228. Cottonwood bark and Caricature carving. Progress.
Cottonwood bark and caricatures fit together. The second and third pieces have appeared in earlier posts. They are here for comparison. The first picture below was done early in my bark carving. It is in a piece of cottonwood bark found on the lake shore. Pieces two and three were scrounged years later.
Comparisons tell a story of progress. The first piece is rather thin, found at a time when I didn’t have much wood and anything might do. Also, in trying to avoid the weak crack in the piece, the face is placed far too low in the overall piece. Placing it higher or moving hair or hat higher on the wood, may have helped. Another point of progress is seen when comparing is the depth and quality of the cuts made. The first piece lacks shadows and movement which you see in the other carvings.
What else can you find when you compare these carvings? What about comparing your early and later work? Where have you improved?
Shalom.
“Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.” Proverbs 23:12
224. Cottonwood bark. Rustic Cabin
I still like carving bark. This piece was finished early 2018. The richness of the coloring, the rugged feel of the uncut bark, the flow of stairs and arches, and the quaint cottage crowning the piece all add up to a pleasing presentation.
Pictures five and six, closeups, are included to give a better view of the cracked and creviced surface of bark. At times one has to glue chunks back on in order to maintain some of the work completed or the flow of a piece. At other times pieces fall off and one is forced to rethink design to the improvement of the final piece.
Shalom.
“Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.” Prov 22:29
212. Relief Carving. Sailor in bark 1.2.
Here he is, completed. First cuts are in post 210. I remind you of one of my bark carving goals, keep enough bark visible to show that it isn’t a machine made piece and to give good contrast to the carved parts. The contrast adds interest and strengthens the piece.
Once the carving was finished it was painted with an acrylic paint wash, diluted about 15 drops of water to one drop of paint. That is, except for the white, which is put on nearly solid. The skin of the sailor is left natural bark color with a rose blush for a more weathered look.
I like this piece. It fits the wood block well. It also seems to sit well into the wood. One can almost imagine the uncarved bark as Grand Banks mist wrapping around this sailor from the “We’re Here.” Kipling might even have recognized him. (See post 210).
Shalom.
“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Prov 16:24
210 Relief Carving. Sailor in bark 1.1.
Have I told you I like Rudyard Kipling’s story, “Captains Courageous. I think I have. But is such a good story, read it more than once. Actually maybe 10 times. This sailor is partly my imagination of what one of the sailors on the “We’re Here” would look like. No sword scar (if you recall the story), but a weathered, leathered look none the less.
Cottonwood bark. Shallow, or not much depth to the wood, so getting perspective can be tricky. The early stages he didn’t look so good. The final, painted version came out nicely. Here are six shots of the work in progress. Somewhere in the next posts I will show the finished work. Keep on crafting.
Shalom.
“The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction.” Prov 16:21
205 Places to go, blogs to read
Found this site which recommends list of blogs for wood people. The list has some good suggestions which might catch your attention. Full carving, turning, chip carving, spoons, decorative arts, and tools were represented.
Do you have an other links you could share?
Shalom.
This carving, my own, is not in any of the blogs cited in the site, but it’s a sight. I like “Ed”.
“The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.” Prov 15:27
171 Cottonwood bark. Two faces, not two-faced.
Attached are pictures of two human faces in cottonwood bark. I love the freedom of carving in bark, the freedom to capture faces that belong to no one, yet are pleasing to everyone. You may notice, if you look through the posts found here,or on my Pinterest account (john Klompmaker), that there are very few sad, depressed, or snarling faces. Not because I don’t know how, but because I choose not to. Our world is filled with enough evil, enmity, envy and the like. My carvings need not add to the wicked or depressing side of things. So, enjoy the smiles below.
Shalom.
“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” Prov 12:11
97 carving ideas
I am always looking for carving ideas. Now that I almost always have an iPad with me it is easier to capture some of them quickly. This photo hangs in a hallway in my Uncle Georg’s house in western Germany. What caught my attention was the roof lines and the texture the artist shows us. Having done many roofs, what I note is shapes and shadows. Also, on the building to the right, my eye is caught by the strong line near the top denoting the final layer of thatch. The question is then, how can that be replicated in wood. Which tool works best, what will be the most efficient way to make those cuts. For anyone who has not carved, part of the issue is the direction ones cut, up from the bottom of the roof or down from the top. Experimental cuts need to be made to determine what happens to grain wood, how the grain reacts.
Sorry about the quality of this photo. However, for my purposes, this is good enough. What is appealing to me is the roof lines of the buildings, how they sit together, the shadows, and how the artist has created texture. While the photo is fuzzy, the relationship between the buildings is strong enough to be appealing. Hope you have some ideas to share. Or, if you use some ideas from these pictures I would love to see them.
Shalom.
Comfort, comfort my people says your God. Isaiah 40:1
#70 Not wood stuff: Anyone know anyone?
Something to look at
This will be a short post:
I am not sure how to state it. Seems a bit …..well not sure…..you tell me.
I am hoping to increase my subscriber list. I would like to share carvings, carving ideas, carving talk, cool wood and wood stories with more folks. But always, how to get the word out? Could you help? Many of you have stated how much you enjoy the posts – all 70 of them. Would you be willing to invite others to subscribe? Wasn’t hard for you was it? Still looking? Enjoying? Please, consider which of your friends might also be interested. Thank you for your time and effort.
Shalom.
