Traveler was carved as one of those serendipity carvings that is an interplay of creative imagination partnering with the activity of carving to create a new carving subject.  Often in the act of carving the action of the knife shaping a piece of wood will almost dictate the carving design.  That is the way “Traveler” came into existence and when finished he had the appearance of a man of experience out for a walk towards the horizon of an unexplored journey.  The Original Traveler is the one in the middle of the four photographs above.

The original “Traveler” became a study carving in that the hat brim broke because of the thinness of the cross grain structure of the brim could not withstand the hand held pressure while being carved.  Thus the hat brim was repaired by whittling and gluing another strip of basswood to the area that was broken.  Then the entire hat brim was soaked with super glue to strengthen the cross grained structure of the hat brim.

The study carving of “Traveler” became a model for the carving of two additional Travelers who would eventually travel to their new homes in South Carolina.   The photograph journey that follows begins with the new Travelers carved to basic form standing with the Original Traveler followed by each new Traveler in four views. The two painted Travelers were carved using a Helvie Signature knife, series number three that appears in the photograph. Each was carved out of an inch square by three inch tall block of basswood and finished with artist oil paints and boiled linseed oil followed with a coat of Deft.