Hello, I am a 17 years old girl from Israel and I am really interessted in learning to carve wood. Problem is, that there are only two wood carvers in my city. Both very old.

So I am planning on ordering some books and guides from Amazon.com does any of you have any recommendations?

Oh, and thanks for reading this!

[AlArchie]

I'd go and ask those very old carvers for advice........I guess you'd call ME 'very old', but I don't think so!

Seriously, those old craftsman carvers have a lot to offer, in both technique and in subject matter.

As far as books go, a lot depends on what your interests are, or what you plan on carving. Â*If you are interested in learning basic traditional woodcarving, try 'Essential Woodcarving Techniques' by Richard Onians

Aother for carving human faces is 'Carving the Human Face' by Jeff Phares. Â*I wish I had the opportunity to study under either of these gentlemen, but the books are great.

If you are interested in caricature carving, try contacting Rick
Ferry, for a good supply of books on that subjusct, and he can put you in touch with a lot of great sources of information. www.littleshaver.com


Dale O. right here just started a site with carving stufff available, too, at email dale9091@aol.com (hope you don't mind, Dale!)

There are many carvers right here on the WCI site that can advise as you go along. Â*Check out the picturetrail site for some of the individual carvers work. Â*It' located at www.picturetrail.com Â* Â*User name is carvers-R-us and the password is carve. Â*No secrets, here, just access to some very interesting carvers and their carvings. Â*Check it out and see where you want to go with your carving, and check back often!

Al

[mdallensr]

Add Chris Pye's books to your list of good carving books. He also has a free monthly e-newsletter. Open this site to subscribe.
http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/index.html

I also like Rick Butz and Graham Bull as carver/authors, and for architectural/relief cavring, Mike Davies book is a tremendous help with really good patterns and techniques. I'd go the the library first, but I'm probably a little spoiled by our libraries here in the U.S.

I agree....go see those 'old' carvers, they are probably a fountain of information and I will bet they would be pleased as punch to tell you what they know!

Thanks everyone!

I am still not so sure about the type of carving that I should choose... so I'll just go with the basics and see where I find myself. I'll also sign up to that newsletter as a start.

And as for those old men, I agree that there must be a lot to learn from them... but I am so shy. I can't just show up at their place someday and ask them to help me with carving... it's impossible for someone like me.

But I am okay with learning things on my own. I am currently studying Japanese all by myself and it doesn;t go that bad.

So I'll manage.

[AlArchie]

Noa, I hope this will be a positive experience for you, but as you get a bit more confident in your abilities, please work up the courage to contact those old gentlemen. Perhaps once you have some of your own skills developed, it will be less intimidating to meet with experienced carvers.

Good Luck, and keep in touch with the WCI bulletin board! We'd like to see some of your work, as you progress.

Al

[mdallensr]

Ditto those comments. If you work up the courage to visit those old men, you might find them unstoppable in giving you advice.

If you are too shy to go to them, how about finding a go between that will talk for you or send them a note...I have learned many things on my own, but I will tell you, life is short and we waste a lot of it trying to figure things our for ourselves when there are many people more than willing to help by giving us pointers that will save countless hours!! I am an oil painter in addition to carving etc...I painted for 20 plus years without a lesson, I found an artist that I liked his style of painting and took 2 or 3 classes from him and learned more I believe than I had learned in the 20 years before!!

Now I should take my own advice about carving, but unfortunately there are no carving classes around here!

Thanks for the good word Al. Noa I agree with the others and feel you should talk to the experianced carvers near you. Chris Pye does have wonderfull books and a great web site. He is also the carver I most admire. Another good source for learning is Nora Hall at
www.norahall.com

She offers videos that you work along with. She also has study casts that are a great help.
Chip carving is a great and inexpensive way to start carving. visit http://www.chipcarving.com/
This will give you some great sources for for ideas and books.
I think you coming to this site will play an important role in pursueing your carving.

Good Luck
Dale