cypress knees

The Capn has a question for those of you who have carved cypress knees in the past. How much do you carve on these? Do you use them as a roughout and carve something to the general shape or do you do minimal carving on them, such as putting a santa face on and paint the rest?

Enquiring minds want to know!

Hi,
I enjoy carving in woodspirit. Check out Harold Enlow's Driftwood carving book, great faces. I leave some bark on and spray with a satin varnish. A carving buddy loves to draw knife off the bark and goes from there, they look great too.

[bbowers]

Hi-
I try and let the piece of wood dictate what I carve. Ilike santa's or spirits, but have done eagles heads or fish depending on what I see in the wood. My goal is to let the carving emerge from the wood and not look like I carved what I wanted.
Hope this helps-

[Captain_Bandaid]

ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG, Matey! The original Captain is not amused! Â*There's too many pretenders on this vessel!

I would agree that the shape of the knee should offer a big hint at what the piece should be when finished. Â*When starting from a block, this is not so much the case but the Cypress Knee shape needs to blend with the carving to be really effective. Â*If you have never carved one, get those tools honed razor sharp. Â*Cypress is soft and stringy.