“The Inventor of the TOOTH BRUSH” was inspired by a humorous story that the “tooth brush” was invented in _________ (a state noted for hillbillies) and as everybody knows, hillbillies have very few teeth. With this caricature carving, this hillbilly pointing to a tooth brush with a one tooth grin on his face indicating his pride in himself for inventing the “tooth brush.” If it was invented anywhere else it would have been called a “Teeth Brush.” This story is an illustration of how funny common things are named which does not always fit the actual description as in, “Why do we drive on a parkway and park in the drive way?” Such play on words often give inspiration to a carving idea. This carving was whittle-carved with only a knife out of a one inch square by five inch tall basswood blank and was colored using the “painting softly” method described elsewhere in this blog.
Whittle Folk Shelf Squatters are various carved faces that sit upon a shelf with part of the carving hanging in front of the shelf. They are carved out of a one inch square by two inch tall block of basswood. A saw cut half way into the back side at a slight downward angle approximately one half of the length of the block of wood will establish where the Squatter will sit on the shelf. Read the rest of this entry »
Whittle Folk Relief carving has been done as the handle of letter openers and as jewelry pins.
The strip of wood used is bass wood a little thicker than the proverbial yard stick and about as wide. Quarter inch thick basswood an inch and a quarter wide and eight inches long is the actual size cut. A letter opener can be carved out of the eight inch long blank with the head carved on one end and the letter opener blade carved on the other end. Read the rest of this entry »
These Whittle Folk Geezers are Five Gentlemen Geezers whose tall and stately stature give them the distinction of being respected for what they have experienced in life.
Each is carved out of a one inch square by five inch tall block of bass wood and are colored with artist oil paint mixed with boiled linseed oil. Whittle Folk are carved only with a knife using an “exaggerated realism” style. Read the rest of this entry »
WHITTLE FOLK CLASSICS are whittle-carved out of one and a half square by six inch tall block of basswood. Each subject in this series has been carved several times before only in smaller versions from a one inch square by four and a half inch tall block of basswood. Each has been highlighted in a previous posting and are grouped together here in four photographs showing the front, back and both sides of the six carvings. Read the rest of this entry »
The figure of a carpenter holding a plane in one hand and a saw in the other has been a popular carving over the years in their smaller versions. The two examples of WHITTLE FOLK CLASSIC here shows one with a beard and the other clean shaven. Most of the time these are carved as “Old Geezers” and some might even call them “old galoots” because the nickname “galoot” has been adopted by those who collect and use old wood working tools as described at www.oldtoolsshop.com and many other sites when one makes a Google search on the Internet for “galoot.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Native American is a popular carving subject that requires an on going research on the subject by studying photographs and reading books about and by Native Americans to get inside the spirit of these noble and spiritual people. All too often our perception has been based upon the stereotype of the movies and white men’s prejudice. Read the rest of this entry »
” Sea Captain” is a title to refer to any carving that relates to a man of the sea. What distinguishes this carving as a Sea Captain is his clothing and the items he holds in his hands. In one hand he holds a rolled up map and in the other a sextant, an instrument for measuring the angular distance of the sun, stars, and etc. from the horizon to determine position in the sea to then aid in reading the map. Read the rest of this entry »