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Art, Everyday

Hoops, art, and what else is there?

736 Carving

Review: Chainsaw Carving an Eagle: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this book yet. I love Jamie & Dennis’ step-by-steps. Funny, but they work. I don’t like “project” books in any other art form, but in chainsaw carving, it works. Perhaps because so very few people carve.

Find a log, follow the steps in Chainsaw Carving an Eagle, and commit to making two carvings. The first one might not be completely an eagle–it will be a bird, but depending on how well you understand what you’re doing, your friends might think it’s a pelican, or something else. (With any luck at all, not a sparrow…) But after you get the feel for where Jamie’s going, your second carving will be spot-on.

If don’t already know this–you’ll do much better with a carving bar than a saw with a stock tip, but if your only saw came from a big-box hardware store, you can do reasonably well. Do get safety equipment–chaps, at the least, steel toe boots too–and let yourself carve without worrying as much.

Six tools for a woodcarver

Chris Pye has written many wonderful books about woodcarving. I just went to his website and noticed a list that might be in one of the books, but if it is, I missed it there. Six things you need to be a woodcarver:

  1. A place to carve.
  2. A way to hold your work.
  3. Sharp tools.
  4. A way to sharpen tools.
  5. Skill.
  6. An idea.

Wow. Somehow they seem much more manageable when presented in a list like that, and less overwhelming. Can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve struggled with #2, although it’s pretty reliably solved now and I have a stack of additional ideas to experiment with. My early carvings were big enough to self-support; didn’t tip, didn’t move at all. Started having trouble when I went to smaller pine, and then even more with smaller carvings.

Now I have three carving stands and a vise and … and … and some other ways and it’s not a problem.It will be nice when #1 is no longer a problem, too.

For the time being, #4 is covered by the nice people at Wilson’s Garden Equipment. Some carvers make a lot of noise about sharpening one’s own chains but I don’t have it yet and I’m not alone in that. So pay the piper and get sharp chains and don’t worry about it.

#5 gets better every weekend, and I’m drowning in ideas for #6. Not a problem there.

January 2017 update

I wrote this post in 2011.  Just recently, I’ve been thinking, “I need tools and a system,” and as I started to think of how to write that post, I was mentally adding, “and raw material, and skill with tools and material, and a place to work.”  No wonder it all felt so familiar.

The list applies to all forms of art, and probably all forms of work.  Will revisit.

Review: How to Chainsaw Carve a Bear (DVD)

I love Steve Bachus’ video. He makes a great bear, and it sells, and it doesn’t take any wood at all. It’s a pretty good starting point if you’re not sure you really want to get into this life.

For most people, the bear comes out pretty small. It’s proportional in the slipcase picture, but Steve’s a big guy. What I mean to say is, it will be tricky with a big-box, “regular” chainsaw. You’ll find the bear a lot easier to carve with a shortish (12″ or even 8″) bar and a dime or quarter tip. As always when running a chainsaw, wear your chaps.

Review: Art of Chainsaw Carving: Insights and Inspiration from Top Carvers Around the World

I’m very happy to have this book, to show people who come to see my carvings, to inspire me, and to reinforce the idea that there are as many approaches to carving as there are carvers, and only a few of them involve bears.

The Art of Chainsaw Carving is excellently produced, with great photos and entertaining text. I have met some of the carvers featured, and it’s good to know more of their history and approach to carving.

For the record, there’s one step-by-step in the book; Jessie showing how to carve a chair. If you want to learn how to carve, there are other books. But if you want to know why we carve, this is the one.

Kekule’s Dream: The Carving

Long run. Sanford AutumnFest; sold the first frog and two flamingos. Carve more. Out-of-town funeral. Hurricane Isabel; no significant local damage = no free carving wood. Durham Centerfest, sold ButlerBear, a birdhouse, and Kekule’s Dream. Carve more ButlerBears. Durham was the first show where people got the joke in Kekule. Shouldn’t be surprised–the scientists from the RTP live in Durham, and the business people live in Cary. May try carving the CDC Series for next year’s Centerfest–the plague flea. Yellow-fever / malaria mosquito. Smallpox. I have a picture of a carving of dice in my idea book. Could do something similar with caffeine, or estrogen, or some other major biochemical.

A visit from the zoning fairy

I’m going to consider this a warning shot.
One of my neighbors complained that I was running a business in a residential zone. Well, I am, and that’s legal, as long as I’m not selling from my home, which I’m not. Unfortunately, that’s as much because I’m not selling much as because I don’t sell from my home, but that’s beside the point.
ZF agreed that everything looked above-board and I don’t need a permit for what I’m doing. I’ve started a serious search for studio space; found one that’s not quite right, good lead on another that could be perfect, depending on price. Guess we’re in a race now.