Mike Henderson
06-25-2009, 10:34 PM
Here's another very easy flower to carve - I call it the "Square Flower" because of the layout.
I did this flower in the carved panel I posted earlier. It was so easy, and yet it looked good and felt good when you ran your hand over it that I decided to do this tutorial on it.
121643
I'm going to be working in basswood. I have a piece of basswood that's about 7" wide. You certainly don't have to make your flower the same size, just scale your work to the size wood you have. Note that all the descriptions of the carving tools are given in the Swiss system.
I called this a "square flower" so the first thing I'm going to do is draw a line about 7" from the end so I have a square. Then, I'm going to divide that square into four quadrants by drawing a horizontal and vertical line half way - at 3.5"
121644
Next, I put a "tic mark" on the vertical and horizontal lines at 3" from the center and then connect those points with straight lines to give me a square.
121645
Then, I subdivide that square into four quadrants, as shown in the picture below.
121646
I now want to sketch in the flower petals, which I do by hand. I come in 1/2" from the square and just draw the shape of the petals freehand. If you want the petals to stand out more, just come in more (closer to the center).
121647
I did this flower in the carved panel I posted earlier. It was so easy, and yet it looked good and felt good when you ran your hand over it that I decided to do this tutorial on it.
121643
I'm going to be working in basswood. I have a piece of basswood that's about 7" wide. You certainly don't have to make your flower the same size, just scale your work to the size wood you have. Note that all the descriptions of the carving tools are given in the Swiss system.
I called this a "square flower" so the first thing I'm going to do is draw a line about 7" from the end so I have a square. Then, I'm going to divide that square into four quadrants by drawing a horizontal and vertical line half way - at 3.5"
121644
Next, I put a "tic mark" on the vertical and horizontal lines at 3" from the center and then connect those points with straight lines to give me a square.
121645
Then, I subdivide that square into four quadrants, as shown in the picture below.
121646
I now want to sketch in the flower petals, which I do by hand. I come in 1/2" from the square and just draw the shape of the petals freehand. If you want the petals to stand out more, just come in more (closer to the center).
121647