Gwendolyn and a question about sandpaper

[bluybrink]

Here is Gwendolyn. My first experiment with sanding a hand carving. After I carved her with knife, I spend hours smoothing her with little bits of sandpaper.
The approach appears to work nicely with a feminine figure like this, but I am not entirely satisfied with the result.
The rough figures with visible toolmarks seem to be more expressive. And what stroke me the most was that this one somehow lost the 'hand carved' feeling.
Any thoughts on this? When to sand a hand-carved piece, when not and why? How much finishing is too much?
I would appreciate the opinion of fellow carvers. To sand or not to sand, that is the question!

[Claude]

A lot depends on what you are trying to achieve. Most of my carvings are small caricatures, and I want the tool marks to be visible. I have also carved a few stylized pieces (dolphin, hummingbird, etc.) where I wanted a smooth finish, so I sanded these.

One option for you is to carve a second Gwendolyn (maybe her twin sister...) and leave her with the tool marks showing. Then, compare the two and see which you really like better. This would not be a waste of time; it would be artistic experimentation!

BTW, I like what you did on this one. I can see the joints on the knees and elbows, but how did you attached the hands and feet?
Claude

[bluybrink]

Thank you Claude.
It's certainly not a waste of time, this is what I love to do and some of her 'rough' sisters went to my friens this Christmas.
That's why I was so surprised after sanding this one, it felt really different.
I think I like the rough look better myself, but I am of course heavily biased by the whole experience of carving the piece.

For joints with two degrees of freedom I usually use a thin strip of leather. But here I used copper wire, so that I can position her in different ways.
The neck is also joined this way, otherwise the head would just hang there.
This way it could probably be used for a simple stop motion animation, if the knees and elbows wold get fixed with a wee bit of sandpaper )

[Tom Ellis]

Gwendolyn is a great looking carving, and reminds me of the little dancing figures that you tap a thin board that they are standing on to make them dance.
I think you answered your own question.
Keep the pics coming, Tom

[leavyc]

I think she looks wonderful. She seems to have so much personality already. Very nice!!

[carvereric]

Wonderful piece! I would love to see more pics for her and her rough sisters. Wimsical, I love it.

[BrandantR]

I think she is a beautiful little gal. Sanding a handcarved piece has been a topic for debate in the past. In my opinion, there's no wrong answer. It's up to the artist to decide how best to express himself. A smooth-sanded finish on a piece gives it a refined, more elegant look. An unsanded finish shows all of the rustic tool marks and all of the hard work that went into developing the piece. Personally, I give my carvings a very light sanding with 220 grit, just enough to knock off the high spots and take off any pencil marks or dirt, leaving all of the tool marks to be seen. To sand or not to sand all comes down to what the artist wants to convey to the viewer of the piece. I hope this helps.

[bluybrink]

Thank you guys, I appreciate your toughts.