Fish

I liked the way my first fish looked so I carved one in cottonwood bark. This one I added tail fins that has some motion. It's about 5 inches long. I cut a fish hook for a eye and super glued it to the back. Our motor home has these cloth area's on the outside of the cabinets so you can pin various stuff. It will be a good addition for our traveling home.

Fish Relieved

This design is from a member of our club. They were carved in various woods and sizes. Mine is basswood and mounted on a piece of mahogany, 3 1/2 inches by 6 inches. The fish has a light stain.

Mountain Man

This figure head is done in cottonwood bark. A little of the bark is shown at the top and the bottom sides. It is sprayed with several coats of satin DEFT. It sure does bring out the color of the bark. The fun part is carving the flow of the hair and the beard. I sometimes carve something in the back, but I didn't this time. Maybe later.

Wolf- finished

                                                                   











  I found this piece of driftwood on the Washington coast that was weathered and gray. I dipped it into boiled linseed oil and it turned black and it looked like it was burnt. The next day I used a gouge to cut off the top layer and the result was this rich brown. What a surprise, a piece I thought was scape turned out this color. The wolf is pinned on the driftwood with brads and super glue. The block of wood underneath is attached with screws to the driftwood. 

Wolf, painting

When painting the wolf I used light washes of acrylic paints on the wolf. Brown tones, gray and white. It takes several coats to bring out the colors. The next step is mounting the wolf on a habitat and stand.

Wolf, burning in the hair

I used a Razertip unit to burn in the hair. I started on the rear legs burning in small c lines. I didn't like the way it looked, so I carved off that part and started over again burning in small s lines. I also used a gouge to carve the area around the ribs to break up that smooth look. Depending on the grain of the wood it made a difference on the heat setting on the burner. It's the first time I did hair like this, so I learned a lot. Next step is to paint the wolf.

Wolf Carving in progress

I thought it would be interesting to see the progress of a carving. I started from a block of basswood 2 inches by 5 inches tall by 8 inches in length. I used a band saw to cut out the side view. The wolf is hand carved with a knife and gouges, then lightly sanded for the next step of burning in the hair.