When I carve with Cottonwood Bark I let the wood speak to me. I have carved many little houses and no two are exactly alike. That is because no two pieces of bark are alike.
Bark is easy on my arthritic hands and my recovering carpal tunnel problem. I had a bunch of houses on the table to paint when I decided to show you all what the carving process is like.
First I look in my bag and get out a piece of wood.
Here is a blank…I saw a pillar in the front, a door with a window and a chimney, on the other side I saw a tree.
I mapped it out so you could see it.
See the P in the front? The C is a chimney and there is a door with a window.
Then I began to carve out the chimney and made the roofline.
The pillar is always a bit difficult…sometimes you need a bit of glue to strengthen part of the pillar. You have to carve behind the pillar and remove lots of wood.
Almost done, the door is a bit big but I had room to make a nice window. Later I will drill out the window and file it to the right shape.
Here is the tree and I had room for a funny shaped window…there are no rules that must be followed in bark carving.
The tree will look more like a tree when it is painted and my second thought was the window is in the chimney…oh well maybe is is just in a little room around the chimney area!
Before After
That is pretty much what I saw in this piece of wood.
Hope you enjoyed seeing my carving process.
Very interesting and oh, so cute!
ReplyDeleteAre you self taught or did you take a class?
ReplyDeleteI took a class and went from there:)
DeleteI loved seeing your wood carving piece. I can see how you envision things from just looking at the wood.
ReplyDeleteI love your wood houses- mine holds center stage on the top shelf of my pie pantry. Very cute.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! You are very talented and seem to find ways to keep yourself busy all the time. I enjoyed seeing the little house emerge from the wood. :-)
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the process. Artist always can 'see' what is there in wood, stone, everything....me? I have to wait and see what the artist already knows exists. Well done, Connie
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I love that you allow the bark to "talk" to you.
ReplyDeleteIt is a great demo. People who do clay have to remove clay to find the sculpture inside of it. You wood is the same thing as you see the parts you need. The chimney development was a surprise to me but it did work out great. I can see you wear protecting while chipping things away.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! I love that there are no rules. That is where the charm can enter in. :)
ReplyDeleteI always admire what people can do with a piece of material. they see what's in the bark before they carve.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting to see what you see in a piece of wood and how you let that lead you to create the little house. I love your little houses.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to see your process! I love that your talent enables you to see what is in the wood and guide it out!
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see how you go about it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great hobby, making treasures for the future.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your process! It's fun to see the little house take shape. I hope you will bring this one back to us when it is painted.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy seeing this! I love the little houses. Looks like there should be little people and a storybook to go along with the houses.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED seeing it.
ReplyDeletethank you for showing us your process. I've always wondered where you start but I did "see" some things before you carved..I saw a pine tree where you put the door and I saw an outside stone chimney where you put the pillar. Whoa Nellie! Another hobby for me? No, I don't think so. I sure enjoy yours though!
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