Posted by: woodbeecarver in Noggins
“SHELF SQUATTERS” is the name of Whittle-Carved character heads that sit on a shelf. They were first created in 1996 as the WOOD BEE CARVER’S version of what was commonly called “shelf sitters.”
They originated as a way to utilize little end cuttings of pieces of basswood and later became normalized in size from a one inch square by two inches tall basswood blank. An angled saw kerf is cut in the back side of the blank about half way between the top and the bottom and cut about two thirds into the blank. With the saw kerf angling up hill, the waste area (indicated by the X’s in photo) under the saw kerf is squared so that part can be whittled away to allow for the rest of the blank to sit on and over the front of a shelf. Studying the photo at the left will show the saw kerf, the waste area and the way the blank will squat on and over the shelf edge. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by: woodbeecarver in Noggins
“Kilroy Was Here” became a cartoon graffiti figure during World War Two. Carving an interpretation of this nostalgic bit of humor becomes a fun project. In this relief carving the caricature appears within a frame. The background, pupils and fence outline was wood burned to provide a contrast in this basswood carving. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by: woodbeecarver in Noggins
A “Tree Noggin” is the name of this style of Whittle-Carving using a basswood tree limb. Carving through the bark to reveal the inner wood on this particular Tree Noggin revealed two colors of wood. One half was honey brown and the other half was creamy white. Basswood can be either color but seldom are the two colors combined in the same limb. Definitely a “split personality.” Read the rest of this entry »
Three wood carvers who have been my mentors in carving ever since I first heard and read about them, even before I met them, are Ivan Denton, Peter Engler and Harold Enlow. Combined, these three have perhaps influenced more people to discover the wonderful world of wood carving than any other combination of woodcarvers. Read the rest of this entry »
A very inexpensive, in fact a free tool to aid in the carving process is the very common business card. Every carver has one that bears the carver’s name, address and phone number or has another carver’s business card. In fact any business card will do as a measuring and straight edge tool. The standard business card measures two inches wide by three and a half inches long. These known measurement quantities can give approximate measurements when laid against a carving project. Let’s say for example the carver wants to measure a piece of wood and does not have a tape rule but does have a business card. Laying the card against the project and marking off in the increments of the known measurements of the business card, the carver can come to an approximate measurement. Three widths of the card would equal six inches; two lengths would make seven inches; and one width and one length would make five and a half inches; and so forth and so forth. Read the rest of this entry »
“Woodcarving is more the journey than the destination,” is a saying I often use in reference to the actual carving process as being the joy of carving. The finished carving is nice to view on display, give as a gift, deliver as the completion of a commission or enter in competition. Outside of that, the real joy is doing another carving, the journey of carving.
Having said all that, yet there is value in making a “Sentimental Journey” by looking and studying one’s earlier carvings, kind of like a “benchmark” to see where we have been on the carving journey. This post will show some photographs of such “benchmark” carvings. Read the rest of this entry »
“SHELF SQUATTERS” is the name of Whittle-Carved character heads that sit on a shelf. They were first created in 1996 as the WOOD BEE CARVER’S version of what was commonly called “shelf sitters.”
