Bad Streak....

[Iowa Carver]

Man the last 2 weeks have been a horrible dry spell. I screw up everything I touch! Hope this don't last too much longer. I am working on a Enlow pattern cowboy I cut out from one of his books ( like Gene carved) and it's going ok but am getting gun shy. Also have a cowboy bust cut out to start as well. Anyway... hope the bad karma goes away for a bit

Corey

[Dan S]

Perhaps you just need a break. If you have been pushing the limits for a while sometimes it's good to back off for a few days.
Think about getting youself to a nice quiet beach with a hammock and a nice cold drink.... If the beach doesn't help at least you can say you tried.

Good luck,
Dan

[Joy]

Try carving something totally different. Carve an egg for Easter.....anything with no pressure....just whittling. Then go back to your cowboys.

[tucker1931]

Hey Corey, sit back relax and then try your hand at a spoon (you don't need no brains), that's why I do it, and it's relaxing as all get out. Good luck there old friend
Cliff

[Curtscarving]

Corey-I like all of your carvings displayed on your site,your shop is very well organized. Would post pic of my shop,but no one would believe I got anything done in it. So look at your studio sit on your stool carve up a mess enjoy.
Curt

[Iowa Carver]

Thanks all! Yeah, I can't say I am any less motivated to carve just can't bring anything to the end right now. Hopefully the pieces I am working on will turn out decent.

Corey

[MackTheKnife]

Corey, that's just the perfectionist in you coming out. You don't want to physically cut because you're afraid it won't be perfect. So instead of doing, you sit and dither. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt! I still have problems with that. But I am finding out, through documenting my process on my blog, that you can make mistakes and still have it come out OK. Not the best thing you've ever done, but not the worst either. You'll never be on top of your game all the time, so just accept that without using it as an excuse to do sloppy work, and have fun.

Let's see. That took about 10 minutes, at $200/hr, that's $33.3333333333. Please pay on your way out.

[mpounders]

I was convinced the last couple of pieces I finished were doomed to be firewood, but i chalked it up to practice and continued anyway. With each one, at different points, and at different sections, I completed some detail, like the eyes or beard, and it was like it was a totally different piece. I tried to focus on one small thing and to at least get that right or to learn something in the process, and once I was pleased with those results, it was like a completely different project. A cane looked awful until I started sanding some areas and it ended up very nice. Sometimes I have to clean up the shop or make a jig or work on tool-type things, and those breaks seem to help also.

[Bill Anderson]

you might be surprized at what you learn from mistakes,don't be to hard on yourself you carve more someweekends than some do all week...