More than one Projects

lorax · #11 05-29-2003, 08:53 AM

'My name is Pat, and I have Carvers Attention Deficit Disorder.' 'Hello Pat'

I dont know if you ever get near the end of a carving and you just want to finish it so you can move on, but that can be bad for your creation. If you put it down and come back when you are fresh you can produce better work. So I think it is benificial to our art to do more than one project at a time, it keeps the creative juices flowing. I am going through this on a non-wood sculpture I am making for a guy (Big Boys' dog Nugget). I am to the point where it is all sanding and I get a little fatigued, I notice my standards slipping as the project goes on, so I had to take a break from it ( much to the customers dismay). Well theres my rant

Pat

#12 05-29-2003, 12:19 PM

bark-carvers A D D here! I never got through an accurate count....so for the last 10 (or more) yrs., I have been guessing...more than a thousand.............and I'll probably add a few more as soo

n as finish this coffee

>

8) ??? :

:P :-[ :-X :-/ :-* :'
( the bark guy)

#13 05-29-2003, 01:35 PM

Hi Kenny, yeah, I must admit that I usually have a few going at the same time too. I carve full time, and I find sometimes that I get just so far on a project, and either something goes wrong, or its just not going the way that I want it too, and the best thing to do is to put it aside. I hate to admit it, but, some of my best ideas have come from mistakes that I made. One time, I was working on a 1 1/2 ft tall Santa, and thought I'd really screwed it up, so I just put it aside because I'd alreay had about 4 hrs roughout time into it. When I took another look at it about a week later, I saw something else I could do with the mistake I had made, and now I use that same technique ( another word for 'mistake') on a regular basis. So, sometimes its good to have a few projects going at the same time...you just never know what may inspire you along the way once you put something aside and take a different look at it over a 'small' time period! Good Luck with it. Dave ( www.snowcottagecarvings.com)

Kenny_S · #14 05-29-2003, 08:00 PM

Thanks all for the replies. I am grateful that I am in Great company.But somehow, I got in my mind that one should finish a carving(maybe it was the little bride and her bat). So I did mess up a few carvings trying to hurry up and finish them. It came to light one even when I presented my Little bride with my latest creation. She though th duck looked nice. However, it was a dog, :

Really! Nah, now that bad but I did mess a few up. My problem is I am self taught and I have bought a lot of books on human faces, such as the eyes, noes,etc, but when I get to those feature I balk at carving them. A mental block I guess, so, I start another bust and guess what, I get to finishing the eyes, nose and lips and balk again. Maybe I am to hard on ,yself as I have someting in my mind(no Brains) and it just don't come out the way I thought. But anyway, Thanks for the encouragement and knowing that I am in great hands with you all.
I have started carving just eyes and Noses for practice but there is something I am lacking. Anway, I have rambles on long enough plus the little bride has that dang bat(the one I carved her).

..... Really she is a neat lady who encourages me to carve more.I will get there but those carving need to get finished..............someday!

Safety first and then enjoy. I Do enjoy for sure.

Have anice week end to all,

Kenny S

#15 05-29-2003, 10:09 PM

I'll be the weirdo on this one. In most cases, I can't start a new carving until I've finished the one I'm working on - the carving part, that is. Once I start one, it's on my mind until it's finished. Sometimes I need to put it down and walk away....or sit back and stare at it for awhile....go in another room and think about it.....but I always come back to it before starting another.

Most of the time I'm talking on this board or others, I have a partially finished carving sitting next to the computer and I watch it (or it watches ME) til I see where I'm going with it.

Like Dave, alot of my best work comes from mistakes - but once I've made a mistake, then it's REALLY on my mind until I suddenly know where to go with it.

Teri

Donna_T · #16 05-29-2003, 11:15 PM

Sometimes I've found it to be a mistake to work on a carving project straight through without putting it aside to look at and think about for awhile. Sometimes it's the 'finishing paralysis' and sometimes it's just that you get interrupted with another idea that you want to get started on while the 'fire is hot.'

I probably have 9-10 projects in various stages of finish, plus another 5-6 I'm thinking about starting. Most wouldn't take a day to finish carving, but I've just not done it cause my attention span is about as long as one of the grandkids!

Sounds like we're all normal--whatever that is.
Donna T

#17 05-29-2003, 11:38 PM

If you whittle on more than one carving at a time, you will probably cut yourself. I limit myself to holding one piece of wood at a time.

There are some carvings that will never be finished, and we need to accept that. In fact, I have a box full. I usually give them to carving friends who need something to carve.
I actually have a storage shelf with bins just for unfinished carvings. (now that's just weird) :

This condition arises when ideas come faster than chips.

#18 05-30-2003, 08:45 AM

Rushing is bad.... I learn to take it easy with my carvings. Either painting, or carving and the best way to do it is to work on a few at a time. Like Pat said it helps you stay fresh. You won't believe how many head less angels I have laying around because I got desperate to finish them and mess them up.
If I feel like I am rushing I just walk away and do something else for a little while.
Anyway.
Patience is not a waste of time....

Callynne · #19 06-02-2003, 08:30 AM

I've gotten into the 'multi tasking' mode, I like to have three pieces going. One just bandsawed, one in roughing out stage and one in 'detail' carving, or painting, stage. That's mainly because of carving the roughout stage in the daytime in my 'used to be sewing room' and the detail carving and painting stage mainly in the livingroom at my portable carving table. Works well for me!! Callynne

Bandaid · #20 06-02-2003, 11:07 AM

I fall in with those above that have a few projects going at the same time. Sometimes it's because of a mental block but most times it's another carving I just 'gotta' start. I agree too that letting a piece sit for a while is not a bad thing. I've noticed a carving in progress looks entirely different in the morning than it did the nite before.