The Artistry in Wood Show at Dayton, Ohio on November 13 and 14  2010 will include a “silent auction” of carvings carved from the body of a duck rough out.  Participating carvers are to carve a “duck-that-is-not-a-duck” so the imaginative outcome should be very fun as well as interesting.  The WOOD BEE CARVER chose to carve a relief portrait of an Indian with the tail feathers of the duck rough out becoming the feather head dress for the Indian.  In the photograph at the left, the rough out has a rough pencil sketch of the face of an Indian penciled on what would be the back of the duck rough out.  It appears that the rough out is made of tupelo gum wood  since it is extremely hard and resists hand powered carving tools.  It became necessary to spray a mixture of half water and half denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol to soften the wood enough to use palm gouges.

The photographs that follow show the progressive steps in the carving process leading up to the finished carving.  The green spray bottle of alcohol and water along with Everett Cutsinger carving tools and Ralph E. Long knife  appear in several photographs.  On the right side of the face the hair is braided while on the left side of the face there is a row of beads strung on a few strands of hair.  Wood burning was used to add a little contrast to the monochrome finish of raw sienna artist oil paint and boiled linseed oil followed by an application of  Deft brushing lacquer.

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