The Hoosier Hobo was Whittle-Carved using only knives to shape a six-inch-tall by inch and half square block of basswood. A series of photos will show the progressive steps supplemented with verbal descriptions of these progressive steps. Keep in mind that between initial opening cuts with a slicing knife there are more cuts to follow to refine the carved surface into it finished state. As if often said, “One cut is not a cut to end all cuts being rather the beginning cut with more cuts to follow,” so the reader of this blog posting will need to use imagination to read between the lines, fill in the gaps and mentally carve what in-between the stages.
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Lone Wolf Redux 2 is an interpretation of an Indian with two feathers in his head dress. He is carved in a three-inch square by ten inches tall block of Butternut. The base is a half inch and the feathers above the head are a half inch tall making the Indian nine inches tall. He is wearing a buckskin shirt, leggings and a breech clouts. The pose of Lone Wolf has him in a pensive mood looking skyward as if reading the signs in the clouds or perhaps a deep in thought look to an elevated horizon. Such a pose gives a sense of movement as opposed to a statuary stance. In his left arm and hand, he is cradling a peace pipe as a symbol of his loyality to his heritage and sacred disposition.
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The Civil War Soldier and the Cowpoke are two recent commissioned carving projects that offer an opportunity for a photographic visual tutorial on carving these classic subjects. The Wood Bee Carver is primarily a knife carver who uses this means of showing the process of Whittle-Carving a six-inch-tall figure.
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Lone Wolf carving has appeared in earlier editions and this is the latest interpretation of this subject carved in Butternut measuring nine inches tall four inches wide and three inches deep. Every carving of the same subject takes on its own personality due to the creative interpretation process that evolves in the “design by carving” process.
This process begins with a block of wood with square corners that are rounded off beginning with the head portion of the carving. Once the head portion has been established the block is divided using the Rule of Three of body proportions into the three sections ~ Shoulder to Waist; Waist to Mid Knees; and Mid Knees to Bottom of feet. Into these three sections the arms, hands, legs, feet and clothing landmarks are drawn as guidelines. These guidelines guide the removal of wood while working towards the major part of the body.
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The first Fundamentalist was carved in 2002 out of a three inch square by six inch tall basswood block. In an August, 2008 entry of this blog ~ (click on) Carving “The Fundamentalist” to read the carving journey at that occasion. The opening introduction gave the premise for this themed carving which stated: “THE FUNDAMENTALIST” is a carving of a caricature interpretation of a strong-minded person who is so sure that what that person believes is the only truth and he has the proof to prove it at the end of where his finger is pointing. A fundamentalist could be a preacher, a politician, a lawyer or any opinionated person who sees things only one way, his way and wants to convince anyone who will argue with him the error of their way for not seeing things the way the fundamentalist sees things.
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Hobos are colorful characters who in earlier years were commonly seen traveling around the country in what appeared to be the “easy life.” Historically they were originally “itinerant labors” who traveled from job to job wherever the jobs would lead them. There is a difference in the meaning of terms applied to these “sojourners of the road.” Hobos were once called “Hoe boys” who were agriculture laborers cultivating the fields with their hoes, thus the nickname. So “Hobos” would travel to find work. The tern “Tramp” was ascribed to those itinerant laborers who would travel the rail by catching a ride on trains. Other travelers through the country side riding the coat tails of the hobo and tramp way of life were called “Bums” because they would rather con and cheat off the generosity of kind-hearted folk than do any work. Bums gave the hobo and tramp a bad name for their less than honest profession.
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The Wood Bee Carver is primarily a knife carver and the carving classes he taught over the years before he retired from teaching at the end of 2019 were “knife only” classes. With tongue in cheek I would warn students that if I caught them using a gouge or V tool on class projects or even heard of such tools other that a knife being used I would confiscate those tools. That branch of humor was revived in later years to refer to the use of any carving tool other that a knife would be “carving on the Dark Side.”
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The two-inch-tall miniature Whittle Folk Gnomes are the latest version of the original Whittle Folk Gnomes who came into being around 2008 or 2009 as a three-inch-tall figure. In the PHOTO TRAILS box under the MAIN MENU box, click on “Whittle Folk Gnomes” to see a photo display of the original Gnomes.
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