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View Full Version : What do you want to carve?



Mike Henderson
06-27-2009, 5:54 PM
I'm always looking for new things to carve (relief carving only). What carving design or element are you interested in? If there's some consensus, I'll try to do a tutorial on it.

There are limitations, however:

1. It must be relief carving, not 3-D carving.
2. It should be a single element, not something like the "Last Supper".
3. I'd really prefer if it was usable as a decorative element on furniture - traditional or contemporary.

Mike

Robert Rozaieski
06-27-2009, 9:18 PM
How about a traditional acanthus leafage type piece? Could be something for a cabriole knee or perhaps a leg to apron type transition?

Another possibility might be a volute type carving that would work for something like the ears of a fan back windsor chair crest rail or the arms of a period chair?

Doug Mason
06-27-2009, 10:46 PM
I second a leafage type piece tutorial per Robert.

Christopher Fletcher
06-28-2009, 12:57 AM
+1 on the acanthus tutorial.

Mike Henderson
06-28-2009, 1:11 AM
Okay, acanthus it is. I'm going to do it on the knee of a cabriolet leg, such as you do with a ball and claw foot. And I'm going to do a simple design to begin with.

Give me some time to put things together. For me, the problem is always drawing the acanthus, rather than carving it.

Mike

Thomas Knapp
06-28-2009, 11:24 AM
The Acanthus leaf is one I want to learn too!

Cody Colston
06-28-2009, 12:03 PM
+1 on the Acanthus leaf.

Christopher Fletcher
06-28-2009, 9:36 PM
Mike, I know you said no 3D, but this is one piece I would love to know how to carve!!

Judy Kingery
06-28-2009, 10:50 PM
Little different angle and not to throw a kink in the works, but I'd like to do a wood block (flat/relief) carving for ink printing, so I'll watch this, thanks!

Jude

Mike Henderson
06-28-2009, 11:01 PM
Mike, I know you said no 3D, but this is one piece I would love to know how to carve!!
That's just too complex to do a tutorial on that here, Christopher. Any tutorials done here have to be fairly simple carving elements. It would take a lot of time and pictures to try to show how to carve that. And it's advanced work. Before anyone could tackle that, they'd have to have done a bunch of carving.

If you're a carver, give it a go. You might not carve exactly that, but you'd learn a lot. For example, carve it "flat". Do what's in the picture but don't try to make it a 3-D carving - just make it a slight relief carving.

[Looks like something Grinling Gibbons might have done. If so, that's high ambition.]

Mike

Christopher Fletcher
06-29-2009, 2:25 AM
Mike,
I'm not sure who carved that piece, but it came from a london fine art school website. I suggested a tutorial on that piece tongue in cheek of course. Although, it seems to be comprised of very classic patterns and shapes and could be broken down into several less complex carvings. For me, a novice carver, there are several areas in the leaf carvings where I'm not sure which tool would be the best choice to get the cut. This is also why I gave a +1 for the acanthus tutorial suggestion. I eagerly await your postings!! Thanks, Christopher.

Mike Henderson
07-09-2009, 8:05 PM
It'll be a while before I can get to that Acanthus carving. I have a couple of big projects for a client that I'm working on right now. I'll get to it as soon as I can.

Mike