BITS AND PIECES describes recent carvings.  The first is a relief carving in a small format that was done as a demonstration of relief carving for a beginners carving class that was considering various kinds of carving projects.  The demonstration lesson was both for laying out a design, setting it in, carving in detail and applying a finish.  Basswood measuring a half inch thick by five inches and three and a half inches was used for this relief carving project.  The finish was raw sienna artist oil paint and boiled linseed oil.  Like every carving project it was a learning piece.

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A carving friend, Wayne Shinlever, gave me a couple of his elf ornament rough outs as a fun project to carve something other than an elf.  Turning the rough out upside down the form of a cowboy seems to be imagined within.  Sure enough as the carving proceeded a cowboy did appear guided by the carver’s imagination and sharp knife.  A fun project to think out side the box, color outside the lines or carve beyond the rough out.

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A basswood wooden spool was used to carve caricature faces into the side of the spool.  Such a carving project is simply for fun in the exploration of different kinds of faces to be carved just for the fun of it.  The journey of wood carving is mainly pro-sued “just for the fun of it” anyway,  so this spool is another way to leave a trail on the “journey of woodcarving.”

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The idea for this carving came from a picture of a stone sculpture of a man coming out of a sewer struggling to lift the heavy man hole cover.  Like so many carving idea projects, the picture was saved and studied awaiting a time to take the plunge and try the challenge of carving this picture in wood.  Traditional carving tools were used to carve this figure out of a three inch square block of basswood.  The challenge was carving the turned head and positioning the hands to depict the struggle of lifting the heavy lid.  Like every carving project, the journey of learning welcomes the challenge while stretching one’s ability.  Once again this was a carving “just for the fun of it.”

What follows are close up photographs of the face and the hands.

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BITS AND PIECES are carvings that leave a trail on the journey of woodcarving that one has carved a niche in the ever expanding experience that says, “The more one carves the better one carves.” Every carving project is a learning experience of “bits and pieces”that come together to create a lasting treasure in the pleasure of carving.  So as my good carving friend Michael Keller says, “Stay Sharp and Be Carveful.”