Capital City Carvers

WOODCARVING 101

(cont. from previous page)
grandkids. Seem there are a variety of ways to think about "carving", about whether it is "high" art or folksy, or something other. The following is a way to look at and think about the range and variety of carving you might see, or be interested in.

First, there are three general categories of wood carving that we can do. Second, there are variations within each category. Third, there is some overlap between the three. Bear in mind professional art and/or academic standards may vary by school or museum.

The first category is carving in the round, also often called caricature carving. This is the one most of us do. Many of us started with a simple duck, or Santa. Why is it called "carving in the round"? Well, mostly because you usually carve all around the outside...front, back, sides, top, bottom...all around. Usually, but not always. They are caricatures—smaller versions of something. Four kinds of carvings in this category: people, animals, birds, things. Things? Think mail boxes, Christmas ornaments, chains, etc. Most carvers seem to prefer people, but many prefer to focus on birds, animals or things. To add to this mish-mash of listings, there is a tremendous variation in carver's preferences whether a carved object should be absolutely realistic or something other—like the smooth, graceful lines of a stylistic deer, or the comical exaggerations of a caricature hillbilly or plow horse.

The second category of wood carving is relief carving—literally a picture carved into the wood. They may be shallow or deep carved which affects how much 3 dimensionality you can have. Many introductory relief carvings are of flowers, leaves, trees, buildings. Mine have mostly been dragons and Celtic knots. You will see a lot of this kind of carving on old European churches—altars, door, etc.

The third category of carving is chip carving. Unlike in-the-round and relief carving, chip carving isn't used to create the object you are working on. Rather, its use is primarily to decorate existing objects—like boxes, kitchen utensils, wall decorations, bed posts, Viking ship bows, etc. Historically, this is one of the folk arts of the masses—the ordinary folks who didn't have the means or resources for building cathedrals and castles. They did have kitchen spoons, dishes, entry ways, storage boxes, sleds—everyday things that could be used in everyday life. Something that could be made beautiful to lighten the tedium of an ordinary, often colorless world. It could be done with a simple knife or chisel. Actually, the process of chip carving is a relatively simple process. Creating a pattern or design for the carving is more complex.

In my carving experienee, I started with in-the-round carving (a duck, not yet finished) and acquired some of the rudiments of knife, tool and wood usages. I then moved to chip carving a few years later. A couple of years ago, I started to do some relief carving. I've gotten a ways along on each, but have a lot to learn in all of them. We'll see what happens.

Can't find what you want in the Cutout Box? Robert Christian has taken over the Cutout Box duties. Robert does the Cutouts and brings the box to our meetings. You — the club members — need to tell Robert what you would like to see in the box. He can't read your mind so tell him what interests you and what you want in the Cutout Box. We have many, not all, of Barbara's patterns. Robert will make cut-outs of some and have them available. If you see a carving in one of the carving magazines, let Robert or Adelle know and we might be able to have cut-outs made.