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.

Learning to “slice with the cutting edge” along with using “slicing notch cuts” to open up vital areas in a block of basswood were continuously stressed using two basic projects.

Whittle Folk Monks were the first major project using a one inch square by three inch tall block of basswood.  This was supplemented by learning to carve a simple ball out of a square to simulate the simple definition of carving as “Shaping a block of wood using a cutting tool to round square corners and flatten round surfaces.” Pictured below are examples of Whittle Folk Monks.

Learning to see the features in a human face through an understanding of the Rule of Three of facial proportions along with exercises in carving eyes, nose and mouth details were in preparation for the second major learning project of Whittle Poke Busts as pictured below.

This photograph shows the progressive stages in carving a Poke Bust with the two on the right carved to their basic form and the one on the left carved in detail.  Carving to basic form is compared to baking a cake and detail carving is compared to putting icing on the cake.  If icing is put on a half baked cake the cake is ruined.  Carving in details before the basic form is carved to produce a good foundation  is like putting icing on a half baked cake.

Below are four examples of Whittle Poke Busts which were used as “go-bys” for the students to guide them in carving their own Poke Busts.

Survival Students learn that “The more one carves the better one carves,” so what is learned in a class is to be put into practice by trying to carve every day if only for a “twenty minute workout.” Every carving project is a learning experience and one learns by carving.  Students then survive only by carving.

May we all be “Survival Students.”