What do you like to carve

[Colin-Partridge]

Another one of those nights where I cant sleep I think I have too active a mind. I learnt a long time ago to ask yourself this question. "What is the best use of my time right now"? Well after half hour of waking up and I wasent asleep I thought it would be best spent on that carving I had been meaning to finish. Now a few hours late I am here on the board again. I have been meaning to ask this question and because I am genuinly interested in everyone on this board as I learn so much from you guys. The question is what do you really like to carve and what do you stay away from? Those that know me know I usually do very large carvings and also tree's and tree stumps. Having said that I think my true passion though is for Santa's. I am always in awe of the people that carve them and I have a small collection. I do a few Santa's but I am no where near as good as the Santa carvers here. When I need inspiration I will usually take down my Teri Embrey Santa and just sit and hold it. Then I will carve a santa but it never looks anywhere near as good as Teri's. I digress, back on track, tell us what you are passionate about and who or what inspires you. I think it will make a very interesting topic and we will get to know more about each other.
Colin

[Paul_Guraedy]

Mornin' Colin, The sun is not over the mountains down here; but, it is a wonderful time of day to carve. My passion is birds of prey. I spent my work years as a park ranger and became an avid bird watcher early in my career. This led me first to decoys and, eventually, to birds of prey. I have not considered the why of my pleasure in these subjects, until this morning. But, I really think it is because there is more opportunity for individuality. A hawk carved without a setting still seems, to me, to be more than just what I call a "bird guide" portrait. My goal is to start carving birds of prey within a setting rather than as a monolith. My greatest irritant with bird carving is the demand that they be anatomically correct. I do not think that they should be caricatures; but, if they are better artistically with a slight deviation from absolute, this should be acceptable.


I do not like doing small carvings, of anything. Two types of carvings I avoid are caricatures (like them, just don't enjoy carving them) and chip carvings (love them, just do not have the patience for that precision stuff).

[Anthony Filetti]

Colin,
Whatever makes me happy. One of the reasons I don't sell my carvings, is because there is no pressure and I can carve at my own pace, except when I chose to compete.
I have competed with Santa's, but my true love is Caricature just because humor is extremely important to me. Caricature gives me the ability to express something funny and also hopefully bring a smile to the viewers face. This is the equivalent (at least to me) of someone looking at a bird carvers carving with a look of awe and amazement at the life-like creation (such as Hugh's saw-whet in the gallery).

Great topic Colin...can't wait to see others responses...

[BobD]

I like to carve abstract pieces--of any sort. I currently fascinated with the First People style carving that Alfie Fishgap does. I just love how the lines suggest form rather than beating you over the head wiht it. I like to experiment with form and lines to trick the eye....


That said, I'm still beginner enough to carve just about anything--and to chalk a lot up as a learning experience. I'm not a big fan of carving caricacture--I love to look at them, but like Paul, I'm not into carving them. I'm trying my hand at relief carving because I want to do Greenmen and Woodspirits, but am still in the practice stage of that as well. Right now, I'm working on a lovespoon for a couple friends getting married in two weeks--and am a little behind on that...

Bob

[Callynne]

Good morning Colin, and everyone else! I have to say, I don't have a favorite to carve yet, I love doing everything! I do more Santas than anything else because that is where the demand is (and I must admit, I am a bit of a Santa fanatic!). I don't get stressed or burnt out carving him though, there are just endless ways to carve him, at least so far!

I love doing fairies, animals, dolls, snowmen....yes, it's definite, I just plain love carving. The only stress for me is not having the time to devote to it and all the things I want to do and haven't had time to yet....like those wonderful walking sticks and cottonwood bark, relief carving, it's endless, the things I want to try. I'd better live to be a very, very old lady with my wits and hands still working because there is just way too much to be experienced yet! Callynne

[mikeg]

Good question, I like reading everyone's answer. And to be fair about it, here's mine.

