Achieving excellence in relief carving

[Bill Whig]

What are some of the techiques that will lead to a successful (high) relief-carving effort? Ideas regarding the creation of perspective using the various dimensional elements that are available may be of particular interest.

Related discussion originated in a different thread, where it didn't really belong, so I thought I would start a new thread.

I hope that this helps generate a little more activity in the relief and chip carving category of the forum!

Bill Whig

[RUssL.]

There are more than a few books on the subject that I would suggest you consider. The most robust and detailed and yet still accessible book on the subject, I think, is one written by Chris Pye:
Amazon.com: Relief Carving In Wood: A Practical Introduction (9781861080967): Chris Pye: Books

As Chaucer wrote: The life so short. The craft so long to learn.
Good luck.

Russ

[Bill Whig]

Originally Posted by RUssL.

There are more than a few books on the subject that I would suggest you consider. The most robust and detailed and yet still accessible book on the subject, I think, is one written by Chris Pye:
Amazon.com: Relief Carving In Wood: A Practical Introduction (9781861080967): Chris Pye: Books

As Chaucer wrote: The life so short. The craft so long to learn.
Good luck.

Russ

Thank you for your suggestion. I will make sure it is on my Amazon wish list. I'm currently reading Chris Pye's, "Woodcarving Course and Reference Manual" and several other books I got from the library. I learned most of my point of view from Paul Hasluck's older book on woodcarving and gained an interesting point of view from reading the preface of "Grinling Gibbons & The English Woodcarving Tradition" (which I was able to read for free at Amazon.com). I'm finding the whole matter rather fulfilling so far (what more can ya ask?)!

Russ wrote: As Chaucer wrote: The life so short. The craft so long to learn.

Rut-roh!!! ; )

Bill Whig

[Bill Whig]

Originally Posted by RUssL.

There are more than a few books on the subject that I would suggest you consider. The most robust and detailed and yet still accessible book on the subject, I think, is one written by Chris Pye:
Amazon.com: Relief Carving In Wood: A Practical Introduction (9781861080967): Chris Pye: Books

Russ

Ignoring acessability, which do you regard as the definitive books on relief carving? Does "Grinling Gibbons & The English Woodcarving Tradition" make the top 10? It may contain more culture than technique--I have never held it. It's preface (which I mentioned earlier that I read at Amazon.com) was quite enlightening however.

Bill Whig

[telecarver]

Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving by David Esterly would be on my top 10.

[Irish]

Bill, great question.

First there are four styles of relief carving - low, high, constructed, and sunken. So let's briefly look at each so that everyone is talking about the same topic.

Low relief, also called bas, uses visible joint lines with simple rounded over edges to the elements. One element will have its walls at a 90 degree or wider angle from the level bottom or wood level, exposing that joint line.

High relief uses a technique called undercutting which tucks the joint lines underneath the element, hiding that joint. The undercut is created using a stop cut made almost parallel to wood level at the joint line. The stop cut goes into the bottom edge of the element. Then using a wide sweep, straight chisel, or dog leg chisel the stop cut is removed, creating a v-shaped slice under the element. That undercut casts a darker shadow along that joint line implying depth that does not really exist.

Constructed reliefs are worked by adding/gluing extra blocks of wood the carving blank, therefore creating a deeper carving area in one or several places in the pattern. The traditional spread wing eagle is a classic constructed relief with the wings, body, tail, and feet worked in the original board and the head and neck, cut with a coping saw from a separate piece of wood, glued into place and carved. The head and neck now have twice the wood thickness, creating more dimension to the work.

A sunken carving does not remove any of the non-pattern area of the wood. A v-trough is cut along the outer patterns lines using a v-gouge, a bench knife stop cut, or a bench knife cut and straight chisel. The pattern area is carved as normal. Since the surrounding non-patterned wood area remains at the original depth of the wood you clearly see that the relief carving process is done be removing wood as the design becomes 'sunk' into the wood with the cuts.

Low and high relief are not defined by how thick your board is or how deeply you carve into that board - a 3/4" thick relief carving is not low relief compared to a 3" thick relief carving. Low and high are defined by their joint line treatments and by the shadows cast because of those treatments.

So ... Your question about high relief, for me, means exploring the techniques that create undercuts, where to use those undercuts, and how to accent areas with dark, black shadows.

When doing a high relief I start with using only one light source at my carving table. Since I am left handed I use a hanging lamp, 30" off the table. The one light source gives me a constant measure for how my shadows are working - are they low relief soft shadows, medium shadows cast by shelf edges, or dark shadows cast by an undercut. I will turn my blank as needed to keep the light on the high side of the element that I am working.

Also, I never hesitate to 'lower the water when I can't raise the bridge." You can cut quite deeply into the floor area of an undercut to add strength to your shadows. You can also profile the undercut into a convex - inverted cup - shape that opens more area in the element area of the undercut.