Ask me what happened.
There is a carving idea this photo somewhere. What can you suggest?
“What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.” Proverbs 19:22
#62 Wood carving: More bark houses, cotton wood bark.
Bark house with deep fissure
One of the joys of carving bark is dealing with what each piece of bark brings to the table. The challenge, always, is finding ways to incorporate the natural features into the finished piece. In this piece of bark we have a very deep fissure bracketed by two nice, solid pieces of bark.
Bottom of fissure
Another angle on the fissure
Fissure nearly through the bottom
The fissure itself creates a wonderful negative space for the eye. The dark slash through the piece takes your eye up in to the house at the top. Shadows and light spots add lots of visual interest to the base of the carving.
The two solid masses of wood on either side of the fissure have been dealt with in view of the strong visual texture of the fissure. As you can see in the picture immediately above, lots of bark has been left on the base. This light bark stands in contrast to the dark fissure. But, in order to tie the base to the house above, some rocks have been cut into the bark of the base to expose the redbrown of the under wood. The shapes and the color add another layer of visual interest.
Side view of the house
Moving up from the base we come to the house itself. The base has drawn our eye to the color and texture of the house. Small rocks in the chimney echo the larger rocks of the base. The rounded shapes of the chimney rock and base rocks are countered by the strong vertical and horizontal lines of the roof shingles, squared stones of the walls the steps and landings, and door and windows. More shadows and highlights are created by the bench underneath the window.
All in all a piece I really like. Trust you do too.
Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:22
#28 Wood carving: Cotton wood bark houses and buildings
One of the joys I have in carving is cottonwood bark. The bark of the cottonwood tree is a delightful carving medium.
Bark house 11 14 10 a
It can grow up to six inches thick on certain Plains trees. Most of the bark I work with is from two to four inches thick.
Bark house 11 14 10 b
Another great feature of the bark is its color. The outer part comes in many shades of gray, maybe black or I have even found pieces that have been bleached white by the sun and other conditions. The exterior coloring is also varied by the amount of moss or lichen which may cover the piece. While there is great coloration on the exterior, the interior coloring always takes my breath away. Tones of color from rich, deep reds to light browns and even yellows make cutting into any piece an adventure.
Bark house 11 14 10 c
In the next months I will post many more bark carvings,
Bark house 11 14 10 d
take note of the color variations. Added to the coloring is the growth layer variations which are exposed in different ways with each new cut. If you have not, let me encourage you to pick up a piece of cottonwood bark and give it a try.
Bark house 11 14 10 e
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music… Psalm 98:4
#20 Carving in the sunshine
Carving a cypress knee in the sunshine
There is no better place to carve than outside in the sunshine, especially with friends. Two friends, Ed and Jeff, and I spent last Saturday carving in my back yard. Jeff worked on a cypress knee while Ed and I worked on some bark houses.
Ed carving a cotton wood bark house
Jeff has received lessons for the cypress knee from another carver so we left him on his own. He was working on a few of the extra details for the piece.
Ed was making his first attempts at carving houses out of cotton wood bark. We talked about setting up the piece first. We looked the bark over for defects, taking off the lose or weak pieces. Then we drew on the back of the bark to get an idea of how we wanted the house to stand on a hill, the angles of the roof line, walls and hill. Next we began to rough in the roof, the walls and hill lines.
Ed and Jeff carving 10 9 10
Cotton wood always forces you to deal with weak spots, pieces that fall off or break off in the process of carving. Ed’s piece had two wings, but one broke off while the piece was being handled. In the end the carving
Carving cotton wood bark in the sunshine
will actually be stronger as a result of have less wood. Ed had to figure out how to make the house fit on the rearranged piece.
After roughing in the house and spotting it correctly on the hill the next work was to begin adding windows and doors. On bark house I tend to make the doors and
Tools of the craft
windows oversized so they are easier to set in and carve.
The tedious work began here. Roof lines had to be finally set in and shingles drawn out and carved. Doors and windows had to be pierced to let light through. Exterior siding were sketched on and carved in. Details for the hill, rocks, benches were added at this point in the carving.
Stop cutting Santa's gift bag.
While we did not get the project completed the final steps after details are fixed in place will be to spray the piece with sealer bringing out and preserving the rich colors of the bark. And then the piece is ready for signing and dating. And, as Jeff keeps reminding us, once the piece is signed no more carving on it.
Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Carving in cottonwood.
A different slant on things 1a
A different slant on things 1b
Another carving. Three photos to go with our article. Amazing what one can learn. Of course, we aren’t saying how long it took.
A DIFFERENT SLANT ON THINGS.
Cottonwood is one of my favorite materials to use. As you can see, the bark of the cottonwood can be very thick. The exterior layer is usually gray and dark. The fun begins when the exterior is open and the grain of the bark is displayed.
A different slant on things 1c
Rich, deep reds, browns and yellows interplay in pleasing and exciting patterns. Before finish coats are added the exposed bark is a soft brown, often unremarkable. When a coat of sealer or wax is added cottonwood bark really stands out.
Cottonwood is a pleasing wood to carve. It is softer than most carving material. It holds detail nicely. One drawback is its fragility. When carving, you always need to be aware of the pressure being put on the various parts of the carving. Flexibility in design is a must when carving with cottonwood.
This piece is for sale today at a 10% discount on the Gift shop price. Contact me if you are interested.
John Klompmaker Carving 