A Treble Clef proudly stands erect on a base in the form of a Grand Piano with the name of the recipient carved into the music rack. This carving out of butternut wood was a commission piece for a birthday gift to the wife of a loving and appreciative husband. As a commission piece the commissioner offered the general idea of a grand piano to be carved for his wife of fifty years who plays the piano. The carver was instructed to come up with a design that would by symbolic of a musician who is a pianist. Read the rest of this entry »
WHITTLE FOLK MONKS are Whittle-Carved out of a one inch square by three inch tall block of basswood. They are often used as a class project for the teaching of face carving only with a knife. The face is the first thing seen on a carving and since the body of the monk is covered with a robe the face received the most attention of detail carving. An earlier posting of Whittle Folk Monk Faces presented a photographic study of faces. Read the rest of this entry »
Pictured above are the seven students who survived the class taught by the WOOD BEE CARVER at the WAG School of Carving, Crossville, TN on April 30 and May 1 and 2.
. Whittle-Carving which is carving only with a knife is a challenging learning experience in which these seven students survived the two and half days of intense instruction. Pictured above are Simon Graham, Tim Arnett, Russel Brannon, Bill Millard, Phil Babelay, Dave Maldon and Dale Anderson. Read the rest of this entry »
BITS AND PIECES describes recent carvings. The first is a relief carving in a small format that was done as a demonstration of relief carving for a beginners carving class that was considering various kinds of carving projects. The demonstration lesson was both for laying out a design, setting it in, carving in detail and applying a finish. Basswood measuring a half inch thick by five inches and three and a half inches was used for this relief carving project. The finish was raw sienna artist oil paint and boiled linseed oil. Like every carving project it was a learning piece. Read the rest of this entry »
The Eastern Woodland Carving Club hosted a carving class in Converse, Indiana on April 23, 24 and 25. Fifteen students learned the basics for carving only with a knife in the Whittle-Carving style. With good humor, delicious lunch meals and eager enthusiasm each student enjoyed all the various exercises and lessons of learning to slice with the cutting edge and open up a block of wood with notch cuts and three cut triangle chips. Read the rest of this entry »
Ralph E. Long of Kernersville, North Carolina has been making quality carving knives for over sixteen years. The reputation of his carving knives has led to a high demand among carvers so much so that on occasion his stock of knives in certain patterns have been exhausted. Ralph and his wife Dot are delightful and gracious people who are very accommodating be it by phone or at woodcarving shows where they set up there display. Read the rest of this entry »
MASTER SERGEANT is a commission carving that was presented as a gift by a loving wife and son to Air Force Master Sergeant Dan J. Williams as a retirement gift. Even though the carving is of a Civil War Union Soldier, yet some artist license was taken to include personal symbols to have significance to the recipient. Read the rest of this entry »
These three photographs of two views of a Civil War Soldier bust and a Sea Captain bust show the beginning of busts carved to their basic form. They are ready to receive detail carving to bring life to their face and outfits. Read the rest of this entry »