Mask Progress

[foundwood]

This is my second mask. The face is carved from an old piece of Sycamore that my father found on the shoulder of Scotts Hill Road outside of Wilmington, NC: talk about carving "found wood"...
I plan to shape the hairpiece from a chunk of Cherry as soon as I find time to get started.
The finish includes two coats of sand/sealer and three coats of Deft clear satin spray.
These pictures don't do the quarter-sawn grain any real justice: the stuff is beautiful.

[Mark Gargac]

Nice work, I really like it.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Yeh me too!

[wade clark]

Very nice carving! Don't you just love sycamore? It might be my favorite wood!
Wade

[foundwood]

The finished color is almost white. Almost like a cream color. The Cherry hairpiece should be a stunning contrast. I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it is about sycamore that makes it so good to work with. From chiseling to rotary attack, it seems to hold up well, and sands wonderfully. I have only been carving since January of this year, so my experience is limited to Cedar, Oak and Sick-a-Moe. The grain in this piece varies so much in appearance that it transitions from splotched and dark to speckled and bright over an inch of surface distance.

[Mark N. Akers]

Foundwood:
Very nice,love the smooth lines on the carving.

[Irishman]

Great mask. Have to get my hands on some of that wood. I expect you won't have any problems with cracks with the wood hollowed out. Be sure to show the hair piece when finished.
Patrick

[Nancy-G]

That's very, very beautiful

[squbrigg]

Great carving, beautiful finish. The grain shows just great.

Bob