I've only been carving for a year and so far I've only tried animals and people in the round, as well as whimseys. So far, I like caricatures best. I guess that's because it doesn't have to be anatomicaly <sp?> correct and because I think of them as jokes in wood and I love humor. I do enjoy whimseys when I want to do something with just a pocket knife.

mikeg

[Just Carving]

Hi Colin

So far, I like making carving tools. Although it isn't carving, and it is carving related, it allows me to do some metal working and wood turning at the same time. Besides, I am learning more about the tools and their applications in carving.

I do like letter carving, but I am looking for some practical use for it--I mean, just how many signs can you have hanging around the house! LOL

I guess I need to incorporate letter carving into something else. Prior to developing my interest in carving, I enjoyed making toy trucks from wood--mostly out of scraps of 2x4's I had around laying around the shed. I would use power hand towels to rough them out and then use files and sandpaper to fine tune them. I thought of maybe using the carving tools to put more detail into them and letter them. too.

So, for now, I'll too will sing the tune of anything carving related!

BTW--when I have trouble sleeping, I make things out of wood with my mind. I just start cutting and gluing and then wear myself out, and fall asleep....zzzzz Huh? Oh, sorry! See, sawing wood does it to me every time!?

If I ever actually made all those things, there wouldn't be a stick of wood in Jersey!

Bob

[Goody]

Mostly Santas. I carved ducks and decoys for years and compitition and politics took the fun out of it. Its too rigid. If you put a little artistic flair in a feather "its just not right". With Santas you can go anywhere you want. Who's to judge whats right or wrong, Santa lives in your heart and mind. I carve what I feel. I had a lady at a show ask me if I would teach her husband to carve A Santa. I knew the guy and he was an accomplished song bird carver and I knew he had a stroke a few years back and had dropped out of the carving scene. I could tell that when we sat down to carve he was only doing it to keep the wife happy. I struck up a conversation with him about how tough songbird compitition was and he dropped out of carving because since his stroke he couldn't do the fine detail it took for compitition. I asked him If he has ever shook the real santas hand and he said he didn't think so. I asked him if he thought any of the Judges ever shook sants hand and he said probably not. I told him with Santas no ones the judge exept yourself carve what you imagine santa is. His wife wrote me a letter a few months later. She now can't get him to come up from the basement. Instead of Christmas cards he sent everyone on thier list a santa instead of a card. He told his wife Santa visited him and he shook his hand. I treasure that letter and its in my scrapbook sometimes when i need inspiration I go back and read it.
Colin you say "It never looks as good as hers". When I teach Santa carving If I have 9 students in my class I want to see 9 different Santas when we are done. Don't make them look like Mine.
I seem to have developed my own reference material as I am 5' 7 275lbs and have a white beard to go along. My wife made me an old world santa outfit and a freind made me a nice old staff to go along with it. People say my Santas Look like me. What do you Think?

[BobD]

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa...and his name is Decoy Carver

Bob

[AlArchie]

An interesting question...with some interesting answers, and provoking some interesting thoughts. I started by carving fish.....mostly because I couldn't catch them, and I really enjoyed the challenge. Then I carved a large rocking rabbit for my wife because she liked the one she saw. Then a few fish again, this time in natural wood finish, because the wood was so beautiful. Then a few crayfish because I was going to use them on fish displays, but found they disappeared before I ever got them to the displays. I took a class in low relief with pyrography and water color aded for emphasis, and that was interesting enough to make me want to try some deeper relief. A piece of burned timber from the Ashland, Wisconsin depot prompted a carving of the historic depot, and got me started on a similar piece of the old stem engine that serviced the depot. (not finished yet, after a year, but I keep chipping at it). Several Native American pieces went along the way.....I have to add that I do these not as representations of any religious artifacts, but in appreciation of the artistic abilities of the originators. Did a few stone pieces, too; Kokopeli and Calumet pipes. Oh, yes, walking sticks and canes....some carved and others just clened up and fitted with acroutments, mostly compasses, but I just picked up a brass hame that will look good on the right stick!

Well I guess the crux of the matter is that I like whatever I'm working on at the time. Haven't done a realistic fish, now, in a couple years,but I do have some roughed out, ready for the knife.

Al