The Wood Bee Carver has reached that age-old age of 84 with its “slowing down stage” of activities.  Wood carving has been central and active part of creative endeavor for fifty years. “Carve to stay Sharp” is my way to keep carving skills up and running since I no longer teach or do carving shows.

The Face Study carvings are “practice makes progress” projects of face carving in relief (on the flat rather than the corner) that I used as an exercise for class “warm up” demo/instructions in the old days. Now they are for my amusement by keeping my carving skills sharp because it is better to be “sharp and never Dull.”  “Keep carving and carving will keep you carving.”

The basic shape of the human head is an oval being taller in proportions of three thirds with width being two thirds. This division of proportion into thirds allows the concept for the Rule of Three to set up the proportions of the face. These proportions are Hairline to Eyebrow; Eyebrow to Tip of Nose: Tip of Nose to Chin Bottom for the length of the face.  The width of the face is equal of two of the three proportions or two thirds wide.

Learning to carve the features of the face in shallow relief is to learn the basic proportional landmark openings cuts for the eye, nose, smile line, mouth and teeth. What is learned in shallow relief carving of the face can be applied to carving faces in the round as the same cuts are used but in greater depths.

The oval face blank is made from a basswood block two and half inches tall, inch and half wide and half inch thick. A tic-tac-toe grid can be drawn of the rectangle face of the blank and the four corners slice away followed by the top edge rounded off until the oval is rounded as in the illustration in the photo below.

Follow the numbers 1 through 6 for the progressive steps in opening up the major landmarks of the face. Step #1 a vertical center line is drawn with a horizontal line drawn at the eye brows and a “V” drawn for the bottom of nose. Step #2 notch cuts (two angled cuts that meet together at bottom of each cut to form a ditch) are made at eye brows and nose nostrils. Step #3 a stop cut is made across the bottom of the eyebrow notches and the area under the eyebrow along the side of nose is scooped out with a side slicing cut of the knife. Step #4 a three cut triangular cut is made under each bottom of nostril notch, then a cut angled away from top of nostril on each side for smile line and then a cut up from mouth mount area to slice out the triangular chip which when completed will leave a shape of a capital “M” whose bottom forms the ridge of the mouth mound. Step #5 shapes the eyes (see second photo below for Eye Study) and the smile line and nose are refined. Step #6 Shows the detailed facial features (use imagination to guide in carving the details.

The first photo below is a reference study of progressive stages illustrations showing progressive steps. The second photo shows two knives with “soft point” on the upsweep of the blade which works best for making slicing cut especially across the grain cuts.

The next series of photos will show a variety of treatments of the lips, mouth and teeth as illustrative of these simple carving projects serving as experimental and practice in design details and for future reference.

[Click on Photos to enlarge]

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The next photos illustrate that the subject for face study beyond the generic male face can expand to pirates, Indians, Santa and even the Walter character all of which implies to let imagination guide in the selection of subjects to choose to carve.  “If it can be imagined, it can be.”

“Be Sharp and never Dull.” ~ “Carve to stay SHARP.”