Letting the wood speak

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.

Snowstick Contest 2017

It is probably time to start the snowstick contest.

Leave a comment with your best guess.   The date and morning or afternoon please.

Here is the history;
2011  April 8
2012  March 13
2013  April 30
2014  April 10
2015  March 11
2016  March 8
2017  ???????  Your best guess

I am not certain what the prize will be most likely a bark carving of a house. I better get busy and carve a few!  You can be assured that it will be a one of a kind Bark Carving!

I will add the guesses to this post.  Guessing will end at 9 PM Sunday night February 12th.  For the shy people you know my email address or if you don’t know it …it is in my profile…click on the little yellow flower on the sidebar!

When the snow, ice and water is gone from the snowstick I will declare a winner.  It must be grassy ground!

Guesses: 
Date         AM or PM     Name
March 1                   Sam I Am
March 3    PM         MJM
March 5    PM         Karen 51
March 6 PM            Dreaming
March 10                 Michele M
March 11  PM        Phyllis P
March 13  AM         Djan
March 14  PM         Mildred
March 15                diane
March 16                Terry and Linda
March 16  PM        Sandy B
March 16  PM        Linda
March 17                Mac n' Janet
March 17  PM        Marlys
March 18 PM         Wendy Danielson
March 19  PM        Karen
March 20  PM        Pippa
March 21  5:20 PM   Red
March 22  PM        Sonja
March 23 PM         Alvina
March 26  PM        LD
March 28 PM         Rita
March 29 PM         Kathy
March 29  PM        Linda Reeder
March 30               Cynthia
March 31  PM       Ann Z
April 1   PM         Dale K
April 2   PM         Bonnie
April 5   PM         linda M
April 6   PM           Anonymous
April 7    PM         J.T.
April 8   PM          Paula Kaye
April 10  PM         Sharon A
April 11  PM        diane in wisconsin
April 15 PM         Intense Guy


          

Carved Santa

Recently we took another carving class, with a very talented instructor by the name of Sheila. 

Far Guy and our daughter Jen collected larger pieces of Cottonwood bark for the class.

I picked a piece that had a real flow that would make a beard. This entire piece is about 14 inches long.

With bark carving you just have go with what the wood tells you.  Using this piece of bark was a risk because of the lack of wood on the right side of this photo. However if I could make it work it was going to be an awesome piece.

One by one the features come out in the face.  His eyes are all squinty because they are easier to carve that way..eyes are difficult.  Did you know that eyes have eye bags..one is carved in the photo above and one is just penciled in.

Now for the beard …

I debated was it done or not?  I decided that eight hours was enough time to carve on this project. Yes, there are imperfections when you carve with bark..but no two pieces are alike either.

  I painted it and then I took Bees wax and slathered it all over with a stiff brush and then I melted the wax with a hair dryer. Then I took another stiff brush and buffed it after it was dry.

 

There he is done!  He still needs a hanger on the back of some sort..I think I will wire him to a wreath that I decorated for Far Guys Mom years ago..he is pretty large..he will take up one whole side of the wreath.  It is a wreath I keep indoors..on the railing upstairs.  I have to take the completed carving  to carving class first and show it off before he finds his final home.

Far Guy carved a Santa also..two of them..both have problems which he will eventually get sorted out..one is in two pieces for the second time around.  Bark Carving is an adventure and a great pastime in the winter:)

Bark Carving

Far Guy and I have been taking a class on Bark Carving.  The bark of a Cottonwood tree is very thick and suitable for carving.   It has been an adventure.

 Beginnings..can you see a house?  Probably not..me neither..I had to look really, really hard.

 Ah ..finally it looks like a house. This is Cottonwood bark from South Dakota.

 I had a real problem with my roof ( It kept breaking off) so it became a multi level roof.

For once I was able to carve a whole project without cutting or stabbing myself with the knife. Success!

We have taken a few carving classes before,  I almost always get discouraged and my carving ends up unfinished.  I have a duck, a Santa, and a merry go round horse that remain unfinished.. I do much better with carving projects that are individual interpretations instead of trying to make an exact copy.  I try to look at the wood and let it speak to me..most instructors are real put off by such an "individual attitude"..some look at you like you are nuts, anyone can do an exact replica with the right instructor..well except for me..I am always taking too much wood off in the wrong spots, I guess I have always been marching to a different drummer..

I took a photo of all the carvings..each one is different.

Now for a carving story:  I have very little fingerprint left on my index finger on my left hand. Listen up girls, just in case you need to ever identify my body and you aren't sure it is me..look for the non fingerprint. Anyway I was carving one day and sliced it off, yup part of the tip of my finger was laying there on the floor..Far Guy tended to me and got the bleeding stopped..it was really painful. My carving companions rescued my finger tip off of the floor just in case I wanted to have it sewed back on..thoughtful carvers.   Far Guy  wrapped it all up, I had a hard time looking at it.  The next day I just left it covered, finally the second day I decided that I should look at it possibly while laying down so I wouldn't faint...low and behold, I could not get the bandage off.  Far Guy had used gauze and it had grown into my finger..I could not get it to budge..I soaked it for a couple of hours..it still wasn't letting loose.  There was nothing to be done ( well I suppose I could have just kept the bandage in place the rest of my life)  except suck it up while laying on the couch and let Far Guy rip it off...owwie..since then I wear a steel mesh glove on my left hand..just in case..I have found that cuts are less severe with the gloves..however stabbings can still be a problem:)