WhatCha' Carvin'

[Irish]

Show and Tell time for everyone!

Go grab your cameras and show us what's on your work table right now. Brand new works, works in progress, semi-painted, and just roughed out ideas ... what ever is on your table now.

Everything and every project is welcome - wood carving, wood burning, wood turning, gourds, canvases, your latest basket weaving .... everything!

Don't have anything on the table? Well, that's ok! Please show us some of the projects you have already finished whether it's your very first or your one thousandth (SP)

This is an open invitation to each and every member and vistor to join the fun of posting to the forum.

My current project: I was down in the meadow yesterday getting ready for spring mowing. Our meadow is allowed to grow wild and is only cut every three to four years to mow down the new tree growth. So I came back to the house with 8 nice popular sticks.

I sat my bottom down of the front porch, it was a beautiful spring morning and began doing some green wood stick carving. The first one came out a touch rough, the second one did better and the third is in progress. The face is blocked in and I am working on a wrapped snake.

Please, if you haven't posted before this is a great chance to join in the fun.

Susan

[Paul_Guraedy]

Susan, I really like your work with the green sticks. How do you finish them?

I have two pieces that are currently "in progress." The horse is at the detail stage for everything except the front legs. I will leave the "bridge" in place until near the end to offer support in that area (have seen too many legs knocked off to leave them hanging out there). I like the piece very smooth before I start burning, so am spending a lot of time with sandpaper.

The second piece is a barn owl that I have been carving on for a while. Right now I have most of the feathers carved in and "stoned." The next step will be to burn in the hard feathers and then start to work on making the legs, feet and talons.

[Irish]

Paul,

The balance on your horse is fantastic ... I can feel the movement and the flow of his body. Just wonderful balance. The barn owl is coming great, do you have an image of his face?

For being the first to post this morning you have earned the "Two Cookies" award !!!! Thanks for joining in!

The green wood sticks will need to dry for quite awhile. I will probably hang them upside down in the shop for the summer. If they don't split to badly I will go ahead with a few coats of tung oil or danish oil. If they do begin to split I will wrap the split ends with wet leather and then see what happens. Either way they are mostly for the fun of carving.

This other image is a little gift my meadow had waiting for me this morning.

Susan

[Thor]

HI Susan,

The walking sticks look like fun. I am impressed not only with how clean they are carved for green wood, but also how quickly you got so many done!
The picture I'm posting is one of 3 projects I am currently working on. This one has been long-running has I really have been stuck in a flat place on it. Now, I'm making progress on the green man, and then I'll work on the peacock that is kind of stuck in limbo. It will be a sign for me when I demonstrate and will eventually be oiled stained with colors (green for the green man) and have strands of glass beads and tokens hanging from the holes in the bottom edge. I started it a long time ago, and it's back.

Paul, your horse is tremedous! I agree with what Susan said (even though I didn't know to say those particular things). IT is a really fine piece, and I do look forward to seeing the owl sitting up.

I'm also working on some box fronts. Viking style on one, and an later medieval style on another.
Thor

[Paul_Guraedy]

Susan, thanks for the comments on the horse. Never thought of hanging sticks upside down. When do you put the tung oil on them? All of my natural finish pieces are tung oil and, recently, I moved from using tung oil finish (which includes varnish) to pure tung oil cut with mineral spirits. I like this a lot better. If I want a "shine" I use wax.

Here, as requested, are a couple of more pictures of the owl, including the face. I am hoping to pose this piece in a window of an old building. I want to get away from what I call bird book poses (nothing but a bird on a limb).

[Irish]

Thor, the eyes and brows of your green man are perfect! Do you have a close-up of that area ... those eyes are just so round yet well set behind the eye lids !!!!! Very, Very nice.

It's a great blend of images for your plaque ... wha'ts left besides detailing your bird and adding the hammered/tectured background?

Susan

(Oh! I had a cookie award ready for you but ... I got so caught up looking at the details in your work I ... well ... ahh... well ... accidentally ate them .... Sorry! After Mike goes to the store this afternoon I will post you a new Cookie award.)

[Irish]

Paul, his face is soooo soft with such deep set eyes, beautiful! Thanks for the close-up!!!!

I won't do anything to the sticks now until they have dried, about a year from now. My Dad always hung his sticks upside down ... don't know why ... but having learned walking sticks from him I do the same. I think it had to do with sap flow and keeping the sap as long as possible for a good slow dry.

Maybe someone out there has the answer for drying upside, if there even is one.

Susan

[Mitchell]

I'm taking a break....

Actually, I just painted about 15 or so things that I had sitting around. I have been carving roughouts that I had collected over the past two or three years. I cleaned the work area and am waiting on Rick's Caricature carving project #II which should arrive on Monday or Tuesday.

Thanks for the pictures Susan, Paul and Thor. I'll try to post a picture of the group of painted pieces when I get home tonight.

[Bill]

How about a Platypus, I have never seen one carved so I thought I would give it a try, I made it from a scrap of Mesquite and should be finished in a couple of weeks.
Bill

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Good job on the platypus.....your mesquite is sure different than ours! ours is dark...and hard !