[Dundee]

I'm about to start Mark Gargac's "Woodspirit in Basswood" tutorial but I am going to use butternut instead of basswood. It was cut from a branch crotch so I can carve from the center of the growth rings out or the other way around. I'm wondering which way would be best to carve a face.

Thanks
Chris

[mark yundt]

Don't know if it'll matter all that much since carvings go every which way as it is,,,but I think I'd approach it from the growth rings in,,as if you were carving a woodspirit in a full log....can't give any real reasons why,,just seems "right".

[Dundee]

That was the way I went with. It occurred to me afterward it might be more with the grain that way then going from the inside out. I was just curious as to how do people assess how grain will affect the carving aesthetically when they don't have to worry about strength.

Chris