File this under: Nothing ventured nothing gained.
This morning I tried turning a chalice out of a green apricot limb. It cracked in two before I got it off the lathe.
So this afternoon I tied to carve a dragons head on a table I’ve been building. The result was so pitiful. I put a little finish on it to see if that would help and that made it worse, I laughed out load at myself. Looks like a child’s cartoon of a dragon head.
Although I’m a veteran woodworker I’m obviously a novice carver. The lesson thing sounds like a good idea for my future in carving.
See if you get a chuckle out of this as I did. It is a little difficult carving in that coarse grain fir. I like the rest of the table and the claw feet are rustic but go with the table.
Five minutes with a gouge and that dragon head is history.
Bret
Replies
Oh, some days.....
Some days are like that, aren't they?! Good you can keep it in perspective. As to the dragon head -- at least we can tell it's a dragon. I can't draw worth a darn, let alone carve, mine would end up looking like a parrot or something.
My first mistake was drawing my own pattern, I should have copied something.
Good luck on your madrona project. If all else fails I know first hand that madrona makes the "best" firewood but don't know how it burns after being boiled.
Bret
dragons
I've never met a dragon I didn't like. But, contrary to the myths, they are quite timid, and avoid being rendered by most means (pen, pencil, camera, etc.). Thus, most of the historical representations depended on the good memory of the artist.
Being of similar timidity, carving-wise, I usually carve on a separate piece of wood, rather than directly on the piece I'm building. That way, my attempt at embellishment can be added to the firewood pile, as necessary. ;-)
Your dragon is kinda cute, though.
bduffin,
Well, did you learn anything today?
Watson, or Crick, can't remember which of the dna pioneers,once said, "Every time you fall down, pick something up."
I'd make a couple suggestions. For carving, pick up a book called Manual of Woodcarving" by Paul Hasluck, from Dover publishing. It is a good primer on the subject.
For cabriole legs, look at old examples, pictures if you can't get to the real thing. Knee blocks would improve the appearance of yours, greatly.
Funny story from the first shop I worked in, back in the early '70's:
Donny,: Boss, I want to buy some of that 3" cherry up in the attic.
Boss: How much of it do you need?
Donny: Oh, just enough to make a set of ball and claw legs for a table.
Boss: Donny, I don't think I have enough cherry for you to make four ball and claw legs!
Donny: But Boss, there must be 3 or 4 hundred feet up ther-...oh.
This is a rustic piece so I don't wnat to get too intracate. But what are Knee Blocks?
Bret
Bret,
See attached.
Ray
Ray, thanks for enlightening me.
I thought about putting those on but decided against it. Now I know what they are called anyway.
Thanks,
Bret
Inspiration strikes
Bret,
At least you are a good enough carver to follow the pattern to the letter. I find the internet helpful to find images of which to carve. I find it helpful to search for black and white images (advanced search on Google images) so that I don't get crazy-intense pictures. Your legs/feet look good. Pairing it with a head got me thinking.
Oh, look at the time. I'm late again. (as in, I'll only be half an hour early).
Do not give up! Flatten the dragon area and make a new one to glue in there.
I am NOT an artist or a carver as such. I can 'sometimes' carve an object but usually mess it up somewhere before it is finished.
I find it impossible to carve something on a 'work' in progress. As in many dollars and time will be destroyed. I guess I lack courage in facing danger? I have much better results carving something on a hunk of wood that will fit on my project. I do not have to worry about the whole thing being ruined.
Many / some will say, that in order to carve, you do not have to be artistic. I disagree very much! Sort of like a teacher telling you ANYBODY can do it! BS!
First of all you need to be able to 'see' lighting and perspective 'in your mind' (My artist granddaughter told be that) . I am not capable of doing both at the same time. Perspective I find easy to do but not where a shadow or light should be when carving.
I have carved objects that turned out well, but most turn out as 'trash'. All of my 'good' work were sketched NOT by me. My granddaughter did them. She uses thicker lines where shadows should be.
I have found that if I do NOT carve to the line and just let it 'free-flow', I do much better work. I have seen many videos of somebody carving to a 'sketch' on their work.. None seem to even come close with a tool 'to-the-line' they put on the wood. The experts have many different carving tools to use that I or you do not have....
will,
could not agree more with regards to carving a seperate piece and then applying that to the furniture.
that hasluck book, that ray mentions, is very good. in it is suggested to model with clay and then carve it in wood. will, i cannot draw and i agree with you that artistic talent is given and not learned. i am not sure why, but sculpting in clay works for me. what i simply cannot render any other way, i can do in clay. probably the fact that one can closely manipulate the stuff accounts for this. it's as though "previewing" something in clay allows one to anticipate the shaping/carving in wood.
also, carving simple geometric shapes is very do-able and easily drawn on the wood. around here there are a great many examples of art deco period embellishments on the buildings and houses. (i know you like art deco...) once, a friend and i went around town and photographed alot of them but, without a doubt, the internet has replaced the need for that behavior. when i first started carving my inability to draw was very, very frustrating. doing it in clay first was/is most helpful.
eef
Looks a little like the Dragon from "HONALEE"
Think about it ;-)
Was that "Puff" the magic
Was that "Puff" the magic dragon?
Duffy
Bruce beat me to the punch, it definately looks like "Puff". It's kinda cute,
By the way I don't don't dispose of mistakes as nothing is totally useless and at worst can always be held up as a horrible example.
wot
wot,
" I don't don't dispose of mistakes "
The first shop I worked at, they told the story about a former employee, who was regarded by one and all as a consummate craftsman. It was a marvel that in all the years he'd worked in the shop, no-one ever saw him mess up on a project. One day the old man suddenly took ill. He never returned to work, and, in a short time, passed away. A week or so after the funeral, some of his family returned to the shop to gather up his tools and other personal items. When they got to the stuff on the shelf under his bench, behind the general scraps and rubbish that accumulate over a career of woodworking, they found all his miscuts!
Ray
ray,
imagine that, a life time of miscuts and mistakes in one, well-hidden location...
mine are spread thin and all over the place!
thanks. excellent tale.
eef
Puff is no more
Sorry, but Puff only remains in the photos, I flattened the spot he once occupied with my router. I also made an insert for the spot from alder.
What would be a better choice for carving? What's the easiest wood to carve?
Bret
hey bret,
walnut is my favorite carving wood. the straighter the grain, the better. same goes for honduras mahogany. jelutong (sp), although boring in appearance, is sweet for carving. don't know how available it is where you are, but avocado makes for good carving wood. i do not like to carve alder as it has been difficult each time i have.
eef
Dragon
I like his feet
Frosty
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