Walking Stick

Using a walking stick has several advantages. It helps with your balance over rough areas, it takes some of the stress off your legs, and it can be used as a weapon to fight off the bears. This walking stick was carved from a Diamond Willow. It is said that the willow tree grows diamond shaped cankers in response to a fungus. The cankers seem to result from the tree growing away from the site of attack. I don't know how true this is because I'm carving one stick with cankers covering all three sides. I guess it doesn't matter how it gets there, it does make a nice walking stick or cane. It is a softer wood to carve. The stick is 57 inches long and the hand grip is just over my elbow level. I'm ready for my walk in bear country.

 

Awareness Ribbon

October is breast cancer awareness month, so I have been working on an awareness ribbon with angel wings. I started with a 3 1/4 inch long by 3/4 inch thick piece of basswood. On the first one the wings were flat. I wanted more of a dish in the wings. I gave the pattern to a friend and he came back with a different wing pattern and a cutout that was 3/8 inch thick. I carved it two different ways with the head covering on the back. The 3/8 inch thick angels have a magnet in the back of the head. I like the down swept wing a little better. The up swept wing looks more futuristic to me. Because of the lighting the ribbons are off color. The ribbons are actually pink.   

 

Patriotic Fish

I went to Spokane's Artistry in Wood with good intentions of taking a few pictures of some of the great carvings. My cameras battery was dead. I was so busy I didn't get something entered in the show. Our club had a booth to entice some new members. Several of our members had carved this fish design and was displayed. I started out painting my fish with an airbrush and it didn't blend in the colors like I wanted. I finish it with brushes with a patriotic theme. The paint become heavier than I wanted. I'm not to thrilled with it and I will carve another one. When I manned the booth, a lady asked where a person could find cottonwood bark. I told her along the river. She said that wouldn't work because her husband couldn't swim. My chuckle of the day.

Heart Flower

A friend gave me this flower he started carving and asked me to finish it. He designed it with four hearts and added some leaves. Girard likes to draw, and he designs some very good carvings. It is carved out of butternut and is 3 1/2 inch square by 3/8 inch thick. Butternut is easy to carve but it took a lot of sanding to bring out the richness of the wood. It has some interesting grain patterns.

Merit Badge Beads

Angie contacted me about carving pine cone beads for their Boy Scout troop. She couldn't locate any online or in local bead stores. This sparked my interest because I didn't have any idea what they would be. She said they would be like Merit Wood Badge beads, 1 inch long by 1/2 inch in diameter and brown. A set will be attached to a cord and worn around the neck. The cord in the picture isn't the one they will be using. There is a rich history with Wood Badge beads and the Boy Scouts for their leadership. They will be presented to the scouts in late October. I started out with a 1/2 inch square by about 3 inches long. A little over 1 inch in length was rounded to a pine cone shape. I drew around the cone at 3/16 inch spaces from 1/4 inch from the top. I used the corners of the square and the middle of the flat parts to free hand draw the vertical lines. Then X the squares. I used a chip knife to cut straight down on the V lines and then angle cut out the chip. I carve around each line before going down to the next one. On the very bottom I used a v tool to carve to the point. I clamped the square part in a vise to drill a 3 mm hole for the cord. Then sawed it off to 1 inch and rounded the top and painted it. This is for our future leaders.

 

Montana Happy Turtle

I received an e-mail from a lady who participated in my class of the happy turtle at the West Glacier Rendezvous. She had finished the turtle and sent some kind words and a picture. I like the paint job and the scene that explains why the turtle is happy. It is encouraging  to see the work of others.

Cross Ornament

The inside of this cross was opened up by drilling a series of holes on the center line of the side.  I angled the cross to drill out the center. With a knife and gouge I opened the drilled area. I carved though at a angle to the center and in the opposite direction on other side. I did a simple chip carving on both sides and scalloped all the ends. The finish cross is Alizarin Crimson oil color and linseed oil.  It's 4 inches long and out of 3/4 inch basswood.