23
Dec
ORNAMENT 2022
The Madonna and Child JOY carving is one face of a four sided ornament Whittle-Carved in the four inch by two inch by three inch Butternut block of wood.
Archive for the ‘General’ Category
18
Jan
A PHOTO MEMORY
A PHOTO MEMORY ~ Photographs capture a memory being made to become a memory remembered. A photo taken by Rick Bissonnette at the Miami Valley Woodcarving Show in 2019 is such a memory. At the end of 2019 I retired from teaching woodcarving and participating in woodcarving shows. The photo shows my wife Frances and me standing behind our display table with many of Wood Bee Carver style of carvings on display. I still carve for personal pleasure along with commissioned carvings as well as publishing in my carving journal blog www.woodbeecarver.com ~ Thanks to Rick for giving me this photo to be a benchmark memory representative of my woodcarving journey.
The Red Beard Pirate has been an often repeated carving subject and on this version this pirate will be the subject of a tutorial on the SLOW and EASY method of carving. The first photo gallery will be of the finished and painted rendition of the Red Beard Pirate. Which will be followed by a verbal descriptive tutorial with additional photos of the Slow and Easy carving process.
The photo above is of sculpture created by Salvatore Virdis whose work can be viewed on Facebook by searching “Salvatore Virdis-Scultore in legno” in the search box on Facebook, The Wood Bee Carver uses this photo as inspiration for the study of carving faces in the folder entitled “Saving Face.”
21
Feb
STINK PROOF
A Chip Carving friend, Marshall Stearns coined the phrase, “Carving is like taking a bath ~ You do it everyday or you stink.” There is great value in carving every day, if nothing more than guiding the carving tool through the wood making a variety of experimental cuts. A long time the Wood Bee Carver has said, “Woodcarving is more the journey rather than the destination,” which means the shear enjoyment that comes to the carver in the process of carving. The destination would be the completion of a carving project, but once finished the carver longs to get back to the process and activity of carving.
24
Dec
HOLIDAY GREETING ~ 2019
Ornaments carved at Christmas time are to bring Love, Joy, Peace, Hope with the celebration of Noel and of course Santa. The ornament gallery that follows are those carved for 2019.
30
May
CROSSBOW vs SLING SHOT
A grandmother requested a caricature carving of her grandson and son as crossbow deer hunters wearing camo gear. Using a candid photo of father and son as a guide to inspire the imagination process resulted in carving the nine-year-old grandson holding a crossbow and the father holding a sling shot as a bit of teasing humor of who was the serious hunter. Read the rest of this entry »
27
Feb
WHITTLE DWARFS
WHITTLE DWARFS are whimsical carvings in a one inch square by inch and half tall basswood block. Dwarfs are carved with two feet sticking out underneath the chin of the large head and eyes are covered with the bill or brim of the hat. Each one is a little different from any other of similar pose. Using only a knife to shape each dwarf allows for the texture of the whittled facets to give color to each carving while Howard Feed-n-Wax provides the protective finish. Whittling has always been viewed as a relaxing style of carving and is a fun way to relax. As my good whittling friend Billy Stephens said in an original saying, “There is never a dull moment with a sharp knife and a piece of wood,” Whittle Dwarfs are a fun way to whittle away time in a care free manner.
21 Whittle Dwarfs will make their appearance at the Miami Valley Woodcarving Show ~ March 2 and 3 at Middletown, OH ~ Christ United Methodist Church ~ Corner of Grand Avenue and Marshall Road.
Click on this link ~“Whittle Dwarf Tutorial” ~ to see instructions for carving Whittle Dwarfs.