Capital City Carvers

[continued]
  6. Look at your piece in 360 degrees from the side, back, front, top and underneath repeatedly Check against your reference material. If you don't have correctly angled pictures, stop and Google pictures of your subject and try to get the correct angle. Print out helpful pictures.
  7. Don't try to hide unfinished spots. Remember, if it's almost right, it's wrong.
  8. Keep looking at the whole piece 360 degrees, top and underneath. Slow down and make it right.
  9. Keep remarking the center lines.
10. Negative space around the carvings helps make the composition more complete.
11 When working with soft wood, trim your fingernails.
12. Keep looking and asking, "How can I make this better?" Push against your comfort zone to step it up.
13 Step back several feet to look at the total view

Here are a few quotes from the latest issue of Woodcarving, No. 202.

From Bob Yorburg: "Save your first carving. When you are on a project and become frustrated, go and look at your first carving to remind yourself how far you have come. Now you can go back to the current project with peace of mind."

From Peter Benson: "I am often asked by carvers whether the projects they have chosen to carve are too difficult or, alternatively, if they were good enough to tackle a particular project. My answer is always the same - be as ambitious as you want, don't be afraid to tackle any project if you really want to do it. Playing it safe will only mean that you never really progress - taking risks will end up with you improving, even if you make mistakes or things go wrong. That is when you learn. The one thing that you will learn is how to deal with difficult bits of your design and how to avoid breaking vulnerable parts. If you break something you have worked on for hours, you will make sure that it doesn't happen again. Don't be afraid to go for it -as many have said before: 'It is only a piece of wood.' Good Luck"

Habits in Action

1. Clean Hands - wash your hands, they pick up dirt and transfer it to the carving.
2. Clean Tools - wipe them after stropping, wipe them after you finish carving.
3. Clean Bench - keep it clean of chips and dust.
4. Clean Workshop - clean regularly to remove wood chips and dust. Vacuum don't sweep.
5. Clean Work - cover your work between sessions and, if possible, wash with dish soap before finishing.