When I showed that stack of basswood back in September, I had a very good idea of what it would become: wood carvings. There was a problem however with revealing very much or showing you progress along the way. Most of the carvings were intended as gifts for this Christmas season. So, I wrote about other aspects of wood carving, just enough to keep the blog barely alive, and maybe not all that interesting.
In the mean time, I was having a fine time at the carving bench. It is my great fortune to have arrived at a stage of life where I can pursue making things that interest me. I almost said … “in making beautiful things,” but that presumes too much. So, I’ll just make things. And a lot of them will be whimsical. Caricatures are drawing my attention these days, so these Santa characters are the result. My start was the work of a particular carver, but I veered off in my own direction after only a few in his style. Every character that now emerges from a block of wood is different, and all are fun to create.
All of the carvings have been delivered to their intended recipients, so now I can show some of them here. Some went to family members, some to friends, one to a NY Yankees fan, and some to an Etsy shop. No more commentary. Just the pictures. (As always, click on a picture to see a larger view.)
Merry Christmas everyone!
How adorable those ornaments are! I love the way your sense of humor shines through.
Bob, I found you because you used my photo of the Bounty figurehead (thank you for the credit!). Your humor in carvings however, reminds me of the delight I found in the Inuit carvings I’ve seen in museums and galleries:
http://www.northstarinuitgallery.com/
http://www.eskimoart.com/faq.html
http://www.bayofspirits.com/ (‘Stone’ then ‘Inuit’ – particularly the dancing polar bears)
Hope you enjoy!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about carving.
Jo
Wow. Those are lovely.
I always wanted to try woodcarving. Just whittling even. I like making little thingummies (like origami and clay critters). I like wood. I don’t know why I’ve never tried it. Maybe it’s like my very recent new silly hobby of stop motion animation (which I’ve already tried with the aforement little thingummies made of origami and clay – wanna see? ) where it’s just that nobody ever showed me how & for whatever reason I was always too chicken to just try…
Hi Bonnie,
Your animations are great. I’ve often thought of doing stop motion animations but haven’t gotten there yet. Like your dancin’ turkey!
You’ve already got a great eye for three dimensional objects. Find a good carving knife and get to it. There are lots of carvers doing YouTube videos that are helpful in getting started.