Thursday, April 29, 2010

Cardinal Ornament

An American Cardinals flew in. No, we are not lucky enough to have these birds come to our feeders in northern Idaho. This bird were carved out of basswood. I wanted to show the feathers so I burned them in with Razertips feather formers. The picture lighting isn't very good, so it doesn't show the fine details. I like the wing hanging down but I'm still working on the wing shape and to narrow the head. It takes some practice to burn in the feathers, but I'm learning that as well.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Endless Ribbon

The Mobius strip was named after a mathematician, August Mobius. The Mobius strip has only one side and one edge. It is used in belts so that they will last longer. Cutting the strip in two in the middle of the band you will get one long endless ribbon with a couple of extra twists. Math has it's fun side.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

American Goldfinch



The Goldfinch is found throughout the United Sates and in southern Canada. This project is a life size and is on a piece of driftwood.With their lemon yellow color they are very noticeable flying around and at the feeders.

Friday, April 9, 2010

The Man in the Moon

 I carved a couple of these ornaments from a pattern that was given to me last fall. I had them cut out but didn't carve them until now. It's about 3 inches square by 3/8 inch thick. It's finish is a oil paint wash.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Leafing Out

This hen reminds me of back on the farm the hen wouldn't lay her eggs in the nest, you needed to hunt all over for that egg.
 This hen is 8 inches by 10 inches by 3/4 inch and is carved out of jelutung. This wood carves very nice with hand tools and has a nice finish. This is a fun project with the different leaves and scrolls. It can be hung on the wall or stand alone. The finish is a brown madder oil paint wash and when dried was sprayed with Deft.