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
227. Tools of the trade. Two small Chinese knives.
If you love crafting, carving, wood working of any kind you’ve got to love tools. I doubt these two knives are for wood carving, but they are minor works of art in and of themselves. The bone handle and the small pieces of metal remind me that in a pre-industrial age tools were not that easy to come by. I love the personal touch of decoration on the wooden handle. How have you decorated or modified any of your tools?
Shalom.
“Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.” Proverbs 23:9
226. Other art. Concept for Lake Michigan relief.
Having been born and raised in Michigan, scenes of the Lake front have always been of interest to me. That translates into an interest in capturing the beach and forests found there, either in colored pencil or wood.
Here is a draft of a shore scene. Pines, dunes, sunset, water, and the rest fit my images of Lake Michigan. I like the colors. I like the shapes. Did you catch the mistake? Any suggestions? Will keep this picture ready for the relief carving to be.
Shalom.
225. Wood from other places, China. Tiger maple box??
A friend has this stunning piece in her desk. She has often sat doing her lessons looking at its exciting and interesting color and pattern. It’s symmetry and delicate beauty is attractive. Again, one is thrilled with the careful craftsmanship it took to produce such a piece. How carefully are you working on your hobby? Your own work?
Shalom
“Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.” Prov 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
223. Practice what you preach. Questions not to ask, and other things not to say to crafters.
Have you heard that before? I have. And I have said it to many of my students and friends. That makes it all the harder to visit craftsmen and crafts women and not do the same silly or careless thing. Ask those questions all craftspeople always need to answer – what kind of wood (material) is that? Is that as easy to do as it looks? How long did that take. Is it your own idea or did you copy that? Below is another kind of list, things not to say.
But now comes the “judgment of charity.” I always need to remember the visitor is trying to reach out, trying to gain some kind of understanding or to initiate conversation in a world they don’t really understand. Be prepared for the silly(I can do that) to the mundane(What kind of…). Embrace the opening gambit. Play the “game” with joy and pleasure. Perhaps your kindness and acceptance will spark greater things.
Shalom.
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Prov 22:6
222. Bear-ly able to stand it. Table decorations in hotel.
Traveling this month. Unable to take carving equipment along. This set of bears, nicely done, fills the center of our hotel fruit and dessert table. Every day wishing I had tools and wood. Enjoying the work of others and drawing are good fallback positions.
Shalom.
“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” Proverbs 22:3
221. Carvers you should know. Janusz Wedzicha.
New carver, same thought thread. These three pictures fit comments I made about some of Ryan Olsen’s work in post 216. The carver here is Janusz Wedzicha. As far as I can tell he is Polish. Some of his information is at the site added below.
Let me repeat my thinking. There is so much good carving out there. But what attracts me to Wedzicha’s and Olsen’s work is the joy of life seen in many of the faces they produce. Evil, angry, sly, pained, crying faces have such potential for the dramatic. Lines, shadows, texture, emotion can be found there. However, for me, life is filled with such things to my dismay, discouragement, or defeat. Why put it into art? What is uplifting about a face in agony or horror? I prefer faces similar to what is shown below. Nice job, Janusz.
Shalom.
https://m.facebook.com/rzezba.w.drewnie/
“Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.” Prov 20:15
222. Carving in the round. Old World Father Christmas.
This is a really old piece. I like the reminders of the story of Saint Nicholas. There was a real Nicholas. He was a 4th Century Bishop of the church, a wealthy man who lived in Turkey. He became well known for his acts of kindness and gifts to the poor and needy.
His reputation was passed on to 16th Century Europe. In England “gift givers” were referred to as ‘Father Christmas,’ France ‘Père Nöel,’ Germany ‘Christkind,’ the Netherlands ‘SinterKlaas’ (notice the tie back to Saint Nicholas). And in America, Sinter Klaas became ‘Santa Claus.’ No matter what the name, this figure reminds me of the original love motivating the gift giver, a tradition worth continuing.
The piece is basswood. The colors are Old World – ivory, winter green, ruby red, white, and gold. The face is medium flesh with a rose wash. All the colors except for white, are a ratio of 1/15 paint to water. It was finished by being dipped in boiled linseed oil.
Merry Christmas, Frohe Weinachten, Joyeux Noël, Vrolijk Kerstfeest.
Shalom.
“Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure.” Prov 20:28
220. Carving in the round. Sparrows, Rocks, and Matthew 10.
Birds and rocks and wisdom. That is what these pieces are about. I love the curves of the birds against the less smothered curvy lines of the rocks and the straight lines of the sing and lettering. The contrast is pleasing.
I also like the dark branch lines running through in pictures 2 and 3. Basswood can have these lines at times. It makes for interesting coloration if you can work it into the piece.
Shalom.
“Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.” Prov 17:1
219. Collections and ideas. Old World Father Christmas, Saint Nicolas, Santa Claus, Sinter Klaas.
Where do your carvings or hobby projects go? Some sit on shelves at home because we can’t part with them. Some sit in boxes because there isn’t any more room on the shelves. Some sit on work benches or tables for years, “nearly” finished.
And some go to family and friends. Here is part of a collection held in Michigan. It is a joy to see others find pleasure in the things one creates. Perhaps this is the year for you to let go of more of yours. Gift them, donate them, sell them, but let the world enjoy them.
Merry Christmas
Shalom.
“What a person desires is unfailing love…” Prov 19:22a
218. Carvers You Should Know. Caricature Carvers of America
Finding ideas, mentors, or encouragement is always a challenge for any artist and craftsman. Where do you go? One place I like to check out is the Caricature Carvers of America. I reference them in a previous post about Ryan Olsen.
Here is a connect for their information. It would be worth a few minutes your time to scan their site. Who knows, maybe you can find a neat idea or a class to take to improve your work. Or maybe even a place to hang out for encouragement in your own work.
Shalom.
“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.” Prov 19:20
217. Other art as ideas for carving. Christmas flowers.
Another post to draw attention to creative inspiration for carving or any other hobby. Here the steps for creating home-made Christmas gifts or greeting cards. Card stock used, along with colored pencils.
Steps: 1. Deciding weight of stock to use, purchase, cut stock. 2. Practice design ideas. 3. Draw initial design on stock in pencil. 4. Go over design in ink, adjusting rather than following pencil lines slavishly. 5. Erase pencil lines. 6. First layer of color is a light one to establish color patterns and placement. 7. Begin darkening all colors, leaving highlights. 8. Final coloring step is difficult to see here, but a dark color such as purple or blue is used to create shadows. 9. Piece is now ready for a note or name. 10. Give as a gift. 😊
Shalom.
“It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.” Prov 20:3
216 Carvers to Know. Ryan Olsen, caricature carver.
Name a wood carver who influenced you? Harold Enlow, Phil Bishop, Peter Ortel, Jim Leighton, to name a few of mine. Let me add another who might be worth a look, Ryan Olsen. I have not had him as a teacher, nor do I know much about him other than he is a sitting member in the Caricature Carvers of America. (www.cca-carvers.org/cca-members.html) The reason I mention him is found in the picture attached here.
Smiles, or at least not aggression or pain or bleary-eyed or evil. Olsen, for most of what I see here, carves interesting faces. Faces with smiles or some expression other than what I call a negative. And that I like. This is not to take away from the talent, execution, quality of all the other fine caricature carvers out there. I’m just putting in a vote for more carvings with hope, joy, laughter, love, and a host of other great expressions humans have. What do you think?
Shalom.
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Prov 17:22
215 Carving in the Round. Penguins on white pine
Michigan white pine. Six inches tall. The hole seen clearly in picture Two was produced by ants. Pieces painted with acrylic paints thinned 1/15 ratio paint to water. Finished piece dipped in boiled linseed oil containing a little burnt umber pigment. The unfinished base always reminds me of an ice flow or ice shelf.
Shalom.
“Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” Prov 17:9
214. Carving in the Round. Another Rustic Cabin.
Several versions of this cabin are around. Even one posted by an online scam. Must be interesting to people. No watermark here to protect my pictures. Better wood carver than computer technician.
Three unique features here. First is the porch structure. It came about because of a miscalculation. After the piece was blocked in it became apparent that the second story of the house looked odd. That made the hole above the horizontal beam necessary. Then the porch looked odd so the porch roof was carved away and the upper triangle was cleared to let light all the way through. You can see it in the fifth picture.
The other two features are in the roof. There the roof top is angled at the outside corners as seen best in pictures one and three. And, obviously one hopes, the thatched roof effect of the entire roof is the third feature to notice.
