Capital City Carvers

Tips and Techniques

Making a Wood Carving "Pop"

If you watch HGTV you know that in the design world "pop" means making a featured element stand out from and enhance everthing around it. In the case of wood carving, I mean finishing the details so that the carving attracts all eyes and stands out from the other carvings around it.

Professional wood carvers have really mastered the details. Look in the wood carving magazines and you'll see their carvings "pop" right off the pages. Any of us who can use knives and gouges, can see the details in resource materials, and take time with the details can make our carvings "pop".

In July I took a wood carving class with Steve Brown at the Southeastern Woodcarving School. Steve's carvings are beautifully detailed and stand out in any display. Here are some things I learned from this master wood carver.

Getting the details right starts with getting the underlying structures right: no square carvings, and parts, unless deliberately exaggerated for a caricature, are in proportion to the body size. Details (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, toes, fingers, hair, mustache, beard, clothing decorations, etc.) do not go on until the body structures and underlying anatomy are right.

All of Steve's cuts are deliberate and clean. A cut line meets a cut line, and no pieces of wood stick out, are broken off, or left with fuzzies. He keeps his knives sharp and slices the knife through the wood. All saw marks and pencil lines are removed with the knife. An element, such as a head, is property shaped before the eyes and ears are put in. A detail, such as a bag for Santa, receives as much attention as other details—it is not forgotten or tossed off as unimportant.

Carving a mustache and beard so that each is distinct, don't run together, and look natural is a skill we all can learn. Steve accomplished this with short, curved lines in a natural flow—no long, straight hair lines. He slightly undercuts the mustache, the beard, and hair where it touches clothing. Then he cuts the ends of the hair strand apart slightly and creates an uneven edge. The hair really "pops" due to the shadows and perception of depth he creates.

As with all great carvers, Steve paints with oil or acrylic washes—not straight out of the jar or tube. Where two colors meet, Steve puts in a discrete stop cut. Any overflow color runs into the cut line and does not bleed into the other color.

At school I spent about five hours each carving a small Santa and a small wizard. Since returning I have spent about four hours each cleaning up messy places, and making fur trim and hair. I didn't ask, but I bet Steve does, too. I'm hoping my painted carvings will "pop" like Steve's do.

North Florida Fair

Several members have been awarded ribbons and cash prizes for their entries in the Fine Arts & Crafts Show at the annual North Florida Fair. The dates this year are November 6 through 16. The rules and entry forms are available on-line now at www.northftoridafair.com. From the home page, click on calendar, then on the new page click on Premium Book. Then scroll down to click on Dept. 610. This will open the Fine Arts and Crafts Department and give you a link for the rules page and another link to download an entry form. Barbara will have a copy of the rules and entry form available at club meetings for those without computers.

Two entries can be made in any one category, but an exhibitor will not be given more than one prize in any one category. Our category is Class 14—Woodcarving. One enters either the professional (sells wood carvings) or amateur division of Class 14. The carving competes only with other carvings in its division. The entry form and carvings can be delivered on Oct. 31 or Nov. 1, and must be picked up on Nov. 17. There are no entry fees.

There haven't been enough entries in the past to award all ribbons. Get your carving ready now. Let's share our beautiful work.

Carving Class at Light N Up

Barbara Mann teaches an on-going woodcarving class at the Light N UP Art Co-op and Studios in Havana on Thursday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The cost is $15 per night or $50 paid in advance for four nights. The classes are small and the instructor spends a great deal of time with each student. For more information call Barbara at 562-8460 or the Co-op at 539-0006.

Pensacola Show

The Pensacola wood carving club has invited us to enter their wood carving display and competition at the Pensacola Interstate Fair, Oct. 16 through 25. They have 15 categories set up just for wood carvings, one for wood burning, and one for wood turning. A recent issue of Chip Chats had pictures from their last show. They would like more competition in the show and, thus, have invited us. We would bring some ribbons home! Barbara has the show information and entry form available.

Carvings must be delivered Oct. 14, 2 to 8 p.m., or on Oct. 15, 2 to 4 p.m. They must be picked up on Oct. 26 starting at 10 a.m. There is no entry fee. They are looking for volunteers to staff the display. Volunteers receive a fair pass and a pass for parking.

If a few of us are interested in entering, we can share by delivering or picking up the carvings. Barbara will act as coordinator for those who are interested.

Patterns

Little Hulda - Bassett Hound; Loggerhead Turtle Post Hatchling
See Barbara for patterns and cut-outs.