can see just a little bit.

How do Marc Adams students rate the class on Google?

Here are three of the students who named Marc Adams in their Google reviews. Their words, not mine, and not one letter changed.

"Alexander Grabovetskiy's woodcarving course at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking was a fantastic experience. The project was a super challenging design based on a Grinling Gibbons work- complete with several types of flower (many with airborne stems), leaves, and buds. At first, it looks impossible, but with Alex's clear step by step instructions it all becomes possible."

Michael R., Google review

"I went from knowing next to nothing about carving to carving a gorgeous shell, and I loved every second of it. Alexander is one of the best teachers I have ever had, very supportive and encouraging, but demanding enough to really help you make progress."

Masha D., Google review

"I took Alexander's class in person at the Marc Adam's School of Woodworking. He is an excellent and engaging teacher. I managed to carve a 3D image for the first time with his instruction."

Lupe N., Google review

What do you need to bring?

The 2027 tool list is not out yet. For my July 2026 class there, my event page listed seven Swiss made gouges, sweep number first, then the width.

Sweep	Tool	Width	About, in inches
#11	veiner	1 mm	1/32 inch
#11	veiner	3 mm	1/8 inch
#2	gouge	12 mm	1/2 inch
#7	gouge	14 mm	9/16 inch
#9	gouge	10 mm	3/8 inch
#9	gouge	20 mm	3/4 inch
#8	spoon gouge	7 mm	9/32 inch

Wait for the 2027 list before you buy. If you have other carving tools, bring them, they never hurt. In 2026 the first morning went to sharpening, so a dull tool is not a reason to stay home.

Who is teaching the class?

My name is Alexander Grabovetskiy. My great-grandfather made Chippendale style furniture in mahogany, so wood came to me in the family. When I was six I took my grandfather's chisel and ruined it on a brick. I was 16 when I became the only apprentice of a fine art master in Russia, and he taught me to think like a tool.

I came to America as a refugee in 1996 with no English. Later I built a woodworking company in Indiana and Michigan, then sold the machines to carve full time. In 2012 the Woodworkers Institute named me International Woodcarver of the Year. The panel was called Wall Decoration. And in 2017 I opened the School of Woodcarving online, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that helps orphans and widows. The full story, the hard parts too, is on my about page.

Gerry Michaud from Cincinnati has taken class after class with me there. He is a professor emeritus of design, and in the video he says it better than I can: "if you really want to carve, take this class and take it more than once."

How do you get a seat?

Registration for 2027 opens on the school's own site, and right now it says the brochure is coming soon. Keep an eye on my page on the Marc Adams site. Watch the Marc Adams home page too.

Some of my in-person classes have sold out in eight minutes. So if you already know you want this week, check that page often, and if you have a question before then, write to me with the button on this page.

Shall we carve?

Can't make July? I teach a five-day class at Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute in Adrian, Michigan, October 11 to 15, 2027. Every date I teach in person is on the workshops page.