Posted by: woodbeecarver in Knives
The two antique pocket knives in the photo above represent the important role the common pocket knife has played in the journey of wood carving for the Wood Bee Carver. Both knives were made by the Challenge Cutlery Company over one hundred years ago. The top knife is called an “Office Knife” and the second knife is called a “Jack Knife.” It is this Jack Knife that became a “challenge” to begin the serious endeavor of carving. Almost every boy and many girls growing up in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s carried a pocket knife which was occasionally used for whittling activities.
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The photo above is entitled “The Journey” by Ivan Snyder. I first met Ivan last year at the Buckeye Woodcarving Round Up near Piqua, Ohio. He was sitting in my informal class of carving small figures concentrating of facial features. After a while he showed me a few of his small carvings that jumped right up and shook my hand. They were alive with imagination and personality and as I got to know Ivan more during the next couple of days of class we became kindred brothers of miniature carvings. Below are photos of the carvings he showed me.
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The “Shorties” above are two and half-inch tall creations of Whittling Jim Hecker. Jim is a carving friend who lives in Elk River, MN. We first met at the International Congress of Woodcarving in 2009 and have maintain mutual friendship through emails, Facebook, two more meeting at International Congress and a couple of times in conjunction with the Dayton Artistry in Wood show.
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A carving of a Civil War artillery officer with a cannon mounted on a butternut base with four carved plaques on the side panels of the base depicting significant benchmarks of employment career became a retirement gift. The carved soldier holding binoculars standing beside a cannon were symbolic of retirement from the military with a carved plaque showing the Army logo as the recipient’s first career. The remaining bank logo plaques depict the three banks served during the second career of the retiree.
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A Thin Wizard is a Whittle-Carved project that uses a scrap piece of wood that has been cut into a thin and tall triangle wedge shape. The larger portion of the triangle wedge become the bottom of the head of the Wizard and the thin top becomes the pointed hat of the Wizard. The two thin wizards in the photos above were carved from butternut cut off scraps approximately five inches tall.
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Using the shape of a pumpkin to carve representative human facial features is a good way to practice carving a variety of faces in the fun novelty of a pumpkin head jewelry pin. The earlier pumpkin faces were introduced in a 2016 posting Pumpkin Faces Carved in Wood.
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It was June 30, 1968 when Gary was walking to visit his girlfriend Deb that he found a turtle along the side of the road. He picked up the turtle as a playful story began to formulate in his youthful mind. Meeting Deb at her door he presented her with the turtle saying, “Today is National Turtle Day in which the custom is for the fellow to give a turtle to the girl he likes.”
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The creative and imaginative mind of Don Stephenson makes him a “Wizard” as a versatile artist. His drawings with pencil/ink on paper, wood burning on wood, carving in wood and as comic book creator with art and written story telling are only surpassed by the generosity of his spirit. The publication of his first comic book “A Wizard’s Tale” with his self-portrait on the cover became the inspiration for a woodcarving of his likeness. In appreciation of the friendship and generosity of Don, the Wood Bee Carver did the wood carving and asked Don to do the wood burning art on the wizard’s staff and book as a collaborated partnership in art. Don has given the Wood Bee Carver many drawings of carving ideas over the years earning him the nickname “the Idea Monster.” So, it became a natural collaboration of friendship to create “Wizard Don Stephenson.”
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