[Mischief]

I was wondering if anyone could show me by pictures how you progressed as a carver.eg first carving thru to present day and how it wows even yourself? I loved my first carving and the more I carve the more I learn but there are days I wonder if I get the hang of it and it would be great to see the progress a person can make to give me hope!

[doris]

fun topic, thanks for starting it mischief. i always love to see these first and last compares :-)


this little owl is my first wood carving, carved from fir, did not know about carving woods at that time. i did it in mai 2006, with a swiss pocket knife, did not know about existence of carving chisels either... the knife was very dull, since i did not know how to sharpen. and since the dull knife produced tons of fuss, i sanded the owl to make it somewhat presentable... my latest carving is this self portrait, finished just the other day... and i hope this is encouraging for everybody :-)

(sorry, i dont know how make attachment with already uploaed pic)

[nick onac sculptor]

Dear sir,

I just hope I can help :

-keep drawing every moment you can because this is the most important part of understanding your vision ( in every medium : wood , clay , oil painting etc...)
-use the shape to invoke your emotion because without the message and emotion you get a empty shell.
-less is more , so simplify and eliminate those things that are not helping your vision.
- study the old masters and understand their way of solving a subject.
-learn everyday to observe , see and draw what you see.
- be your worst critic and never consider your piece a masterpiece

Only one judge is never wrong when it comes to your work : TIME


I carved , painted for the last 30 years and every time i discover how much i do not know !


Nick

[Hugh P.]

Hi Doris, your a gifted carver to be sure. Also a nice looking lady apparently.
When I see someone with raw talent like you have, starting with a very basic owl and in just two yrs have shown a great gift for carving, it is amazing. Some people like myself just carve, others are born with the insight. I have a student that displays such insight, and its rewarding to see what she can do with so little instruction. Understands quickly, things that has taken me yrs to learn. I like Nicks post, specially the parts where he states that less is more. That is so true. Just had to answer your post, great stuff, grin.

[doris]

no, no, no... i am not gifted, and that was not my point in showing my pics... it was truely meant as encouragement for mischief, or others, in the difficult time when carving starts and one doubts. so, i wanted merely show what i truely belief everyone can do....

and, yes, i did go the way nick suggests, i had drawing expereinece before i started carving, and i have studied the masters, and still do, i just learned a very little, so many more to learn so few time for that ...
it is not about learning to carve, it is about learning to see, as nick describes it too. when you understand what you see, when you really "see", then you know what you want cut in the wood. it may come out clumsy in the beginning, like my owl, but that clumsyness goes away more and more the more you carve, since you learn your tools and what they can do for you ... i think, talent is overrated. i dont have any particular. i am not born with insight. i just try. i am insanely curious to learn and try out things though... and look, and try carve that what i see, in real, or in my mind... and, thanks for the nice looking lady :-) big smile :-)

[doris]

i think, i want add for clearity, what i mean, and what nick means, by learning to "see", since this took me myself sometime to grasp, and it is most important... i try with an example :

give somebody a pencil and paper and ask him to draw a head. the average person will draw an oval for the face, dots or circles for the eyes, some squiggly for the nose, and so on,....

now where does the avearge person locate the eyes ? near the very top of the head !! what is that ?

go, and look in the mirror and you see your eyes are located pretty precisly in the middle between top and chin !...now, what is that ? why has the average person draw the eyes that high, which is obviously wrong. everybody sees people every day, and if only oneself in mirror...

they look, but they not "SEE", they have "idea" eyes are high on head, since eyes are so important for every communication. important means high... so, to learn to see means realising what things we really know about the face, say, and which things we really dont know but always only assumed,...

if you try start carve an object, only with the "assumed" knowledge, you have to fail, when you carve the eyes that high on the head, you will notice it looks wrong, and will be disappointed about failur, and, maybe not even understand why it looks wrong... that i mean by learn to see... and this learning to see, is very well to learn by drawing, thats why nick suggested it... its not necessary you learn draw wonderfully, but the mere fact that you try draw something verymuch like what you see, will help you to learn to really see...

ok, i promise to not further pull the thread away from its topic "show your first and last carving", but i thought it very important to note...

[Alice in Wonderland]

Hi Doris you are so right when you say "seeing" is the important part of carving anything natural, not just for carving but for Life as well, so many people go through Life with out the ability to see their surroundings clearly.
I live in the bush and when we have visitors and go for walks they fall literally over the most beautiful things, unless I point them out, they are blind to Life, again thanks for pointing this out so clearly
Alice

[Ashbys]

Mischeif ,

I am not a master , a long way from it . And I guess in a lot of ways a misfit. I started carving in May of 2005 . Then did not have time to do two carvings in 2007 . So I guess about 2 years real carving time. I do not draw very well at all, but I do study.

I study people , faces , patterns, history , the subject, then do a pattern , if it is a locked subject , or just carve. You will improve , and get out of it what you put into it. The galleries has some of my carvings. You can see the progression.

There are some great carvers on the boards. Some of their work is just amazing. But remember it is only a piece of wood, relax and enjoy it, remember every cut you make you will learn, there has been good information already posted , but to enjoy woodcarving you do not have to be an artist, just enjoy what your doing.

Ash

[susieq]

Hello Mischief,
The very first Santa I ever carved is on the opening page of my website. He is crude and badly done but I still have him and keep him to remind me where I started from. The galleries on the site pretty much document the progress from there. I don't think we ever stop improving....if we did, we would get bored and quit.

Doris, not only are you an absolutely wonderful carver....I see you are a warrior princess too.

[Mischief]

Susieq, Doris

Based on those principles, this should be a lifetime hobby!. Susie, Lol. I actually checked out your web gallery then it dawned on me that you meant the forum's gallery coz I couldnt see a crude santa in your website!!

Doris...was the carving of Joan of Arc?