My good carving friend Jim Hecker sends me from time to time pictures of his latest carving project with a written description of his carving journey.  Here is his latest contribution of the carving of a Leprechaun for his grandson. So in Jim’s own words:

When my grandson Joe asked his dad to make him a leprechaun, Dave told him Grandpa Jim could probably carve him one. Of course, Grandpa rose to the challenge.

I didn’t have any leprechaun patterns so I used Google Images to get some idea what to carve. I printed a couple of pictures to give me a little general direction, but beyond that I just made it up as I went along. I started with a 2x2x6 inch basswood block, drew an outline on the wood and started carving, using the Murray 529 to carve the basic form. The finer work was done with the Don Mertz Signature Series #4 with some assistance by the #2. I wanted Joe to be able to do more than look at his leprechaun sitting on a shelf so I tried to make him somewhat “playable.” I kept the arms and hands tight to the body and had him holding his pot of gold next to his chest. I soaked the hat brim with superglue to make it less fragile. I like the creative freedom I find in the process of carving from scratch from a block.

The leprechaun is painted with acrylics thinned with water. The superglue soaked hat brim did not absorb paint very well so I had to use a thicker mixture on it. The final finish is Minwax paste finishing wax. I completed the carving and painting over a couple of weeks in April after we returned from our winter sojourn in Arizona.

This was an enjoyable and satisfying carving project and I gave it to Joe for his fifth birthday. He was so busy ripping open all his presents it was hard to tell how impressed he was with Grandpa’s handiwork. He did take time to exclaim, “A leprechaun!” before tearing into the next package.

Jim carves with a modified “flat plane” style of carving and has a unique way of putting personality into his carvings.  Through his written description and the visual tutorial of the photographs we can learn from a carving friend ways to enhance our own carving. After all, is that not what friendship in the carving community all about.  Thank you Jim.