Dark Fox and Running Turtle, as Native Americans whittle-carved in Butternut wood are presented in this photographic gallery. Dark Fox is holding a spear while Running Turtle is holding a medicine staff and is wearing a blanket/robe like a shell covers a turtle. A picture is worth a thousand words and this gallery will speak for itself through these photographic image Read the rest of this entry »
Dark Fox with a Spear and Running Turtle with a Medicine staff are eight-inch-tall carvings in Butternut wood carved in the Whittle-Carving style of using only knives in the carving process. The photographic journey will present the progressive development of the Whittle-Carving of each Native American figure with brief descriptive notations of the process.
“Woodcarving is the journey more than the destination,” which means it is the process of doing the carving project that gives the greatest enjoyment rather than the finished carving as the destination. During this journey there are tried and true signposts that give direction to the process of the journey. The two carving projects that are the backdrop focus of this discussion are two Indians, “Whittle-Carved” using knives to shape and detail Butternut wood blocks eight inches tall, two and three quarter inch thick and three and half inch wide.
Miniature Shelf Squatters are carved out of an inch and half by inch square block of basswood in the Whittle-Carving style of carving only with a knife. The first Shelf Squatters were carved twenty five years ago and for several years were one of the carving projects used in woodcarving seminars and part of carving shows display table. As a novelty carving project, it served as a simple carving project for the practice of a variety of faces beginning with a square cornered block.
Every carving project is always an interpretation of the subject being carved in partnership with the imagination and skill of carver working together in the carving process to create a carving that speaks for itself. Carving an Old Salt figure in multiple poses is to amplify the similar with the variations of posture poses so that each one is unique on their own and together in four interpretations there is a comparative variety of characteristics. The two variations are subtle facial features and the communication of the hands that individualizes each Old Salt.
The carving subject called an Old Geezer has been carved several times and in this instant is serving as a “Creative Guide” in the carving journey.
Every carving project begins within the imagination of the artist and is enhanced by doing research to bring the imagined project into focus with additional visual memory. The “Three Confederate Soldiers” carving project allowed for learning more about the subjects to enhance the project. The soldier wearing the yellow kepi cap depicts a Calvary officer. The gray kepi cap on the second soldier represents the infantry soldier. The Artillery soldier is wearing a red kepi cap. The colors of the kepi cap and trim of the uniforms distinguished their respective branch of service rather than a whimsy of personal choice.
The carving of a Confederate Calvary Officer explored a less common depiction of the common soldier of gray by emphasizing a little change of color in the uniform. Uniforms were more varied than uniform as would be commonly assumed. This carving represents the appearance of a dress uniform with a yellow kepi cap and a lighter gray almost white jacket with yellow trim. The Calvary soldier wore knee high boots, a holstered side arm and a saber.