The WOOD BEE CARVER likes to tinker and doodle with ideas and innovations that spring from childhood memories.  Perhaps that is one of the motivations for carving one’s creative ideas that come on the journey of carving wood.  As a boy growing up on a little farm “three miles South of Poneto, Indiana,” I made many of my toys many of which were whittled using a pocket knife.  That same childlike thrill of discovery and home made creativity spills over into an “old man’s toy” as is evidenced by the PONETO TOOL CADDY just created. Read the rest of this entry »

The WOOD BEE CARVER is always trying to learn various styles of carving in addition to his normal Whittle-Carving only with a knife.  Relief carving utilizes traditional carving tools as well as learning to see and carve in perspective in a shallow surface.  The basswood ostrich egg with its own turned base presents another challenge with its curving surface in which to carve a relief scene. Read the rest of this entry »

The WOOD BEE CARVER has worn a black derby hat, bib overalls and a Colonel Sanders bow tie since 1976 whenever he participates in a woodcarving show.  The derby hat was purchased at a church rummage sale and has become frayed around the edges over the years.  That is what age will do to any of us but at any age we can still look the part.  Since I wear glasses the glasses were carved without the detail of the eyes showing through the lens.  This adds a bit of mystery appearance in the same way that sun glasses add to the mystery of a person’s face. In this self portrait figure the center of attention are the hands whittling while the eyes hidden behind the lens of the glasses are looking at the hands. Read the rest of this entry »

A block of basswood awaits the sharp cutting edge of carving tools to open its potential of a carving project.  A New Year awaits with untold carving potential for  any carver to put carving tools to the wood to carve new projects.  A block of wood holds a secret awaiting to be revealed by carving away wood surrounding the secret.  The carver’s mind holds a secret of creativity that awaits being revealed during the carving process.  The only way each secret will come to life is for the carver to carve rather than just dreaming of carving. Read the rest of this entry »

Wood carvers are a strange lot in that any piece of wood is seen as having potential for a carving project.  The lowly golf tee has that potential so here are some caricature examples of using a golf tee as a carving novelty.  The shape of the golf tee dictates the basic shape while imagination works to create something in that basic shape.  These twelve examples were carved using a knife in slicing cuts in the Whittle-Carving style.  Howard Feed-N-Wax was applied to the carved areas to give depth of perception to enliven the carved cuts. Read the rest of this entry »

A Step by Step Santa display was carved in 1998 to be used as an educational aid to show the progressive stages of how a Santa is carved from a block of basswood.  In this model the basswood block is three quarters of an inch square by three inches tall.

Viewing from left to right the first step is to begin rounding off the top corners to begin shaping the stocking cap into the shape of a squashed down pup tent. Read the rest of this entry »

MERRY CHRISTMAS – 2009. The Santa and Snowman carving is encircled in a green wreath.  The green wreath has been a symbol of the Gift of Love that is an unending circle and ever green with its continuous cycle of bringing New Life and Hope to all who discover being in the Circle of Love. CHRISTMAS is the celebration of the Gift of Love in Jesus Christ who is the continuous Love of God encircling all humanity.  Christmas is a celebration of the Gift of Love in family and friends that continues to encircle us everyday.

Christmas is a celebration of Memories, timeless and yet ever circling with the newness of remembering love and friendship in all our relationships.

Christmas is a celebration of having our hearts carved with a lasting tribute of the gift of creativity, be it carving, be it making friendships  or be it in giving love as we have been loved – the art of drawing a circle.

As Edwin Markham said, “He drew a circle that shut me out Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout But love and I had the wit to win; We drew a circle that took him in.”