WoodBeeCarver

WHITTLE FOLK CLASSICS are whittle-carved out of one and a half square by six inch tall  block of basswood.  Each subject in this series has been carved several times before only in smaller versions from a one inch square by four and a half inch tall block of basswood.  Each has been highlighted in a previous posting and are grouped together here in four photographs showing the front, back and both sides of the six carvings. 

The WOOD BEE CARVER is primarily a knife carver so any of his carvings that have “Whittle” as part of their name have been carved with knives.  Each carving takes between eight to twelve hours to complete with an additional hour to paint each figure.  Carving out of a square block of wood presents a certain challenge to try to get as much expression, action and detail into a limited space as each carving is from one piece of wood without any add on’s.

  Weak areas are strengthen by  planning ahead to keep weak areas attached to the larger section of the carving and is some cases the weak area may receive a soaking of super glue to strengthen the wood.  The base is carved as part of the carving to provide a solid platform, otherwise without a base the feet may break off because  the cross grain section of the wood is weak.  There is a conscious effort in the planning and execution of the carving process to create flowing lines of a lazy “S” and an elongated “C” along with intentional bends at the knees and elbows in a relaxed and normal pose. 

 In like manner the head to turned slightly and the body twisted to give movement as much as possible within the constraints of the size of the block of wood.  Little extras are also carved with undercutting, creating soft wrinkles as well as sharp bends in the clothing.  Carvings are first carved to the basic form and then each area is refined with detail carving using a lot of slicing cuts throughout the process.

  To aid in the detail phase there are some areas that are carved in such a way to create hard lines in order to cast a shadow creating the appearance of being more detailed than it actually is.  Carving hair, beard and mustache are done with two cuts of the tip of the knife blade.  The first cut is a perpendicular cut, much like drawing a pencil line in a flowing lazy “S” fashion.  The second cut is an angled cut putting the tip of the knife blade in the beginning of the preceding cut and following it to its end taking out a thin sliver of wood.  Those cuts are repeated as close to one another all over the area receiving the hair texture, carving one strand of hair at a time.

 What these cuts do is create a hard line which cast a shadow down across the channel created by the two cuts.  In comparison the “V” tool creates a “V” channel that is smooth at the two top edges and smooth at the bottom of the channel.  Light dies in a “V” tool channel so whenever I do carve larger carvings where I am using a “V” tool or a small “U” I will randomly make a few of my “whittle hair cuts” in some of those channels to  create a hard line that cast shadows.  It is these shadows that also give movement and depth to a flat surface. 

 Even though I have carved these figures many times before, yet each one is a new carving, a new journey of learning by doing and a challenge to create life in a block of wood as each takes on a personality of their own.  Perhaps that is what makes these  “Whittle Folks” into CLASSICS.

The figure of a carpenter holding a plane in one hand and a saw in the other has been a popular carving over the years in their smaller versions.   The two examples of  WHITTLE FOLK CLASSIC  here shows one with a beard and the other clean shaven.  Most of the time these are carved as “Old Geezers” and some might even call them “old galoots” because the nickname “galoot” has been adopted by those who collect and use old wood working tools as described at www.oldtoolsshop.com and many other sites when one makes a Google search on the Internet for “galoot.”

 These two carvings are pretty straight forward in design except for the apron allowing for some flowing lines to add some movement to the carving along with the head turned slightly to the right.  Like all WHITTLE FOLK these are carved using only knives to make various slicing cuts to shape and detail these carvings into an “exaggerated realism” of the subject being carved. 

 Each is carved out of a one and a half square by six inches tall block of basswood.  Carving the head to shape of the basic form of a head is the first step. Then the wood below the shoulders is divided into thirds using the “RULE OF THREE: with body divided into thirds - shoulders to waist a third; waist to top of knees a third; knees to bottom of feet a third.” 

In like manner the facial proportions follow its own RULE OF THREE: from hairline to eyebrow is a third; from eyebrow to bottom of nose is a third; bottom of nose to bottom of chin is a third. Other facial guidelines include: the eyes are located on a horizontal line at the halfway division of head length.  The ears are located on the back half of the center vertical line on the side of the head with the top of the ear in line with the eye brow and the bottom of the ear in line with the bottom of the nose.  At its width the head is one third the width of the body at the width of the shoulders. 

 The length of the arm between the shoulder and elbow is equal to the length of the arm from the elbow to the first row of knuckles.  The hands are in line with the crotch when arms are hanging at the side of the body.  Feet are the length of the head length and the hand is about the same size as the face when placing the palm on the chin and the tips of the fingers touching close to the hair line. 

The corners of the mouth are in line with a vertical line down from the center of the eyes and the nose at the nostrils is one eye wide with an eye width being between the eyes at the  bridge of the nose. 

 All of this is said to encourage the observation of the proportions of a human face, head and body so that carvings will look as life like as possible and if doing caricatures, then the carver will know which proportions to exaggerate intentionally.  Carving something badly does not make it a caricature.  A caricature is intentionally exaggerated realistically. 

 The two carpenters in our example are more realistic than caricature or more precisely they represent “exaggerated realism.”  

The Native American is a popular carving subject that requires an on going research on the subject by studying photographs and reading books about and by Native Americans to get inside the spirit of these noble and spiritual people.  All too often our perception has been based upon the stereotype of the movies and white men’s prejudice. 

 There are several good carving books about carving Native American subjects and seminars taught by knowledgeable wood carving teachers.  Facial features of the Native American have characteristics that need to be incorporated in the carving as well as studying their dress and decorations.  Once again it becomes an exercise in “exaggerated realism” with artistic license that uses the best of research to make the carving as true to reality as possible. 

 This WHITTLE FOLK CLASSIC is a larger version of many smaller carvings done over the years of a similar pose.   The designs on the breech cloth were found by making a Google search on the Internet of “Native American design and symbols” with several options offered.  These were penciled onto the carved breech cloth and then wood burned to provide the design outline for painting.  The tips of the feathers were also wood burned as were highlights on the bone pipe  necklace and breast plate.

  The face and hands were colored with burnt sienna and the buckskin was colored with raw umber following the method described in an earlier post on December 10, 2007 about painting softly.  A peace pipe is cradled in the left arm and the Native American is looking off into the distance with hope in his eyes.  Carving Native Americans is an educational experience and is a way to honor a noble people from whom we could learn a lot.