Another elf

[mpounders]

Here is another little fellow. I sure enjoy doing ornaments, maybe because of the size of the carvings and the subjects. It seems like they are easier to complete and the lessons learned apply to other things I like to carve. Comments welcomed and thanks for looking!

[Iowa Carver]

Nice one Mike. I like those elves, you do a great job on them.

Corey

[KenC]

Very nice work Mike.
By the looks of these I think you have it pretty well down.
I can't remember what you used for the tutorial: book,mag,DVD, or other?
The reason why I ask is I would like to do some and since yours turned out so nice I figured I would use the same tutorials.

Thanks
Ken

[Tom Ellis]

What a great looking face Mike, I really like him. Keep up the great work.

Tom

[Nancy-G]

Mike - that's just beautiful! Absolutely beautiful carving.
Can I ask how you do those eyes?

[Tom-H]

Mike,
One of the "cleanest" wood carvings around. Excellent carving and finishing tecniques.

Tom H

[Dicky]

Great job Mike, maybe someday I will get to that level.

[gene-messer]

Excellent job Mike

Gene

[mpounders]

Thanks for the kind remarks. Ken, the tutorial I'm using is in the "Handcarved Holiday Gifts" from WCI (see cover attached). I guess I got it for subscibing to the magazine...it just showed up in the mail a month or so back. Nancy, I hope I am finally getting better at doing eyes! I really made an effort to get a better eye mound, in that i wanted it to appear half-round and out from the face when I viewed it from the side. THEN I carved the eye lid on that mound and made the eyeball rounded inside those lids. The bag underneath was carved afterwards, the pupil burned in, and glazed with that triple-thick gloss glaze I got at Hobby Lobby. It make's them look pretty realistic. Dicky, you just keep carving. When I look back at the ornaments and carvings I posted earlier this year, I can see improvements in how I carve now. This web site, the magazine, and being able to ask people for advice here, have all made a big difference for me! But just the practice of carving, trying to figure out things, doing it over and over and finally understanding what I'm being told or seeing in the magazines is how I've learned. And it doesn't really matter if I don't "learn" anything as long as I enjoy carving! In the past year, I have learned that I would rather carve for fun rather than trying to carve something specifically to sell or to someone else's specifications.

[uvawyo]

nice job, Mike
maybe someday, with practice. I can reach your level or craftsmanship