In the recent prestigious Southern Southwest Woodcarvers Association People’s Choice show Rob Arnberger’s Red-tailed Hawk, “Regal Red-Tail”, took the most honors for a single carving in the entire show. The realistic life size carving mounted on a mesquite branch with a red Arizona flagstone base took First Place in Realistic Carving in the Round. Then the carving was voted First Place in the People’s Choice award granted by the hundreds of viewers attending the show at Tucson’s Foothills Mall. The carving also won First Place in the Carver’s Choice category…a voting reserved for carving club members who are all expert carvers in their own right. This year was the first year in a long time that the same carving was selected for both the People’s Choice and Carver’s Choice awards for this show. The incredibly detailed carving was a unanimous selection by both the public and the club carvers as the blue ribbon winner far outdistancing other contenders.

Rob noted that “it is incredibly rewarding to have both the public and knowledgeable carvers vote for this carving as the best in the show and recognized the hundreds of hours involved in creating this piece.”

At the recent Southwest Woodcarvers Association People’s Choice woodcarving show held at Tucson’s Foothills Mall, Rob Arnberger’s caricature carving won honors. Titled, “Forget about Rise and Shine” showing a couple having their morning coffee and perhaps ”wondering how they ended up with one another after all these years”, won 2nd Place in the Caricature Carving-in–the-Round category and was then voted 2nd best in the Carver’s Choice category. Arnberger noted that “I had a lot of fun carving this couple and got a lot of advice from my wife about how to make the carving interesting and appreciate my fellow expert carvers recognizing the work that went into the piece.”

In the recent Southwest Woodcarvers Association People’s Choice show held at Tucson’s Foothills Mall Rob Arnberger’s entry titled “Feliz Navidad” won top honors in the Holiday Category and then was voted 3rd place for the People’s Choice Award. The carving shows a Mexican Santa carrying a small piñata and seemed to capture the essence of the holiday season from another culture. The award winning Mexican Santa has found its home in Elvira Arnberger’s Santa collection carved for her each Christmas by Rob.