Hi, My name is Joel. I live in Montana. I started Chip carving in 1989 through encouragement of a friend. I viewed a Wayne Barton VHS and through help of my friend literally ate it up. In the process of a couple of years I carved lots of practice boards, about 2 dozen plates — various sizes and configurations, a few picture frames, and several boxes, and some other odds and ends. The past 20 years LIFE happened and I haven’t done much carving at all. Recently I have become interested in getting with the program again. Recently I purchased the Platinum Diamond kit and want to get started again. I have read almost all of Marty’s book and realize how much I need to get back to the basics again. I have valued greatly reading and dreaming about possibilities, but at the same time realized that I have developed many bad habits. I am looking forward to walking through the Essentials Course as time permits to jump start things again.