Key Marco Cat

There is an interesting history of this carving, it had been carved with primitive tools such as sea shells, shark teeth, and bones. It is 6 inches tall. I carved it out of cottonwood bark. A pattern was in Woodcarving Illustrated. I found a rear view with a internet search. It was a challenge to carve with carving tools, some of the detail doesn't show in my pictures. 

Santa Key

This is from one of the classes at the Glacier Rendezvous in August. It is 5 1/2 inch tall and is about 5/8 inch thick. I used the wood I have on hand at home. It doesn't take long to carve. The back is flat so I like to carve, burn, paint something on the back. I do something different every year. 

 

FIREMAN

I carved this Fireman from a Moore rough-out. The total height is about 12 inches tall. I didn't take a picture of the back because it is  boring. A gift of a fireman for a retired fireman. Hope he enjoys.

Santa with Walking Stick

This Santa is 4 inches tall. I used a piece of tile for a base. I painted the beard first with yellow, mainly in the grooves, then burnt sienna, and then with an off white (light butternut) on the ridges. This is the first time I tried painting this way. I need a little more work on this technique. I would like to see more yellow showing. I like the outcome enough to do this again.

 

Pumkin Carving

A couple years ago I started carving faces on pumpkin's for Halloween. I'm enjoying having the trick or tweeters making comments on the faces. The  one with the mustache was carved a couple weeks ago so it has gained some mold and lost some facial features.

King and Queen

The King and Queen completes the chess set that has a Christmas theme. The King represents Father Christmas. I wanted a older look of Christmas, of the time of giving without the commercial of gifts. The Queen was hard for me as I came with several choices. I like the way she turned out and is a very important figure in chess as well as life. So now it is the time to play.

 

Knights and Bishops

The Knights were carved as reindeer. I super glued the antlers to add some strength. It also gave a little sheen to the antlers when I painted them. The Bishops give a religious flavor for the Christmas theme of this chess set. One of my favorite times of this season is the candle light services. I enjoy the music although I'm not a good singer.