there is always hope

doris · #1 07-12-2008, 02:44 AM

hi everybody, today i am showing a somewhat unusual carving i did this week with title "there is always hope". it is carved from linden, and measures about 7'' x 12'' x 2.5'' ... to see if the piece reads like i intended, i would like to know what you think or feel when you look at it, if you like to share that that is ... (and, as always, i put a larger pic into gallery)

hruukki · #2 07-12-2008, 05:47 AM

I like it. One thing though: you could have carved it in the round while you were at it. Since it's not a portrait or anything easily recognisable, it would work better as an altogether 3-dimensional piece. Maybe make another along the same lines?

Henri

tucker1931 · #3 07-12-2008, 06:15 AM

Doris, it sure is different, what the heck is it?
Cliff

Keoma · #4 07-12-2008, 09:17 AM

I think that's a great whale!

Iowa Carver · #5 07-12-2008, 10:29 AM

Very fishy looking to me, some scales here, a tail there... very interesting carving and a lot of mix of textures and stuff. I like it.

corey

Keoma · #6 07-12-2008, 02:14 PM

it reminds me a lot of the Yellow Submarine and the Beatles cartoony drawings

hruukki · #7 07-12-2008, 02:23 PM

Now that I had a fresh look, I like it even more. Inspiring piece, original! I wish you'll continue along the same vein.

Henri

doris · #8 07-12-2008, 02:41 PM

henri, cliff, keoma and corey, thanks !

i am glad noone of you found it boring ;-) :-) ... yes, cliff, what the heck is it, you ask. right so ! it is "nothing", i just wanted try to make a piece, which together with its title makes the viewer experience a feeling i have... (your answers show me i failed in producing that feeling in you...) and, yes keoma, a whale was in my mind for big shapes, and yes, (you seem sitting in my head and read my thinkings ? ;-) :-) ) i was also thinking of that yellow submarine... but, i wanted keep it abstract, i did not want carve a whale (if i had wanted that, it would really look like a whale, and cliff had not needed ask what that is...) and that was, adressing your suggesting henri, why i decided to keep it a flat carving and not doing it in the round. i not wanted it be "a whale", or "a submarine" or whatever you see in it. i only wanted tickle the viewers fantasy, and evoke that emotion (the latter of which not happened) ... i only used elements, and your answers, thank you for those, showed me what i was not doing well, and what worked... thank you :-)

DiamondWillow · #9 07-12-2008, 03:03 PM

Why it is a beautiful abstract FISH....Very easy to see. But then I see fish in almost everything, because I like to carve them.
I think it is great
Gene

Thor · #10 07-12-2008, 03:31 PM

Hi Doris,
I enjoy looking at the images. It has delightful lines that I followed when looking at it. As far as seeing any message that would evoke hope, no, but then, I have a short story about that and it might ease your mind.

I taught a short class about the use of symbolism in medieval artwork. I specifically targeted some specific shapes, that are said in reference books to mean specific things.....then, I brought one of my carvings out, and asked each person in the class to tell me what it "meant".
I received a different answer from each person, and everyone of them was "wrong" according to what I, the artist, meant....
Now, with that said, it's important to remember that the viewer brings his/her own perspective to the table and will twist it around to mean something to "them". What you meant only stays with the work as long as you are standing there helping them interpret.

I have no idea what those folks meant hundreds of years ago!
Your "fishy carving" looks kind of mischievous to me. Like he's gonna get himself in trouble on purpose.

Fun to see.
Thor