Wooden Spoon

I've had a good year and have carved a good variety of subjects. On this post, I carved a spoon from Cherry wood that was cut down last year. It was still a little green so it wasn't to hard to carve with a knife. I wanted some movement in the handle and I wanted to try some chip carving. Before carving the chip cut I took a small chip out of each center. It helped relieve the wood and the chip cut was easier. The spoon is a little other 8 inches long. I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.

More Hitty Dolls

These dolls are 6 and 1/2 inches tall and have pegged arms and legs. My wife was gracious to sew some dresses for the Hitty dolls. We went to Vegas and my daughter took a picture  of one of the dolls poising inside of a decorated tree.

Reindeer

This carving is from a Floyd Rhadigan  pattern. It may not look like a reindeer but it sure is cute. The blanket on the back gives it some added color that I like. On the eyes I added a gloss medium over the painted eyes. It brings out the eyes. The gloss medium & varnish is by Liquitex. Bird carvers use this on the beak and quills of the bird. It looks very nice hanging on the tree.

Cowboy Magnet

This cowboy face was carved from a 1 1/4 inch piece of basswood. I relieved the back side to glue in a round magnet. Although a basic outline of the wood is cut out, it's carved from a solid piece of wood. Any cowboy face can be carved in this inspired Hammack design.

Cardinal Ornament

This Cardinal is carved in basswood and is 5 1/2 inch long. It is more detailed than most bird ornaments would be, but I like the size and look of it on a tree. We don't have Cardinals in my area although they would be a welcome addition if they migrated this way.

Pine Cone Ornaments

I haven't carved a pine cone in a couple of years. They are a natural part of a tree so they make a good ornament and are fun to carve. I have been carving a lot of ornaments just in time for Christmas.

Santa Ringing in Christmas

This is the time of year it starts to get colder and the hunting season for Elk and Deer are here. Also you will see the red and black flannel shirts being worn. This Santa is carved from a one inch square by 4 inches long piece of basswood. The bell is from a craft store.I try to do different things to each carving to make them more individual.

Happy Fellow

This is a Floyd Rhadigan roughout. He is about 7 1/2 inch tall. I bought it because it was different and it was fun to carve and paint.

Hitty Doll

The first Hitty is a antique peg jointed wooden doll representing the figure of a child. The doll was purchased by a couple of ladies for an antique shop in 1920. They wrote a book, Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, detailing the imagined adventures in the first hundred years of the Hitty doll's life.  Many carvers have carved this doll for collectors. This is my first attempt in carving this doll. It is not a exact copy of the first doll and is not meant to be.  She is 6 1/4 inch tall. Hopefully I can carry over the things I've learned over to the next one I carve.

Santa Ornaments

This is the time of year I spend a lot of time carving ornaments for Christmas while still working on other carvings. I like this type of ornament where it can be hung on a tree or set on a shelf or end table. The Santa is carved from a 2 inch square and 3 inches long. 

 

Outhouse

When I was growing up we had an outhouse like many families without running water in the house. Many had two seats. Now you see a lot of porta potties around. This carving is cottonwood bark and is about 6 inches tall. I added the door handle and the hinges were carved in. I burned in the nails and the door on the inside.

Chipmunk

Several people in my club are carving this chipmunk. I used a burner to burn in the hair. I used a varnish on the eyes to give them a glossy look. Chipmunk's are fun to watch in the woods with their chatter and their running around.

Business Card Holder

My granddaughter is starting a new business in September. She will be doing nails and wanted a card holder. She wanted a owl so I needed to design something simple for her cards. The card would be covering most of the carving. It is carved in butternut. I didn't sand it so it does have carve marks.

Cowboy Magnet

This cowboy face is from one of Chris Hammack's designs. I bought his study cast and a blank from him. I did the eyes a little different and added a mouth. I don't know how he does his eyes but I'll find out next year when I take his class. 

Turkey or Santa

When I received my Woodcarving Illustrated magazine I had to carve Glens double sided holiday ornament. It's a turkey on one side and a santa face on the other using the same cutout. I also carved the little moons byDave Stetsen featured on the magazines website. I always look for ideas for carving scraps of wood. With a magnet on the back, they can be painted and they make nice give a ways.

  

Nuthatch Ornament

I hand carved this Nuthatch and used power for the texturing. The feathers were burned in. The Nuthatch is 4 inches long and will be used as an ornament. I like these birds as they can be hung on a tree for the holidays or hung the year around. I think it will look good in my motor home.

War Eagle

One of the classes at the NW Carving Academy in Ellensburg, Washington was taught by Jeff Harness. I am very happy the way this Native American Indian turned out and the instruction from Jeff. It was carved out of Cottonwood bark, 10 inches by 4 inches and 3 inches thick. The bark had a crack on the side which bark can have at times. It was a week long course at the fair grounds. A  couple of evenings I wood burned a horse on basswood. It was my attempt to shade. 

 

Red Fox

This carving is a stylistic red fox out of cottonwood bark. The fox is 7 inches long. The finish is hand rubbed Tru-Oil, which is a blend of linseed oil and natural oils that they use on gun stocks. The base is also cottonwood bark and it has a satin lacquer finish. 

Morning Dance

I received this pattern from a friend, Girard Burgess.  The first seahorse I carved, I broke a part on the front. It showed the glue mark so I carved another since it was to have a natural finish. I also didn't like the back fin because it was flat. I thought I needed some movement in the fin because the seahorse was swimming and the rest of the horse had all curved surfaces. The seahorses are 6 inches long and carved from basswood. The background plate is Acacia wood.

Comfort birds

My computer went down so I had to buy a new one. I'm learning how to move around Windows 8 and see what programs I can install. The birds are caved in butternut. The finish is Tru-Oil. It is a gun stock finishing oil. It is applied with your finger or a cloth. Applying several coats bring out the luster of the wood. The pattern I used is cut from a two inch square by four and a half inch long.

Friendship Cane Face

This carving was a class by Eric Owen at Kenniwick, WA. The block of wood is 2 inches square by 3 inches long. It has a 5/8 hole drilled in the middle. The first face was caved at the class and the others I carved at home. The faces are carved at the corners so you have four faces. It was a fun class and fun carving different faces on the four corners. For friendship canes people carve different things on these two inch blocks and they are thread on a dowel. They are for a gift or a fund raiser.

Carving Rendezvous

This year I attended the carving Rendezvous in Kennewick, WA. I really enjoy these events meeting people and picking up some different techniques in the different classes. The fan on my air conditioner wouldn't work in my motor home but when I checked it out at home it was working. I don't know what that was about. It was hot but there was a nice breeze and we parked under a shade tree so it was comfortable. The first picture is from two different tree branches that are 3 1/2 inches tall. I did the darker one in class and finished the other at home. The top is drilled out and has a compass attached. The second picture is a stylized fox carved from butternut. It is about 7 inches long. The next is a cell phone holder where I got to practice a little chip carving. I did another class but I need to paint it before I post it. They had a contest in carving a piece in bark and judged by peoples choice on Sunday. There isn't much time to carve with all the other stuff going on but I did carve an indian with a feather. It was a fun weekend.