Fjord Horse

I've been working on a folk art carving of a Fjord horse for a class. It's 3 1/4 inches tall by 3 1/2 inches long. The wood I have is 7/8 inch thick. I like the high mane but with the saddle I had to shorten the mane. I'm lengthening the body a little on my pattern. With my shaky hands I kept a simple pattern and still kept with tradition of this carving. I wood burnt the pattern on one, it is sanded and has a natural finish. The other two I left the carving marks and they are painted with acrylics. I plan to use some other colors as well.     

Snowy Owl

A lady said I could carve this snowy owl and one for her. She was kidding but I carved her one too. It's a simple carving that can be used as an ornament or set on a shelf. In the summer the snowy owls are brownish with dark spots and strips. In the winter they are almost completely white. The older males may be all white. Their eyes are yellow. Their height is up to 27 inches and their wingspan between 45 to 60 inches. They prefer the arctic tundra. When food is scarce they may migrate south. Their preferred  meal is lemmings.They supplement their diet with rabbits, rodents, birds, and fish. They hunt both during the day and night.

Library Display

For the month of March I'm displaying some of my carvings at a library in the town of Plummer. I wrote a few stories to go with some of the carvings. The two most asked questions are how long it takes to carve something and what type of wood I carve. I displayed basswood, butternut, and cottonwood bark and wrote a story on each. It is fun to do a little research on a subject and I find a lot of people find it interesting. Cartoon figures are always a hit with the kids. I found a couple of cookie pans for the refrigerator magnets and used Command; a velcro type wall hanger to mount the carvings on the wood panel. Most of the carvings are on my blog somewhere.

LITTLE GUYS

When I saw Don Mertz post on woodbeecarvers.com, I had to try carving these delightful caricatures. They are out of a one inch square by one and a half inch tall. It's a good way to use scraps and practice faces. For the eyes I carved a small half circle at the brim of the hat and burned it for color. The guys have a linseed oil natural finish. I will be trying more of these with different faces. This is a way to carve a quick carving when involved  in a large project and keep up your interest in carving.