Whittle Folk Trolls have been an exploration in carving three-inch-tall characters that have bushy hair, beards and mustaches, long muscular arms and bare feet. Each one is a learning carving project and practice carving to learn to make each one a little different with facial characteristics and subtle changes in appearance.
It has been said that there are three ways people learn, that is, they learn by observation, by reading and by touching the wet paint. The same can be said about learning to carve as it is beneficial to be observant, to read and to touch the carving knife to the wood to experience leaning to carve by carving.
Trolls are imaginary characters who came into existence through the imagination of ancient story tellers. The visual likeness of trolls is based upon the verbal descriptions in these old stories. WHITTLE FOLK TROLLS are a carver’s imagination carved into a three-inch-tall by inch and a half square block of basswood and are carved using only carving knives.
A carving of an Ohio High School Athletic Association umpire was commissioned to be given as a birthday gift to the umpire as a surprise. The only personal reference was a photograph of the person that was enhanced by further search of umpire images on the internet. All through the carving stages the one photograph was a central part of the creative balance between a two-dimensional reference and the carving of a three-dimensional representation of the photographic image.
Rich Smithson of HELVIE KNIVES commissioned a carving of an old-time football player who wore the marks on his face of a rough game. Notice his left eye is almost swollen shut, black and blue around the eye as well as on his broken nose and a tooth has been knocked out. The strap on his leather helmet has been torn during the game and yet he now stands with a stoic stance holding on to the football. The name “HELVIE” is on the back of his jersey and the number “3” is on his chest.
Be warned, “the Old Geezers are coming, the Old Geezers are coming, the Old Geezers are coming ~ it is an Old Geezer Apocalypse.” Old Geezers are all around us. They may go by other names like grumpy old men, old coots, curmudgeons, codgers, old soldier, old fogy, fuddy-duddy, Gramps or old timer. One way or another we all are inching our way to becoming an Old Geezer.
This six inch tall carving of an Old Geezer is an example of a mental image of such a delightful and fun loving Old Timer who could tell us wonderful tales, some true, some exaggerated and many repeated. He is a solemn reminder of who we may become, so beware. One final thought, Old Geezers are fond of whittling as well as spinning yarns. Join the Old Geezer Apocalypse.
Whittle-Carving is carving using only knives to shape the wood. Whittle-Carving is also “free hand” style of carving in that the basic form of the carving appears as the wood is shaped with the slicing of the knife. “Free hand” is also an “imagination” guided process of shaping the wood to correspond with the image in the mind of the carver. Every carving project is a learning project that is also guided by imagination at work in the carving process as the carver learns through the challenge of bringing what is imagined into a recognizable reality.
Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota is an iconic and historic stone sculpture that captures the patriotic imagination of the United States. Four presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln, are immortalized on the side of a mountain as a symbol of nationalistic pride. Whether it is seen in person or as a photograph the Mt. Rushmore sculpture is a recognized mental image.