Question for you ....

[Iowa Carver]

As some may have seen I finished the Santa and painted it. Several asked me what I was going to do with it and someone said I could get some orders if I showed it around ( I don't think so other than family and freebes )

Well anyway I got to thinking about that. Right now I would absolutely hate that as, I can't get myself to carve more than one of the same thing. After I finish a project whether it's a 5 minute wizard or a larger project like the Santa I did, I am definitely ready to move onto something else when done. I don't think I could sit and do a bunch of anything.

So the question is, do any of you feel this way or have that problem about carving multiples of anything? Does it change after a while? Am I hurting my progress in anyway by doing this?

Thanks,
Corey

[Ron T]

Hi Corey,

I feel the same way you do. If I do carve the same thing, I make subtle changes. Really what I try to do is improve on the last one.

Some people are motivated by making sales of their carvings so the excitement is there. It seems you're moitivated by the carving process. To each their own, or as my friend says, "Whatever floats your boat."

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Yup! Me too! I've tried doing multiples and it bored me to death. I'd probably feel differntly if I was doing it for a living. One of anything is enough. I may do a second piece sometime in the future, but not two or three in a row.

[JimSawyer]

Myself I get what you're saying. I try to make different things to keep it interesting. One thought that comes to mind though, is that maybe you could do Santas with totaly different themes.One could be enjoying his cookies, and another could be putting gifts under the tree, feeding the reindeer, etc.. You could even do some involved in a certain activity based on who it's for, ie. a golf santa for the golf enthusiast, Santa with a wrench for the motor head, etc..
Just thinkin here.... Hope I was helpful.

[Mark N. Akers]

Corey:
I know exactly how you feel,I am guilty of not wanting to carve to many of the same things.I break it up by throwing a few caricatures in on my christmas orders,I generally make it a bottlestopper,or a bust,something I can finish quickly,hope this helps.

[Ed Redwine]

Well Corey, I don't really get tired of multiples because most of them have their own subtle differences. Like my Santa ornaments.... most are similar and yet different.... and the peppers I'm carving for all the ladies in my 50th High School reunion next month. All peppers but each is different. Since I can't do anything exactly the same as the one before, I figure it's a new carving each time!
Good Luck on your next project.
ED

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Years ago I came up with an idea of doing a group of limited edition Boots similar to the ones on my Blog. I decided on 10 different designs and would limit the carvings to 10 for each design. I built a special little display case that exhibited the 10 different boot designs and it was placed behind the cash register of a store that was featuring my work. Wow! They really took off to the point that I couldn't turn them out fast enough. Unfortunately, after I had completed about 4 or 5 of each design the "Wow" factor quickly faded away from an "Atta Boy" feeling into an "Ahh &#*!" each time the store called to say they needed some more. I learned an important lesson from that experiment and that was to never do it again. Once is enough for me. While I might do something similar I always change it enough to make it enjoyable enough to finish while still in a good mood.

[Iowa Carver]

Thanks guys this is good info for me and thanks for responding. I think I could do several Santas for instance but not the same one at least back to back. Like and Old World one followed by a traditional one or an ornament but not the same thing back to back.

Lynn, I know what you mean. Back when I was doing a lot of scroll sawing I would do all the cut outs and paint them. Snowmen, Santas etc. Cutting them out was easy, painting them was easy... doing them over and over nearly killed me even as well as they sold. I kept raising the price and the orders still came in. I don't even own a scroll saw any more I don't want to have that happen to my carving, I am enjoying it to much. Anyway, thanks for humoring me guys!

Corey

[Joy]

I have too many things I want to try to repeat a carving. Even the ornaments I do just for my family gets really boring.

[achaundy]

First off I don't carve for $$$ so carving the same thing would be very boring. Once you carve it... the challenge is over. Challenge is what motivates me.
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