[Lightningbolt]

Sorry, it's me again! I seem to be on another carving roll so here's my latest project started yesterday afternoon and continued again this afternoon as spare time allowed. I'm still using the same cherry that I used for the log woodspirit that I posted yesterday except I'm back to bears now... a cute little cub with a big ole face and beady little eyes that is saying, "Just give me a big hug"!

I think that this is my smallest chainsawed bear yet at only 18" high. (Hey, it was a small cherry tree!) Being so small AND the fact that I only have one huge chainsaw that isn't set up for fine detail, well I did the best that I could. As usual under these circumstances I had to waste a lot of valuable time refining the roughed out bear with my chisels and this was even much more time consuming with a small bear because I found that I couldn't even get the fur started with such a big saw. It does ok with the bigger bears but not this little 'un. I found that sawing a bigger bear is a lot easier with the tools I presently have and a lot quicker. But I do admit that I thoroughly enjoyed slicing my carving tools through the wood with the tap, tap, tapping of my mallet... not very time efficent but oh so enjoyable and theraputic!

As you can see from the pictures I'm still squaring off the log in the begining because that's how I've always started the smaller ones on the bandsaw and that's what seems to make the most sense at this point for me. The maintenance man used the chainsaw a little just before I got it so I'd say that the sharpness was perhaps only 80-85 % so it did a bit more splintering than usual during the roughing out phase.

Hopefully I can find the time to finish it up tomorrow and before the weekend because I'd like to get that sealer on ASAP.... AND I'm also being driven by the desire to put on that polyurethane and see the beautiful red cherry color come out like a burst of thunder! It's all got me really excited lately and more than a few of my students have playfully confronted me this week about my abnormal hyper-activity but like I tell them, wood does strange things to me.

Well, let me go so that I can get my sleeping over with and wake up again tomorrow for another grand day of carvin" ! See ya.

[Lightningbolt]

Here's the rest....

[Mottles]

Hey Dave, I love your chain sawed Bear very nice work.
Kathy

[Joy]

Naw! He's not saying "Give me a hug". He's saying "Take me home with you". Cute! I'm anxious to see that cherry wood pop too.

[Irishman]

That bear turned out really well for you...and yes he looks pretty cute.
Patrick

[Tom H]

NICE, NICE, NICE! From Jenga Bloacks to Chain saw...Who'd a thunk it?

Tom H

[twoclones]

Interesting photo sequence. I've thought about doing that but once my saw hits the wood, it's hard to stop.

After carving my big dragon, I wanted to make some pieces which I could finish in one setting. So far, I've finished these 3 bears [might be cool for the wise men in a nativity scene?] and a Mulberry wood spirit. No wood spirit photo yet...



OK, ok... I'll put the eyes in today!
Now they can see!


Butch

[S.T.]

Great job Dave

I did my very first bear yesterday ...and finished it up to-day...I think it looks somewhere between a colie dog and a beaver....but what the heck it was fun....

S.T.

[Lightningbolt]

Thank's again for all the comments and glad you like it. Yeah, never in my life have I heard so many comments at work and on this thread like "cute", "huggable" and "sweet" to the point where I'm talking like that! One of these days I'm gonna whittle out one of those massive killer foaming at the mouth grizzlie's and just totally shock everyone. Or perhaps I should just accept that maybe I'm just one of those "huggable" kinda carver's?!? Oh, well.

NICE, NICE, NICE! From Jenga Bloacks to Chain saw...Who'd a thunk it?

Tom H

HA HA HA! Now that was a good deep laugh for me but I suppose all too true! The scarry part is that I hope my w-i-d-e swings in carving from extreme "small" to extreme "big" isn't telling me something that I don't want to hear about my persona, psych, or some underlying disorder! I'll try not to put too much thought into it and just assume that I'm a well-rounded and adventurous risk-taking kind of person. Hmmmmmmmm...

Butch: I really like your bears too and I think that they might have a little bit of the "cute" factor too! Those are just great! I know what you're saying about taking the time to create a photo sequence and I'd probably do a little better carving job if I just stuck to it, but it's kinda fun too.

I'd also say that it's quite risky posting a carving sequence of pictures because you really open up yourself big-time for criticism even if you never hear it here. I know that I really appreciate it when someone is able to put together a carving sequence because my learning is then magnified at least 10 times. Sometimes I'll see something which I don't like and I have confirmation that's not the direction that I want to take my carving and many times I pick up on a good idea. I learn from everyone, from novice to professionals, and I hope that my pictures are also helpful to others in some way. I'm also a teacher by profession so maybe it's just the way I've been programmed (or brainwashed) to operate.

S.T. I know all too much about getting something to look authenic. I'm still having a hard time making my eagle's to NOT look like a parrot. Oh,well... sometimes you just have to go with the flow and enjoy your stay in "Margaritaville" !

Oh yeah, Here's the finished pictures of the little beary fellow that I got finished today. I'm well pleased and there's a lot of folks already planning their bidding scheme when it'll be auctioned off in a few weeks from now. Hope that everyone has a great weekend!

[Eddy Smiles]

You are multi-talented! Nice job!