Carving Cedar

[Mukluk Annie]

Hi everyone!
First I would like to say just how much I love this site. Being new at carving it has been very helpful to me but I have a dilemma with a very large piece of cedar I have been given. It is a hollowed out trunk cut in half. I really want to do a Hiada carving on this piece but I am not sure if I should grind the front flat or if I should carve with the curve of the wood. Any suggestions would be great because I am at a bit of a loss...

[Robson Valley]

My short experience with Western Red Cedar tells me don't be too quick to do anything yet.
You've got the curve, might be best to keep that natural surface.
Where are you going to work on this? To keep it whole, you need big tools and big space.
Take a look at a bunch of YouTube Native Carving videos
How big is it?
How thick is the shell? Ready to hollow it out to 1" in a mask?
Any bark on it? If not, is the sap wood good or does it have soft punky spots in it?
From the core/inside face, can you see any big stumps of big knots that the tree eventually has overgrown? Those are harder than bone, tool-wreckers and so crumbly that a patch would be obviously. In any event, the last of the core rot (typical) should be hogged out, right to clear wood (that's a fun job.)
I'm trying to carve some masks at the moment. Exhausting. Pieces of log 12-16" diameter and 24" long is as big as I want to try to cope with.
I've gone to some efforts not to try to carve in any of the aboriginal styles of the Pacific Northwest. The styles are very distinctively different. First, I'm not good enough and second, I'm not related to any of those people. It's personal, I don't think that I should try to imitate their works even though I'd likely learn a whole lot in the process. So, I've invented my own representations. I don't want to get "monumental" about this carving thing, I'm quite content with 24-36" pieces.

Something to look forward to, Gwaai Edenshaw has done a new 100' totem pole, commissioned by Jasper National Park. The pole raising is this summer in JNP, I hope it's down by the railway station where the other one was (too weathered to keep up.)

[pallin]

Good comments from Robson Valley. Many First Nations carvers would begin the hollowing out and shaping with an elbow adze. Study the work done in the past, and presently, to gather ideas. Then sketch your own ideas. Here is a recent thread on a Haida-style mask:

Haida-style mask - WIP

[Dicky]

Don't know anything about Western Red Cedar but Muktuk Annie is a song I just love listening to.

[Robson Valley]

I'm dying here, wanting to see the log. Depending on the "nature" of the wood, the possibilities are endless and that is a comfort to my head. I just hope that there's no spiral grain or lots of knots.

Best big tools I've ever seen were cut and made from truck leaf spring sections, attached to an alder handle with heavy cord. . . couple of minutes to change edges then sharpen all together.

[twoclones]

Originally Posted by Mukluk Annie

... I am not sure if I should grind the front flat...

Wear a respirator. Cedar is toxic and power carving can cause various problems. Some chainsaw carvers have become allergic and given up carving Western Cedar.

[Robson Valley]

Yes, cedar dust, like any wood dust, is not what you were made to breathe. I can't "power carve" because I don't have the confidence yet to know where the process will take me and the wood.
I have no chain saws, bow saws are OK. I have no Fordom, that's OK. Chisels, handsaws, mallets and Pfeil carving tools make me happy.

[Woodyrock]

Annie:
Work with the shape you have, remove all of the sapwood, and clean out the rot from the inside. If the growth rings are over 2 or 3mm it will be difficult to carve, under that it will be sweet working. Cedar, being soft, requires very sharp tools, get them sharp, and strop often.

Most First Nations artists are honoured by those of us who are not First Nations people in working in their style. Making a direct copy without permission of the original artist is a violation of protocol, please do not copy. Do your own version. Those First Nations carvers that went before us used templates, especially for eye shapes. Make your own, and pay much attention as to shape. Each group had eye shapes, and other details specific to their style. Three good books are: "Looking At Indian Art of the Northwest Coast" by Hilary Stewart; "Northwest Coast Indian Art an Analysis of form" by Bill Holm; and The several volumes of "Learning by Designing, Pacific Northwest Coast Native Indian Art" by Jim Gilbert and Karin Clark. There are others, but these three are very good.
Woody

[Robson Valley]

Simple trick to take off the sapwood:
Mark the log lengthwise in 1.5" lines. Mark the log crosswise in 4" lines.
Considering the thickness of the sap wood, score the entire log with a Skilsaw.
Pop the pieces off with a mallet & 1 or 1.5" carpenter's chisel, used bevel down.
If the wood is good and dry, most of those 'chips' won't go more than 10'.

[armorin]

I have used Cedar a few times and I like to work with the natural curves. The grain of the wood seems easier to work than when the log is flattened ( at least for the stuff I do - an eagle mask and a fox mask ).