Tips and Techniques
by Barbara Mann
"Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object." This definition comes from Wikipedia.
Wood carving also covers covers a variety of types of carving. I found one source with this list of types: architectural, bird, caricature, carousel, chainsaw, chip, decorative, decoy, doll, figure, fish, flat-plane, incised, relief, Santa, spoon, stick, whittling, and whimsey. Some of us have tried several of the types, but no one I know is proficient in all of them.
Within a type of carving there are various "styles." For example, in bird carving, one can carve a bird in realistic, stylized, or folk formats. Each can create an interesting and beautiful carving, but they will be very different from each other. In the realistic style, a bird painted and placed in a habitat will look real at first glance. Someone else can take the very same pattern and focus on the body lines and major features of the bird and use the natural grain of the wood for a beautiful representation of the bird. This is often called stylized carving. I frequently use of this style because I love the appearance of the wood itself. Then many people carve cheerful, colorful and fun birds in the folk style. The proportions are nearly correct but the carving is not refined. It captures the essence of the bird, and the carving is finished with bright colors and sometimes unusual patterns.
There is no "right" style. Once I heard a realistic carver call the stylized form "simplistic." I think that person had little understanding or interest in the natural beauty of the wood and completely missed the point of a stylized carving. I've seen club members take the same cutout and do very different things with it. All of it is fine. These are just different ways of approaching a fun and creative activity. And you will get a chance to try your hand at playing with these styles when Adelle and I present the chickadee ornament. Try another style if you like.
Wood carving should be fun and creative. If you want to improve your chosen style, just ask for comments. But above all, enjoy yourself.
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Club Tapes
by Mike Crowley
An inventory of the Club Library is in progress. The goal is to update our inventory list, label those materials that currently have no label and organize the contents of the file cabinets. Eventually the VHS tapes will be converted to DVDs making our collection available for all in the newer technology.
Most importantly, however, is that sixteen videos appear to be missing from the file cabinet. We would like each past and present club member to look around their homes for club videos or books that they have not returned. No questions will be asked! Our only response will be "Thank you!"
Inventory description of missing tapes:
- 002V Carving, Mallet & Gouges
- 009V Hummingbird & Dove
- 010V Carving Wood Spirits
- 014V Airbrushing Wildfowl
- 018V How to Sharpen Tools
- 058V Carving a Bottle-Nose Dolphin
- 059V Carving in the Round
- 060V Relief Carving in a Different Light
- 063V Woodburning Novice
- 064V Chip Carving
- 067V Hand Tool Carving
- 068V Carving Mountain Man
- 069V Hiking Stick
- 072V Carving A Figure
Please return videos or books to Mike Crowley or another club officer so they can be properly recorded in the inventory. If you no longer attend club meetings, materials may be mailed to Mike Crowley, 3209 Heather Hill Lane, Tallahassee, FL 32309.
Products Derived from Trees
If you own a cord of wood, you could manufacture 12 dining room tables, l/20th of a house, 4,384,000 postage stamps, or 300 copies of the book you are now reading. Wood is a material with options.
From: A Splintered History of Wood by Spike Carlsen.
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