Every carving project is a learning experience of learning about the subject being carved as well as the creative process to do the actual carving.  Carving a skull out of a basswood egg contains several lessons for carving the human face.  Wait a minute, the skull is bone and how does carving a skull teach about the human face which is muscle and skin?  The lesson is that the skull is the foundation and form which molds and shapes the muscle and skin to cover the bone skull. Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps one of the most challenging processes of carving the human face is the carving of eyes. The secret is to PRACTICE carving eyes over and over again to find the method that works best. Read the rest of this entry »

Carving an ear in the Whittle-Carving style of carving only with a knife is presented here using notch cuts and a three cut triangular cut procedure.  Such cuts are ways to open up an area of wood for additional shaping and refining with detail carving. Read the rest of this entry »

Cowboys have always been heroes in the romantic nostalgia of Western lore. In the classic ballad, “The Streets of Laredo,” is the line that says, “I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy.”   It is the outfit that a cowboy wore that made him a “dude” or a “gun fighter” or a “saddle tramp” or a “buckaroo” or a “cowpoke” or quite simply a “cowboy. Read the rest of this entry »

The Farmer was carved using a six inch tall by an inch and half square block of basswood in the Whittle-Carving Style of carving only with a knife.  Carving from a block of wood is much different than carving from a rough out or a sawed out blank.  The biggest difference is that it sets free the creative spirit to develop the overall design while shaping the block of wood into the basic form of the subject being carved. Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some of the painted figures who were subjects in previous posting on the Study of Go By’s.  A splash of color gives an added dimension to a carving.  The colors invite a further investigation of each carving to discover the subtle details that add a sense of movement, a telltale detail of added interest as well as character in facial features.  Allow each photograph to be a lesson in observation to study the ebb and flow of the story being told by each carving.  (Click on each photo to enlarge and then use the back arrow to return to main page) Read the rest of this entry »

Breaking the tip on a carving knife is inevitable.  It happens because the tip is the thinnest and narrowest part of the blade and takes the most stress and pressure when it is used for making entry stop cuts and for carving in a circular motion.  It can be slowed down by always remembering to begin the slicing action before twisting the point of the blade to make a circular cut. If the tip bends over or breaks do not panic or blame the knife maker.  Simply follow the tip to reshaping the tip of a carving knife described below with a photo tutorial for a cutting edge that curves up at tip. Read the rest of this entry »