Help I'm in a funk about woodcarving

[mikeyp218]

Hi all,
I've been wood carving for a year and I love to see how my projects come to life from a square piece of wood. But in the past few months I have not been carving like I used too. It seems as though I might be in a funk about it. If there is any one who has been through what I am feeling please tell me what to do. Or even where or how to start a new project. Please help mikeyp218@yahoo.com

[uvawyo]

It happens, Mikey, I usually have severalprojects going a once so if I get stumped with one or bored with one I can go to another and keep whittlin while I think about the first one. Or just take a break and don't worry about it.

[mojavezig]

Been there and doing that now...Do you live in a Northern climate with a lot of snow and bad weather? That's what cripples my motivation the most. Try a new project using different tools or subject matter. It will come back to you if you challenge yourself....Good Luck

[STAR]

Originally Posted by uvawyo

It happens, Mikey, I usually have severalprojects going a once so if I get stumped with one or bored with one I can go to another and keep whittlin while I think about the first one. Or just take a break and don't worry about it.

----------------

I agree with the above from Uvawyo.

I am new also, so I think I understand where you are at. I like to have a few jobs on the go. I also find that if I do not have a clear picture in my head of what I want to accomplish then I will most likely accomplish that. ( Nothing but rubbish ).

I have found, for me, it is best not to spend too much time with one carving at a sitting, Maybe it is my concentration. But I have to force myself to have a clear idea in my head of what I want to achieve, small bits at a time, and stop and have a break when I have done that.

If I move on too quickly without thinking the process through I know disaster is just around the corner. Try to have something else to do, not even carving related and do not try to put too tight a time frame on a carving, yes, their has to be a time frame, but give yourself plenty of time. The experts can rush a project, but I cannot.

Pete

[Robson Valley]

I'm mostly self-taught. I know what I want to see at the end but I have days and days where I don't know how to get there, what to do next. As a result, at the moment, I have a _dozen_ carvings in process. #13 actually got finished, #14 is quite close to Varathane. There might be others.

We've had a long, cold & snowy winter here in the mountains. I'm pleased that I have the carving to pass the time.
Start every inspiration you get, even if you get no further than the drawings.
Or, pack the stuff away. Goof off, do something totally different. I do.

[mobjack68]

I find that when I long to carve (I don't carve near as much as I would like) I slip around the internet looking at pictures of what other folks have carved. Lot of stuff I just kinda skip over, every once in a while I find something that really catches me off guard....I watched a woodcarving forum from Australia for a while. Those blokes have some really weird ideas about woodcarving.

carvers gallery - Woodwork Forums

start with the gallery....link above...
One tool very lacking in my arsenal ??? ability to draw/sketch. While you are waiting for inspiration, doodle...sketch....draw....color.
It'll come to you....you just wait!

[brent]

Yep, been there......come to think about it, still working on getting out of it.

[woodshed]

Keep at it Mikey, one day you will look around and realize you are in a funk because you didn't get to carve that day. Ideas are everywhere, don't give up.
John

[susieq]

Mikey, everyone hits the wall now and then.... It might be weather related, as some have suggested, or it might be temporary burn out. Last year I pushed myself pretty hard to have enough work to send the gallery AND do our carving club show last month..... 4-6 hours a day, at least 4 days a week. I didn't feel burned out but I took a month off for some rest anyhow. Just got back into my shop this week and I'm ready to go again. But everyone has times when they are just not motivated to carve, just can't get interested. Most of the time, it passes. Something will inspire you and you will dig into it again. When you feel like this, just go do something else for a while. Fighting it will only make it worse. Read a couple of books, go fishing, anything else but carving, for a bit. You'll get the bug to carve again before you know it.

[Robson Valley]

May I add that I do my best to never leave the house without a proper sketch book and some stump of a pencil. Crazy when the ideas come. The first sketches are crude but the written notes help.
Drawing takes some repetitive practice using the right side of your brain. Don't rush this, it's hard to make the switch to right-side at the start because there is a big difference between just looking at something and really seeing it..
A. For example, put a small still life subject on the table (stapler or lawn sprinkler or empty wine glass).
There are two rules for the drawing:
#1 you must look at the object, never, ever look at your drawing.
#2 your pencil/pen must be in constant motion, never hesitate.
B. Draw a human face from a magazine/newspaper. Turn the face around so that the hair/top is closest to you. Draw what you see.

The artist, Frederick Franck was fond of saying that he never truly "saw" anything unless he did a drawing.
I agree.