Stretching yourself beyond beginner projects

[Thomp]

I have always kept my carving projects at a beginners level or thought i should keep my status as a beginner, due to seeing projects of grand stature and comparing my abilities to them i fall very short.

In the honest effort to better myself i have been as most beginners do to mock carvings of others, the things that impress me most, to see if or how close i could come to the masters carvings, I guess we all do that to some extent before we find our niche

I have bought several books Herold enlow and Mark Shipley but still have prized the look of Pete LeClair faces and toothy grins, well i finely obtained the book.

Making Caricature Figures from scratch By Pete LeClair, this book is a step by step how to carve one single caricature from block to ending... and well worth the $15.00 cost plus S&H.

If your having trouble with faces and are impressed with Pete's charters i reccomend this book...

I am very pleased with his concise instruction and the complication he went through to make this book,
there is no long forward about sharpening tools or which wood to use you jump right in the beginning of it.

it has inspired me to stretch out to increase my abilities. we all have to find our inspirations.
I'm not saying Enlow or Shipley are any lessor master carvers, but i found them harder to follow for what i needed,,, (Eyes & FACES...)

how the outcome will turn out who knows but if i can learn to do heads and faces like Pete i have achieved all i ever wanted in carving,

[Tom-H]

Hey Thomas; Good post, and I too have found it necessary to hold onto the beginner status. But sooner or later I must face the reality that I must say (at least to myself) that I am no longer a beginner. So, as of now I will come out of the "beginner closet". This means that I must accept the work that I do as just my way/just what I do. I hope that makes sense. It does not mean that I stop learning, nor stop improving, or worse yet, stop trying and practicing new things. What it does mean is that I will begin to challenge myself more. Thanks for the "nudge" to my next step....Tom H

[Anthony Filetti]

Thomas,
Great post. We are all the just the sum of our learning experiences and with books like Pete's (and through his teachings) we build a foundation of carving knowledge we hope to incorporate into our own style. The hard part is breaking away into our own style. Thus I will be doing more work in clay until I can successfully carve and design ideas all my own. A great and extensive library of reference material helps. Marv's library is extensive, he has many books and through his talks he has an extended knowledge of art concepts, he collects pictures of ideas he wants to use, and has a good understanding of anatomy. All parts that make up a successful carver.

I continue my studies and hope to break away soon into my own style, but its probably the toughest mental hurdle to overcome when it comes to carving...

[Claude]

I'm still searching for a style to call my own - but this year I entered the local carving competition as an Intermediate carver (classes are novice, intermediate, and open). I can comfortably stay in this class until I win a blue ribbon in a category, and then I'll have to shift to Open for that category. Managed to pick up a couple of second place awards, so I was happy (minimum scores needed for any award). I haven't gotten the judges' comments yet, so I'm hoping for some specific ones so I can improve.

The James River Carvers competition, Richmond, VA, is coming up the first week of November, and I've got a couple of pieces to enter there as well. If any of you are interested, here's the web site: http://www.angelfire.com/va3/jamesri...rvecomp03.html

Claude

[squbrigg]

Thomp, you express something we all go through and you express it well.

We all have to find a level that we are comfortable with, to satisfy our own needs. Some find it in perfection, some in competition, some in artistry or design, some in humor, and some in whittling a pointed stick. While some folks continue to push their own limits, others haven't changed a bit since they took up wood and knife. What ever makes you happy and shows the piece in a way that you want to express yourself. Carve on!!!

Bob

[Kenny_S]

Good ing Thomp.Can't speak for anyone else but myslef and have been there. All I can say is , I hope I am getting better and, I just carve. meaning if it comes out looking like something, all the better. My first carve was of a horse and everyone thought I did a great job of carving a dog.Talking

[Thomp]

I agree to pushing your self beyond your known limits, but when that isn't enough, and your finding your not evolving into a better carver, you got to find help,
i found it presently, in the Pete LeClair book.. i may be a little premature in saying it has solved my hurdle of face and eyes, but the information is all there...

i have another area i need help on and its hands but i think that's a thing i have to do more practice on,,
in the past i carved a mitten then highlighted it with a wood burner to make fingers. it worked but i want better....

I believe our style is impressed on us through our experiances and which of them are the ones we want to reflect to the public, now some imitations of what we reflect might have a benifit from style or ease of production in the method, but i think everybody has their own style as they develop their methods...
We too have to be ready to except the teachings at the time they are taught,
the biggest influence on carving in my life was my grandfather who could eat a peach and carve a monkey eating on its own tail in less than a half hour....
now days i cant remember what the monkey looked like becuse i wasnt ready to learn ....

[flyfisher]

No matter what you're carving it's still a piece of wood. Just enjoy the experience.

[Lynn O. Doughty]

The best way to "stretch" yourself is competition. Look at any sports team. Skills are good and you learn from a good coach or a group of coaches. But the ability really comes forward when you take the field against a worthy opponent. How else can you measure your ability. If you need improvement you'll find out real quick, if you measure up you'll tie with them. But if you've applied yourself and spent hours in practice you'll excell. A team or player who is satisfied with his current level of expertise will quickly be left behind and will probably end up on the bench.

[Ashbys]

I disagree Lynn,
I know you are all for competition, and I understand, it works for you. But also being a coach of some of those sports teams, it isn't the ones that need help that usally get it. It is the ones which standout and excell to give you as a team a win, because winning is more important than learning, why because that is what competition is all about ... Winning.

Streach yourself , yes, reach beyond yourself yes, find others to help you yes. And when you feel like you need competition then compete. But you don't learn basics in competition. That is taught pre-game with practice.