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.” Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for January, 2008
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. Read the rest of this entry »
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. Read the rest of this entry »
” Sea Captain” is a title to refer to any carving that relates to a man of the sea. What distinguishes this carving as a Sea Captain is his clothing and the items he holds in his hands. In one hand he holds a rolled up map and in the other a sextant, an instrument for measuring the angular distance of the sun, stars, and etc. from the horizon to determine position in the sea to then aid in reading the map. Read the rest of this entry »
The “Wizard” has become a common carving subject for the mythical class of competitions at wood carving shows. There is something magical about the imaginative character of a wizard that appeals to the child in each of us. What distinguishes a wizard from an old world Santa is the style of clothing and the items each is holding in their hands. Read the rest of this entry »
The inspiration to carve Lucky the Pirate came from the following story about an aged pirate who walked into a tavern and the bar keep said, “Well, Old Timer, it looks like you have been through it.” “Yes I have, but I’ve always been lucky,” says Lucky the Pirate. Read the rest of this entry »
When the WOOD BEE CARVER started carving seriously around 1975 his tools of choice were carving knives, primarily pocket knives reshaped and sharpened into carving knives. He accumulated a few carving gouges and chisels at flea markets and junk stores with the only other known tool source at the time were catalogs from Woodcraft when it was still in Woodburn, MA and Constantines in NYC. Read the rest of this entry »
Once a woodcarving friend, Ron Turpin, upon referring to one of my carvings, said, “Don carved that right out of his own head and has enough wood left over to carve another one.”
So where do carving ideas come from? From the block of wood we call our head, from a rough out of another carver’s idea, from a pattern in a book or from the observation of life and objects around us? Carving ideas come from all of these and even from word association. Most carvers are on the look out for carving ideas, Sometime inspiration comes out of one’s creative soul and other times we carvers borrow someone else’s idea in hopes that the more we carve we will be able to develop more of our own ideas of creativity. Read the rest of this entry »