Cowpokes are carved out of one and half inch square by six inch tall blocks of basswood using traditional carving tools although a knife plays a big role in detail finishing.  Pictured above are two unfinished Cowpokes.  The one of the left is partially opened up with some guidelines draw in key areas.  The one on the right has been carved to its finished detail awaiting only an oil finish, either monochrome (one color) or polychrome (many colors) oil finish. Read the rest of this entry »

Inspiration for carving projects comes in various ways.  Upon receiving a Father’s Day card with the picture of a chimp in a cowpoke outfit was just the ticket for the next carving project.  Using the general guideline for carving six inch tall Cowpokes, this carving simply changed the facial detail into a primate rather than a human.  Every carving project is a new learning experience making Top Banana a journey of learning while having fun with the challenge.  Making it more of a challenge, Top Banana was carved using only one knife made by Ralph E. Long with a scimitar blade shape. Read the rest of this entry »

These are the ten surviving students of a two day class held at Gorman Farm, Evendale, Ohio (Cincinnati) on June 12 and 13.  Pictured left to right on the first row are: Bob Manning, Don Potter, Mickey Huston, Kurt McCarthy, (second row) Barry Pennington, Fred Kruetzkamp, Dick Middleton, Dick Pyles, Steve Cotton and Rick Eskins.

The carving projects included carving a three inch tall Cowpoke Bust and a six inch tall full figured Cowpoke out of an inch and half square block of basswood.  The beginning theme was: “Thinking inside the Block,” meaning to learn to see a subject within a block of wood and carve that subject by shaping the wood with slicing cuts of both a knife and gouges.  The simplest definition of carving is: “Shaping a piece of wood using a cutting tool in a slicing action to round square corners and flatten round surfaces.” Read the rest of this entry »

BITS AND PIECES carvings are those carvings done as a small project, often on a whim, as a favor to a friend, a small commission or a fun carving project for the fun of it. Read the rest of this entry »

The idea for carving An Eagle who is carrying off a golfer began in 1978 as a future carving project.  Over the years the idea would come to the top of mental search  engine called “imagination” but was not ready to become reality.  An “Eagle” is a golfing term meaning “two under par” so to “shoot an eagle” for a golfer is a sign of having a good game.  This carving idea is turning a golfing term into a humorous interpretation or a caricature with an opposite meaning from reality.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the spirit of the Old Carvers Law that says, “Leave no wood uncarved,” wooden clothes pins are carved into Pin Heads as a form of relaxation.  These little whimsical heads spring forth from the imagination of the carver who while carving one has another idea for the next pin head pop into the carver’s own pin head.  Here are the latest editions and additions of the fine art of Whittle-Carving just for the amusement of carving exercise.

Free Hand Carving is carvings done with a knife in the style of “Whittle Doodle” carvings that simply carve various subjects and designs into a piece of wood.  The first example is a Denny V Gouge made especially with a basswood handle for the purpose of carving the handle.  This Free Hand Carving was done for Wayne Shinlever.  Once carved the handle was stained with artist oil raw sienna paint and boiled linseed oil followed with a coating of Deft. Read the rest of this entry »