THE CARVING BLOCK CBS syndrome

[woodfish]

hi im at point right now where i just cant seem to get inspired to carve!!!.. Ever time i think about carving something i end up changing in my mind everytime im completely puzzled by this. I think im possbly suffering from CBS means Carvers block syndrome referosmsis,its a state which a wood carver has wood withdrawl or something to that extent.. What do all you wood artists do to get inspired to carve? my mind wanders in to all different things i could carve, but i yet still cant make up my mind.Its drivng to me into a wood world of insanity!!!
What are reason for carving wood is it a primitive instinct that im feeling perhaps?
Its plagues me till no end.. Maybe i should see a shrink or something and get to the bottom of this wood condition and talk it out..Yeah imagine myself lying there on couch just a talk away and babbling away nothing but wood and wood carving .. lol I could go on on about what i want to carve and never end up carving anything lol
Cause im scared i am scared that is the bottom line im scared in myself to try to carve lol

if you are suffering with this CBS syndrome let me know
group hug perhaps??? lolo.lll,oSnorkelSnorkel

[Lynn O. Doughty]

First, you have to determine what you want to carve. Too many carvers really don't concentrate on which area to apply their efforts. Birds one day, caricatures the next, then maybe a chip carving or two. It's nice to try all the styles but eventually you're going to have to settle on a category that really piques your interest. For me it's kowboys and Indians and anything associated with the west. If I find myself in a slump I head for something associated with the west...a museum, a magazine, my horse. My horse Boomer will get me back on track in no time. It's amazing how picking a horses hooves, saddling him up and taking a ride over the hill will get you in the mood to do some serious carving in the western theme. \

We just returned from the big show in Dayton. I carved constantly before it to get things finished to display. You might think that I'd be burnt out once I got home but just the opposite ... I'm back in the shop, recharged to replace the ones we were lucky enough to sell with new ideas and challenges.

[JJireh]

Congratulations, you are an artist
Sometimes it is time not to do anything but rest your head, it is ok not to do something.
First thing you can try is to put yourself into the environment. Go to where you carve, pick up the tool and put it to wood. This can free up your cerebrum.
Or
Draw...take a pencil and notebook and just start throwing lines on a page. Jot down the ideas you have in your head. This is a good idea for me because I have too many ideas and I would lose them otherwise.
Buy some clay (Sculpey3 or Fimo) and just play with it. I keep a roll on my desk and roll it into a cylinder and with a tool 'carve' the clay while I am eating lunch or get bored with code.
If none of that works:
Go back through old copies of Woodcarving illustrated
Tell yourself, It's ok to put this down for a while.
Sean

[CarverFromNoWhere]

Just a load of BS here.

[TreeWizard]

I've kind of settled on mythical creatures and woodspirits. But even with that I have time when I get into a piece and just can't seem to get past one part. I get to the point that I think if I make another cut and it's wrong that I'll have wasted the 10 hours I have in the piece, so it just sits until I work up the nerve to make that next cut. I find that even if the cut is wrong, I can still finish the piece, it may look different than I had wanted it to look but that's not necessarly a bad thing.

[mdallensr]

I agree with the previous posts. I hit a point with some carvings where I don't know what to do next. I'm uncertain and worried I'm about to really trash a serious effort. If I put it aside for a day or so, I can usually come back to it and see right away what to do next. On my animal carvings, early in rough out, it's hard to "see" the finished shape, and that makes progress slow down. I think a lot of us encounter this and usually have more than one carving on our bench, is various stages of carving, so we can pick up another that is "ready" to carve some more.

The only thing that really shut me down from carving was, early as a beginner, I went to some shows and museums and saw all of that terrific work and knew I could never match it. That too will pass. Keep some carving books and magazines nearby, make a list of projects for your own honey-do list, and keep a couple of simple blanks or rough-outs that you can start on with little additional effort. If you have a carving spot, ready to use on a moment's notice, it really helps as well. If it's going to be a big chore to get started again, and you have a lot of demands on your time, it's just too easy to give up. Don't. Mike

[woodfish]

Originally Posted by Carver/Turner_FromNowhere

HEHEHEHEHEHEH welcome to the crazies club woodfish, I started out with the same thing untill I found my niche. Jump from one project to another without getting anywhere, take a look around the galleries and find something you like.
If ya want to do something simple and fun takes only a knife and a bit of a branch any specie, just carve a mushroom....... then a pine tree, and then, try a mushroom again, but this time add a chimmeny and door, like a smurf house.

I had a block once for about 2 months where I did not carve anything, no idea what brought it on. Then the new issue of WCI showed up it was my savior.
Carl

HA right on haaa im laughin here great CARVE A MUSHROOM LOLOLOL

[K. Ellenburg]

Hey Woodfish I think Carver/Turner got it backwards I think what he meant to say was TAKE A MUSHROOM, THEN CARVE SOME WOOD.

[cannuckcarver]

Originally Posted by K. Ellenburg

Hey Woodfish I think Carver/Turner got it backwards I think what he meant to say was TAKE A MUSHROOM, THEN CARVE SOME WOOD.

LOL....This is gettin good...lol

[K. Ellenburg]

Originally Posted by cannuckcarver

LOL....This is gettin good...lol

Hey cannuckcarver, doesn't it make more sense to you. lol
Kevin