Heart Necklace

These hearts are carved from a hardwood called Monkey pod. This wood is found in Central America and the Pacific regions. They use Monkey pod wood for furniture and dishes. I found a bowl in a thrift store that I could cut into heart shapes. The wood came from Hawaii. I found the darker areas on the wood was harder than the lighter areas. The finish is a gun stock oil called Tru-oil. The first coat was put on with a brush to fill in the open grain of the wood. The next coats were hand rubbed in, using steel wood or fine sand paper between coats. I used jewelry wire to make a loop and glued it into the heart for an attachment.

Chickadee

This Chickadee is a little larger than half size. I turned the head a little bit. I didn't use any measurements when carving. The eyes look like I placed them to high on the head. After I painted the bird, I dropped it and it landed on it's beak. We had a bird feeder by I window and every once in a while a bird would fly into the window so I had to move the feeder.  So this bird has a crooked beak. I like the paint work on the bird. The feet are made from wire that is soldered. The Chickadee is perched on a piece of wood cut from a Cherry tree branch. 

Library Display

This is my display of my carvings from the past year at the Plummer Library. It will be up for about 6 weeks. I write a few stories about the carvings to create interest in wood carving. They have a great showcase and the patrons enjoy having displays when visiting the library.

Ornaments

These three ornaments are carved from 1" by 1" by 4 " long basswood. I used a jump ring to hook on the acrylic bobble. I used a drill to open the hole at each end of the bobble because the ring wouldn't go all the way through without distorting the ring. I used cording for the bows, but you could use ribbon. It doesn't take a lot of time to carve these and they are good gift idea's.

Cowpoke

This carving of a cowpoke is from a rough out that is 11 inches tall. The base is from a piece of counter-top that has speckles that look somewhat like rock. He is painted with acrylics and a satin lacquer finish.

                      

Eagle Feather

Several members of our club has been carving this feather. I carved one in basswood and another one in cottonwood bark. They are about 11 1/2 inches long and 3/8 inch thick. I thought there wasn't enough movement it the feather so I used a gouge along part of the feather. I broke the quill on the bark feather when carrying it in my bag. The barbs of the feather on the bark are larger because of the layers in bark I thought I would have trouble with breakage. They both have a satin finish but I'm thinking I will paint the eagle head on the basswood feather. 

  

Classic European Woman

I wanted to try carve something I haven't done in the past. I have been a fan of Ian Norbury and his wood sculpting. This is a female bust from his book. I used a piece of basswood I had, so the bust is 6 inches tall. This type of subject has to be well sanded so it won't show carve marks when held in different light sources.  The wood flaw didn't show until I stared carving the face. I was lucky it was at the side of the eye and not in the middle of the eye. The pictures were taken at a little angle, so the face is a little longer on the actual carving. Ian goes into taking photographs of the model for an actual guide for your carving pattern.