Rich Smithson who along with his wife Holli and daughter Skylar own and manufacture HELVIE KNIVES makes the Wood Bee Carver Signature Knives for me and is a collector of many of my carvings. As a jesture (that is a jest in a gesture) of good will I carved his “mug on a jug” to show he has aged since his birth. Good friends do things like this just for the fun of it and Rich is a good friend.
Kathy Johns recently gifted my wife and me with her wood burning portraits. She is a very good carving friend who is a ribbon winner with her eclectic carving subjects as well as other artistic mediums. The three photos below are of Kathy, husband Don and examples of her beautiful art.
Thank you Kathy and Don for the gift of your friendship, the best gift of all.
The value of participating in a carving class is multifaceted in that one learns not only from the instructor, but also from the camaraderie of fellow students and the act of carving the project. Jim Hecker, a carving friend, recently participated in a carving class and has written a brief description of the class experience as well as photographs of his project of a Norwegian female figure. (click on each photo to enlarge.) Read the rest of this entry »
Literary works of art have long been illustrated by two dimensional art through drawings, paintings and photography. Often classical sculpture has illustrated a larger story through its visual effect that upon seeing the sculpture the story is remembered. Caricature carver Steve Prescott has introduced a unique way of using caricature carving of inanimate objects to illustrate cowboy poetry. Steve has collected hats, primarily western hats for a long time and when he read a poem entitled “I Know That Hat” his creative genius came to life to create a caricature illustration for the literary art of cowboy poetry. In his own words and through photographs Steve illustrates a cowboy poetry poem with his caricature art through HATS. (click on photos to enlarge)
Caricature of Inanimate Objects
Way back in Mrs. Myers 11th grade literature class I hated studying poetry considering it too mushy and flowery. Since then, I have discovered cowboy poetry and I have it. It’s down to earth, humorous and deals with real life situations. My favorite cowboy poet is Baxter Black. His poem, “I Know that Hat,” struck a note with me as a hat lover, as well. I decided to try a caricature woodcarving that would go with the poem. Read the rest of this entry »
The Fisherman carved by carving friend Jim Hecker is a good example of the influence of Scandinavian flat plane carving. In this case Jim pushed the envelope a little towards softening the flatness into a more realistic contour of the planes. The carving itself tells a story right off in the pose of the fisherman looking back wide eyed at the hook that has caught him in the seat of his pants. It is appropriately entitled “Hooked. ” Humor in carving is a unique way to capture the foibles that often come or could come in ordinary activities. (click on each photo to enlarge.) Read the rest of this entry »
Gene Messer is a carving friend to many wood carvers who have followed his tutorials on YouTube, Woodcarving Illustrated Forum and Face book. http://www.youtube.com/user/whittler0507
He has given me permission to quote his latest and sincerest encouragement and instruction for those who aspire to carve better. His simple words carry a heavy message well worth reading often. So in Gene’s own words: Read the rest of this entry »
Rich Smithson of HELVIE KNIVES pulled a fast one on two of his Signature Knife friends by asking each one to carve a block of basswood into a knife blade holder for the other friend without telling us that we were each doing it for one another. Read the rest of this entry »
