The HALF PINT BAND is an interpretation of an earlier Hillbilly Band carved in the style of WHITTLE FOLK carved in the mid 80’s. Both were carved out of basswood block three inches tall and an inch square. The Half Pint interpretation however was carved in the proportional scale of a half inch equals a foot. In comparing a Whittle Folk photo from the mid 1980’s with the Half Pint Band of 2024 the differences are evident while still being similar.
The Mountain Man holding a walking staff is a repeat of a carving project done in 2015 which can be viewed by clicking on “Mountain Man Twice” While there are similarities to the original carving project, yet it is not an exact copy since it is an interpretation of the original. Every carving project is always an “interpretation of imagination” as each new carving takes on a personality of its own as its design develops in the carving process.
Wood carving is always a partnership of imagination, skilled experience, challenge and whimsey to create an interpretation of a chosen subject. It is the combined work of the head, heart and hands of the artist to create a fresh, contemporary and alive inanimate subject of art.
HALF PINTS are three inch tall figures carved with the half inch scale equals one foot. A six inch tall carving of a hobo would be to the scale of an inch equals a foot. These five Half Pint Hobos in this posting followed the basic design of previous hobos carved in the one inch scale. Half Pints are also characterized with having one monochrome coloring to emphasis that texture is color as seen in the facet surface texture of the carving process. Miniature carvings are typically categorized as no larger than fitting in a two inch cube. Half Pints are slightly larger at three inch tall on a one inch square base making them just a little above being a true miniature.
It has been said that “clothes make the man” and in the case of carving a western figure it is the outfit that immediately identifies the carving as that of a cowboy, cowpoke or buckaroo. In this case where two cowpokes are being presented they are called “Bunkhouse Buckaroos” to add a little flare to their presentation. Each were Whittle-Carved using only knives to shape a six-inch-tall by an inch and half square block of basswood.
A carving of a “Sea Captain” can also be called an “Old Salt” or a “Sea Man” (as a man of the sea) because their outfit is similar. The carvings featured in this posting are a five inch Old Salt and four Half Pints, three inches tall, that are in the motif of an Old Salt or they both could be considered as Sea Captains.
Early in 2008 the Wood Bee Carver carved the first Sea Captain and a year later carved four sea captains using four different knife makers knives in a Battle of the Knives for a comparative study. These projects were described in early days of this blog.
This Indian Half Pint is a smaller version of a six inch carving of an Indian carrying a lance and a shield. A Half Pint is a three inch tall figure carved to the scale of a half inch equals a foot. It begins as a three inch by an inch square basswood block.