[carvnman40]

The headdress feathers are all shaped now and after some sanding will be ready for feather burning. I counted 29 feathers on the warbonnet to burn and find that if I take frequent breaks, it goes a lot easier.

The first picture shows the feathers which lie along the side of the face before they have been burned in. The second, shows those same feathers after burning the feather shafts and barbs. The third, shows what the back of the carving looks like at this stage.

Mike

[tucker1931]

Mike, you are doing a super job on that carving. Watching this is like watching a TV show and when you stop showing the commercials com eon, dang those commercials, I wanna see more of your carving. The feathers are sure gonna make it. Keep them pictures comming.
Cliff

[North Wind]

Looking real good so far. looks like you many hours of detail work ahead. I thank for the updates, I like seeing the work as it comes togather. I plan on doing one in a full headress myself someday but I need to get much better than I am right now. Keep the chips flying. Vince

[Irishman]

Very impressive Mike. Great reference shots. I want to make an effort to try one like yours at some point. That is a lot of feathers. I see where you did the burning on the feathers...did you use a Vtool or other tool to shape out the feathers first or did you go directly into burning the detail?
Patrick

[Mottles]

Nice work! Looks like you already have a start at burning those feathers.
Looking forward to more progress images.
Kathy

[carvnman40]

Thanks for the encouraging remarks. To answer your question Patrick, the only thing I did prior to burning was to sand and dust the areas.

As you can see, the pictures show the progression of burning the main feathers of the warbonnet. You can see the feather shafts which I went through and completed entirely before working on the barbs. Also visible is some of the decorative detailing on the headband portion recently completed. I used a medium hot burn on these fairly large feathers.

To be continued....

Mike

[Banjo]

Mike, I've enjoyed following along with your carving. Thanks so much for taking the time to post all of the pictures. Your Indian is looking awesome!!!

[carvnman40]

The feather burning has been completed now, at least on the outside. I will still have to burn the underside as soon as the back is hollowed out. This kind of burning is repetious and tedious, but at least it's something I can do inside, from my recliner, in front of the TV.

I could have hand-tooled the feather barbs in faster, and often have, but ever since a judge told me that, all other things being equal on this type carving, she would score burnt-in feathers higher than those that were hand-tooled, I've done it this way.

The next step will be to begin hollowing out the back. The pictures show the right and left views of the feathers now and the last shows the backside ready to be hollowed out. I have rough cut out around the feather tips before beginning the real fun. More to come...

Mike

[Merle Rice]

Hi Mike , I think you have a WINNER . It is turning out Great. Very, Very, good piece. Merle

[Irishman]

Still following closely...and the burn effect on the feathers are spectacular. I don't have a professional burner but seeing the results here tells me that I have to get one. I'll be interested to see what the feathers look like after you oil/paint the wood.
Mike, this project has a lot of elements to it and I was wondering if you accessed a resource which helps you along with different parts. I have yet to do a full bust of any type. You have the talent...we all see that...I'm just looking for something that could assist me in my sticking points so I wondered if you had either been instructed in this type of bust or accessed a resource. This posting would fit very well in the tutorial section of the site as I will be referencing your photos once I get the time and courage to take something like this on. I really appreciate you sharing this with us....closing thing to having an instructor right in the room with us.
Patrick