Rendezvous

I attended a Rendezvous in Kennewick,WA. It was a great time visiting with the people and carving. I always like carving characters so I had to try the small guy. He is a three inch tall cut out.  I carved the bird on both sides of the pine cone. She had a simple way of laying out the lines.  The flute was a kit where we had to round the flute and carve the block, which my choice was a fish. My wife made a bag to protect the flute. I am having fun learning to play music on it.

Mushroom

This was in a class where the bottom was turned on a lathe and the top was cut on a band saw. It is a 2 inch block, three inches tall. The bottom is slanted up and carved with a v gouge. The face is cut at a corner so it can have a large nose it you want. I added a tie just to put some color in it.  

Jim

 I had fun at the Spokane Rendezvous this year, and gave a class and participated in two others. John took some pictures of a friend at a Christmas party last year. Jim was surprised to see we were to carve him as a caricature. The talk was back and forth with good fun all day, The carving is white pine and 10 inches tall including the base.

Icicle

I was away from home for a couple weeks and I took a few knives and some small pieces of wood in a small container. These icicles are 5/8 inch square by 4 inches long. I tried a staining technique I saw used on small guys. I first applied a paste wax with a bristle brush. Then used a hair dryer to melt the wax into the wood. Then I dipped the icicles into the stain and wiped them down. Although it was a lot of work it gave an interesting effect. 

Simple Sculpture

This is from a pattern in the Carving magazine. It is carved from a piece of butternut. The base is separate. It is 1 inch thick, 7 inches tall and 5 inches wide.The finish is Tru oil which is a gun stock oil. I used a pre-stain first before using the Tru oil in spray form. Using the pre-stain the oil finish comes out quicker.

Little Guy's and Gal's

When staying in our motor home while visiting family for a couple weeks I carved these small caricatures. They are 1 inch square by 3 inches long, I wanted to work at carving small gal's and the guy's with a cane. On one guy I used the back of my knife to carve in hair. I like to try differant techniques while carving. Don Mertz has a good blog (woodbeecaver.com) on carving small caricatures. My favorite is the guy with the mustache.

Owl Ornament

I've been working on a class for this summer. It is a simple owl that can be carved in a short time and has a lot of options. It starts out square and can be a little longer. This block is a little over 1 3/4 inch square by 2 inches long.  I use a washer to draw a circle on the top and bottom and draw center lines on all sides. I carve it round leaving one corner for the beak. I leave the center lines so it will be easier to draw in the ear tufts. 

 I carve the bottom round. I use a shallow gouge for the top and clean it up with a knife. It's a little harder to carve on the end grain. On the side I use a knife carving both directions. I leave plenty of wood around the eye. Draw in your eyes and then round and deepen the sides. Carve in the beak and eyes. Carve a few gouge marks on the front. I carve a relief line for the wings.

 I'm carving several for gifts so there is a lot of ways you can carve the eyes and painting with different colors. I used gel pens for the lines in the eyes. Have fun carving.