Ivy Mas"qurade"

[TreeWizard]

I decided to give a mask a try. It was a good excuse to buy a new 20mm bent gouge to hollow it out.

I used a piece of "Harry Lauder" walking stick for the handle and carved a few of the Ivy leaves seperately and attached them, but most of the rest is carved from one piece of basswood.

This was a great lesson in undercutting to get the right depth to the leaves. I left one deep cut spot on one cheek and a couple spots around the eyes so that the "skin" of the Ivy man shows through.

Hope you like him.

[TreeWizard]

I have to do an overall wash yet to soften the veins in the leaves but I'm not sure what to do it with.

[bbowers]

That's a really great piece!

I use a 50/50 mixture of Watco dark & natural wax to soften the look on my carvings. The dark color might help soften the veins.

It really looks great as is-

[Sharon of the Dell]

That is really cool!

[bigEd_H]

That's a great mask. You did a real nice job on it. Some people use Meltonian shoe polish to soften the colors. Or even Johnson's paste wax.

Ed

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Nice job !

Dave

[Cottonwood]

Looks like you are all ready do attend a Halloween party as a green man! Great carving!

[jmischel]

That mask is interesting, TreeWizard ... and just a little bit disturbing for some reason. Kinda gives me a lil creepy feeling. Love the carving, but I don't think I'd want it in my house. Weird, huh?