Planning any high relief pattern to include some low relief areas emphasizes your undercuts. Undercutting everything soon means that you have no 'dark' shadows because everything has the same level of shadows. Using low relief in the background areas or a shelf edge in some of the mid-ground strengthens the shadows in your foreground undercuts. You now have a soft (low), medium (shelf edge) and dark (undercut) shadow effect.

The shelf edge helps when you can't get underneath the element that needs more shadowing strength. By cutting the element's edge at a less than 90 degree angle from the floor makes the upper edge wider than the lower edge of the wall. That little bit of overhang or shelf will deepen the shadow that element casts.

OK ... My last quick thought here is that I love to add a few 'free floating' elements when doing a high relief. If I had a foreground blade or grass I can cut an undercut on both sides of the blade until the cut goes completely through the wood. I leave the just the tip and base of the grass attached to the blank. If I cut a narrow strip of cloth backed sandpaper, it can be slide through the free floating cut to sand the blade to a thinner thickness - thinner width?

As you look at the carving you will see a 'c' shaped shadow cast by the free floating element ... the shadow tells your eye that the blade of grass is not attached ... so more depth. That shadow will move across the face of the carving as you, the viewer, moves. Free floating elements can be worked by constructing them, by cutting and gluing an new piece of wood in that area then working the undercut.

Susan

[telecarver]

Originally Posted by Irish

Bill, great question.



Low and high relief are not defined by how thick your board is or how deeply you carve into that board - a 3/4" thick relief carving is not low relief compared to a 3" thick relief carving. Low and high are defined by their joint line treatments and by the shadows cast because of those treatments.

Susan

Susan,
Your reply is very articulate and descriptive, but in my opinion, more academic that practical in defining styles of carving. A carving may contain a combination of all of the elements described. In more practical terms, a low relief carving would be defined as a carving that is contained entirely within the primary plane of the board on which it is carved. A high relief carving would be one that some of the elements rise above the primary plane. This can be acheived by either removing wood from a thick piece of wood or by adding on elements to a thinner piece. In practical terms, I don't believe that undercutting a low relief carving will make it a high relief carving or that a very high relief carving without undercutting would make it a low relief carving.

[Claude]

Bill:
Since you mentioned perspective, perhaps this may help: The Geometry of 3-D Drawing - Cathi Sanders
or perhaps this one:
Drawspace.com - Learn to draw

Claude

[Bill Whig]

Originally Posted by telecarver

Susan,
Your reply is very articulate and descriptive, but in my opinion, more academic that practical in defining styles of carving. A carving may contain a combination of all of the elements described. In more practical terms, a low relief carving would be defined as a carving that is contained entirely within the primary plane of the board on which it is carved. A high relief carving would be one that some of the elements rise above the primary plane. This can be acheived by either removing wood from a thick piece of wood or by adding on elements to a thinner piece. In practical terms, I don't believe that undercutting a low relief carving will make it a high relief carving or that a very high relief carving without undercutting would make it a low relief carving.

Well, Susan suggested that we could have a more effective discussion if we laid down some framework and she did so (quite generously and more than satisfactorily, I think). Let's not allow differing terminology to be troublesome.

Ron, much of the origin of this thread was a comment you made about integrating the "in the round" part of a carving with it's elements below the board-level. Susan's post made me think, more carefully than I had, about *shadows*! Certainly neither of these can be ignored. What more might be said about the overlap of these concerns that might be instructive? My guess, after reading Paul Hasluck's book, is that one may need to go back and reconsider the manner in which the work will be displayed--but surely that's just the "tip of the iceberg".

Regarding an academic versus a practical outlook, they seem akin to the left foot and a right foot, the academic satisfying the mind and the practical satisfying the hands. Yes, I just made that up..lol. I can't decide whether its academic or practical. Have fun!

Bill

[Bill Whig]

Originally Posted by Claude

Bill:
Since you mentioned perspective, perhaps this may help: The Geometry of 3-D Drawing - Cathi Sanders
or perhaps this one:
Drawspace.com - Learn to draw

Claude

Thank you. I will look more carefully at those sites! It may or may not surprise you that a year or so ago I tried to take my drawing/sketching to a higher level and read a few books on it. A few years before that, I learned to use (Google's) SketchUp program. In case you are not familiar, it is more like drafting in 3D--and it's darn handy for doing so! I think it may be interesting to see if I can use it to perform "shadow experiments", as are implied in Susan's post.

In part, my rekindled interest in drawing/sketching, which lay mostly dormant since my adolescent years, was motivated by a desire to improve my skills in *designing* (furniture, at first). It didn't seem to be a huge jump to (relief) woodcarving and here I am! Anyway, that's the short version. Have fun!

Bill