[tnartist05]

Lynne be sure and post some picts of your pierced relief carvings once you get some finished. Till I just viewed Mikes{Mdallensr} I didnt even know that is how a pierced relief carving looked! {by the way Mike,your scroll design you posted here is very well done}Great work

[LynneLucas]

Mike=Thanks for the examples. That's beautiful work! I don't have a scroll saw. Do you think it would be too frustrating to try to do with a coping saw?
tnartist05=I will post-but it may be awhile. Pierced relief is just something I'd like to try sometime.

[mdallensr]

LynneLucas, a coping saw will work, if you're patient. Carvers were doing this type of work long before power tools, so anything is possible if you're willing to work at it. The work I'm doing now is called deep pierced relief, and it's not necessary to use wood as thick as some I've carved. I've made decorative spoons and letter openers that were much thinner and easier to cut out than the bigger panels I've done lately. I'm carving a mirror frame now, in the same style as the acanthus panels. I'll post some photos of the WiP soon. Good luck. Mike

[Thor]

Mike, I have that same pattern of acanthus leaf still staring at me from a shelf in my studio. I haven't finished it yet after about 2 years. Yours turned out very well! I didn't pierce mine. It is just a relief carving
I look forward to seeing more of your pictures of the mirror frame when you get around to it.
Thor

[mdallensr]

I've carved some deep reliefs that could have been carved without piercing, but I like the depth it adds to the carving. I think it's easier to carve too, since it creates a definite edge to the pattern. The photo below is a pair of Norwegian-style lamps, carved in mahogany from Johan Amrud's book. They're about an inch thick, which seems to be the style they used. They could be half that thickness and still be functional with full detail. Mike

[Thor]

Those are beautiful! How are they functional as lamps? I'm just not familiar.
Thanks,
Thor

[mdallensr]

They hold short, stubby candles on the end of the arms. Missing is the cup shaped candle holder. Mike

[Wolf Kiessling]

Here's a couple examples of a little different pierced relief carvings. I turned the vases from aspen logs (spindle orientation), drew the pattern onto the wood wood freehand, and then proceeded to carves as normal. I drilled through the negative spaces to make carving the excess wood away a little easier......

[mdallensr]

Nice work, Wolf. I've been working on a large walnut bowl with nearly striaght sides. I'm going to pierce relief carve the sides with fruit patterns so that the fruit shows on both sides, or so it says in my plan. Mike