Introduction:
I've been a wood-carver all my life, and have never had a job other
than carving. I started when I was 8 years old with a pocketknife I
pocketed from my grandmother's attic. I tried sharpening it on a
stone birdbath in her backyard and slit my thumb open. A sharp
knife, my first cut, and I was hooked!
My grandfather was a blade sharpener for the Remington® Arms
Company. My father gave me the old Remington knife I still have and
taught me how to carve wooden ship models and balsa-wood airplanes.
After a while, I tired of following other people's blueprints and
started creating my own small animals and birds.
I began haunting flea markets and garage sales, looking for
tools, boxes--anything to do with wood carving. I gradually expanded
my practice work into larger birds and decoys, little flower pins,
and Christmas ornaments. I started selling my work at local churches
and village-green shows.
I turned my bedroom into a carving studio and began to devote all
my time outside of school to my passion. Going to one show after
another, I became close friends with all the other exhibitors. It
was an enjoyable way to spend my youth.
When I graduated from college in 1983, I had already been around
the show circuits, and I knew all the promoters and venues; it just
seemed natural to pursue carving as a career and see where it might
lead. It has been my full-time occupation ever since.
I've had many incarnations: I was a sign carver for a number of
years, doing all kinds of wooden signs for businesses and historical
sites. When bird carving reached a peak of popularity in the '80s, I
gravitated to carving birds and spent about 10 years doing that. I
learned to carve efficiently, and developed a lot of techniques for
carving birds out of single pieces of wet wood (rather than gluing
on feathers and wings and heads). I then moved into doing
caricatures and when my son was born in 1990, started doing the
storybook characters that some of you may have seen.
I guess throughout my life I wasn't interested in being
categorized as a certain style of carver; I didn't want to be known
as a duck carver or a caricature carver. I have a voracious interest
in and love for it all--everything from relief carvings to figures
to wildlife, signs, gunstocks, table legs--anything that would come
along, I would say, "Yeah, I can do that," and I did it.
Over the years I have developed a vast back-ground in all styles
and disciplines of carving. That is why I was really excited about
this book and DVD project--through it I'm able to share my love of
wood carving with others. The simple enjoyment of being able to
relax, take a piece of wood and a knife, and create something with
your very own hands is a rare pleasure in our frenzied culture.
I've put together a sampler of a broad variety of avenues that
are open to you as you learn to carve. The projects are geared
toward the beginner, but as you progress through the book, you'll
gain the valuable skills and techniques you'll need to grow as a
carver, experimenting with your own pieces. Every piece you do will
hone your skills for the projects that follow. After a while, you'll
gain the confidence to try things that you may have been hesitant to
attempt at first.
Everything takes practice. I consider all of the pieces I've done
throughout my life as practice pieces. Be open to letting pieces
evolve as you work on them. Take things in this book a little
further, or simplify them. Deviate from the design; let things
happen. Sometimes spontaneity is the best inspiration--I get some of
my best pieces out of things that started off as one idea and grew
into something completely different.
If I were asked to list the three most important elements in
carving, I'd say the first is an idea, the inspiration--what you
want to carve. The second is a piece of wood; again, there are many
choices. The third element is a sharp carving tool. Many people
become frustrated when they begin carving because they feel they
don't have the ability, when, in fact, their tools are not allowing
them to create what they want to create. I have provided an in-depth
section on sharpening to make sure your creativity isn't hampered by
the lack of this easily learned skill.
Carving is a personal expression, a simple art form that goes
back thousands of years. It's something you can share with your
children and grandchildren. People always enjoy a handmade gift,
something you took the time to create for them. And that's what this
is all about--to help you create what you see in your mind and your
heart. I hope you come to enjoy wood carving as much as I do.
I remember a 7th-grade biology teacher had a sticker on his door
that said, "Free knowledge; bring your own container." Well here's
the knowledge. Keep it fresh and use it often; you've got your own
container.
Table of Contents:
2 Introduction
4 Tools and
Woods
6 Knives
7 Gouges
8 V-tools
11 Power carving tools
13 Tool techniques
18 Suggested woods
22 Sharpening
Your Tools
24 Resharpening
25 Resurfacing worn
stones
26 Knives
30 Sharpening gouges
34 Sharpening V-tools
37 Power sharpening
machines
38 Knife
Carving
40 Lay out and
rough in the face
42 Adding detail
45 Finishing touches
46 Relief
Carving: Wildlife
48 Outline the
design
50 Remove the background
52 Shape the head
54 Shape the leaves
56 Refine the features
59 Detail the fur and
leaves
61 Apply a clear finish
62 Relief
Carving: Landscapes
64 Outline the design
68 Put the walls in
perspective
72 Lay in the windows
74 Carve the siding and
shingles
78 Detail the railing
and windows
80 Carve the bushes
81 Finish the trees and
grass
83 Finish the background
84 Sign
Carving
86 Design your
sign
90 Carve the straight
letters
93 Carve the curved
letters
97 Carve the flowers
99 Cove the border
102 Chip
Carving
104 Basic outlining
107 Traditional chip-cut
borders
111 Rosettes and curves
118 Carving
Decoys
120 Rough cut the parts
122 Carve the body
126 Carve the head
131 Complete the carving
133 Install the eyes
136 Applying gesso and
paint
142 Power
Carving and Woodburning
144 Rough out the shape
148 Refine the details
153 Create textures
156 Woodburning
160 Bark
Carving
162 Rough in the design
164 Refine the details
168 Painting
and Finishing
170 Using colored
pencils
172 Painting with
acrylics
176 Oil painting
181 Power-carved rabbit
184 Resources
185 Index
Soft-cover, 192 pages
Published 2008
Book ISBN: 978-1-56158-888-6
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