What are you working on these days? Anything to share?
Shalom.
213. Egghead. Sleeping Santa.
A fun afternoon project. The design began with a hesitation to attempt another set of eyes. Easy fix, cover the eyes with the hat. Many iterations later you have this piece.
What I like about it most is the hat. The brim and tassel were first outlined with a veiner. Then the green upper part is cut with large, flat strokes. The tassel results as the upper green is completed. The brim is rough cut as a wavy line. It is then textured with a small U-gouge. He looks happy and rested, ready for cookies and milk to come.
Shalom.
“Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.” Prov 16:32
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
211 Egg head. A Tartan Santa.
One of the joys of carving is the opportunity to try different things. This is an egghead. Many of these have been done. I have tried 500+. So why keep trying them? Variety within a field.
This head was an experiment in creating plaid. The covering could have been a traditional Santa hat painted plaid. But that didn’t seem enough. So the tam and the plaid make it. I think pitting the front edge of the tam nearly over the eyes also works. It creates a tension that helps the overall effect.
Shalom.
“A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.” Prov 16:28
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
209 Egghead. Father Christmas, of course.
What do you do with a wooden egg, basswood? Make an egghead, of course. A bald egghead. A Father Christmas, bald, basswood, egghead. Green shirt with a hint of red on the chubby checks and a snow-white beard and hair. He has to be smiling, naturally. Squinty eyes are best. That way you can imagine the hohoho better. More eggheads in the following posts.
Shalom.
“Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.” Prov 16:19
Work in Progress. A Wee Whale
Basswood whale in progress. It began as a block 6 x 3 x 3. If you have looked through previous posts you have seen larger whales, half whales, and whales on driftwood. This piece was an experiment in making it mini so it would fit on a smaller shelf or in a better way on a desk or end table.
I like the overall feel of the work. The markings, while perhaps not realistic, give some sense of the wrinkles and folds, the hard treatment a whale’s hide can get. It’s cute.
Work to be done? Painting. I like the light wash of color several of the other whales have. There is no strong grain here so color will add another layer of interest. I painted and earlier basswood piece a solid “whale” grey. Not sure if I really liked it. This one will get a wash. Finally, then, finding a piece of wood on which to mount it and the angle of the mounting. Suggestions? The finished piece may take a while to arrive since the whale in is Michigan and I am in China.
Shalom.
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Prov 16:18
208 Christmas is coming. Father Christmas.
It is possible that you, in this season of Thanksgiving, are already making plans for family gatherings, both the Thanksgiving meal and for the Christmas holiday. Are your carving or crafting preparations coming along well, too?
Here are a couple of older pieces held in private collections in Illinois and Michigan. Father Christmas or Saint Nicolas done in spokes from recycled kitchen chairs. The spokes are maple, a hard wood, a challenge to carve by hand. They would be good for dremel tools or other power tools.
The first step was to skin the varnish and stain layer from each piece. The hardness of the wood meant the stain had not penetrated too deeply. Next step was to decide where on the spoke to place the face and how large the face should be. Once the face was roughed in, the next decision was texturing. What texture would the hair and the beard have?
A further step was shaping the hat and its decoration. You will notice that the piece on the right retains more of the original spoke shape, while on the left the hat has modified the spoke more. A final step was color choices and painting. These pieces are designed to hang in a Christmas tree, adding color and attracting attention to the tree.
What are you working on this season? Anything to share?
Shalom.
“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” Prov 16:16
207 And to Think I Saw It On, well not Mulberry Street, but… Pear tree carver.
Tip of the hat to Dr. Seuss and his creativity. I, however, did see this carver who is the bicycle repair guy out the back, small, east gate (got to get all the adjectives in or you don’t get there from here) of my university campus, while walking the back alley.
Earlier I had seen wood chips and some tree branches around his cart. Then a few days ago I was with a Chinese student and could strike up a conversation. Later I went back with my bike and carving things. Carved while waiting for the bike to be repaired. A little bit of Chinese, a few words from a translator app, and common understanding of carving and a good time was had by all.
The pieces shown are branches of mountain pear. He is working on deer in both. He is using a power tool for the work. Hope you get a chance to walk your neighbor and meet those doing their hobby.
Shalom.
“Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.” Prov 15:32
John Klompmaker Carving 