Gnome

A few very nice days at West Glacier KOA and a carving Rendezvous with friends. Lots of classes and fellowship. One of the classes was a Gnome. I took this class because of Leroy. I wanted to learn more on how to teach carving. He is a great teacher and I spent more time listening to him talking to the beginners than carving. This is a very good beginning project and fun to carve. I did finish carving and painted the Gnome. I did teach a class on the happy turtle, a picture of it on the May post. I did use some of the points from Leroy on teaching. I was taken back when a lady told me she was blind. She was also in a wheelchair. She wanted to be able to carve something in bed when she went into cancer treatment next week. She could see a bit on the lines and could feel the goby. It was a special time for both of us and it makes me think of what little problems I have with my eyes and health. It is a time I will remember.

Pencil Santa

The school supplies are out and I found these large size pencils. This is the time to buy them while they are in stock. They said they were premium wood, so they must be for carving. They are made from cedar. I intended to give these to preschoolers around Christmas and I was told by wife and daughter I didn't buy enough pencils, whatever that means. They are fun to carve and it doesn't take a lot of time.

Santa Ornament

This is a Gargac style Santa ornament that is 4 1/2 inches long and cut diagonally from a 2 inch block, The back is dished out so it can be cut through in three spots. The beard and hair was painted with a watered down burnt sienna and then painted with a few coats of white, witch also was watered down. The hat is more burgundy then red with a gold trim. I did a few of these last year with white trim on the hat. This one is going to a raffle in a couple of weeks.

Native American Indian

This Native American Indian is carved in cottonwood bark that I found along a creek in Idaho. It is 14 inches tall by 4 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches thick. I added a couple of strings of beads and ear rings. The different tribes used a wide variety of material, beads, bone, teeth, shells, leather, fur, and feathers.  My wife decided it looked good on a table in the living room. If you are on Facebook a good site to check out is "Native American Indian - Old Photos". There are pictures from a lot of different tribes and it may take you all day to go though them. It is an excellent site for reference. 

Cowgirl Saturday Night

This is a Harold Enlow rough-out that I carved for a lady, who had bought this blank several years ago. I carved this same rough-out last year and the wood was also dry and hard to carve. I did more detail in this one and the face came out better.

Reindeer ornament

This past week I went out to look for some cottonwood bark along a creek where there is a lot of cottonwood. It is a narrow road with step banks at times to get there. At the creek where it crosses the road was a dead tree with bark on it. I was able to harvest some bark from it. Then I crossed the creek and drove on a grass covered road that ended at the railroad tracks. The tracks follow along the creek, so I walked along the tracks where I saw a cottonwood that had no bark except at the top there was some bark. I had to go though some brush and then some high grass to reach the tree. The bark had come off the tree and was on top of the grass, so I was able to get some very good bark to carve. At home I had to see how good the bark was so I carved a folk-art reindeer and a small house. This is one of the cases that something dead comes to life. The bark is gray and hard on the outside layer, once carved through that layer it is easier to carve and it has the beautiful shades of brown. On the reindeer you can see the layers of the bark. It is 5 inches tall and 1 inch thick with a red stick pin for a nose. The house is 5 1/2 inches tall by 4 inches wide and 2 3/4 inches thick. I like the way the tree came out in this carving.

Whimsical Santa Tree

I wanted to carve this Santa Tree and out camping was a good time to do this and I was able to finish two bark houses too. The Santa is 5 inches tall and 2 inches square. Instead of using a pattern approach to the tree I did random cuts for the branches, although I think using a pattern of some sort would have been easier and cleaner cuts. It would make a nice ornament.