The WOOD BEE CARVER Sign is Whittle-Carved in two pieces of basswood with the base measuring five inches by an inch and a half by half inch thick and the figure measures two and a half inch tall by an inch square.  The base received incised carved letters “WOOD BEE CARVER” AND “MERTZ” and a wood burned logo of a Wood Bee.  A mortice was carved into the top of the base to receive the inch square base of the carved figure that is glued into the morticed opening.  The figure depicting the “Wood Bee Carver” stands two and a half inches tall being a depiction caricature likeness of “Mertz” the carver. The coloring of the carved figure used artist oil paint thinned with boiled linseed oil and finished with an application of Deft, a brushing lacquer.

The beginning gallery reveals the finished sign and the secondary gallery reveals the progressive steps in the carving with appropriate notations of the two pieces before they are assembled into the completed project.

[Click on photo to enlarge]

The progressive steps begins with carving the top of hat first and then carving the basic form of the head as going up into the hat. Next the body is carved to basic form to provide a good foundation for the final carving in the details.