Neander Carving Project Complete (Warning, Big Pics)

[Matthew Dworman]

Finally finished! The frame is mahogany all carved with hand tools, and finished with 3 coats of tried and true Danish oil
and 3 coats of Mylands paste wax. Thanks for looking:
http://home.comcast.net/~mdworman/images/mirror1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~mdworman/images/mirror2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~mdworman/images/mirror3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~mdworman/images/mirror4.jpg[/url]
http://home.comcast.net/~mdworman/images/mirror5.jpg[url="http://home.comcast.net/~mdworman/images/mirror5.jpg"] (http://home.comcast.net/~mdworman/images/mirror4.jpg)
All in all this took about 80 hours to complete including drawing the template and applying the finish.
A fun project and I'm already starting on my next frame.
Matt

[Maurice Ungaro]

80 hours??!

Looks fantastic, and I think that maybe you've done this kind of thing before!

Maurice

[Ted Shrader]

Matt -

WOW! That is remarkable. Very nice work. Lot of time invested in that.

Ted

PS I like the dog in the first picture. Better than the legs in the second :)

[Leif Hanson]

Outstanding! Nicely done. :D

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Great work! BTW what's your dog's name?

[Jim Becker]

Wow...that's awesome. Mucho work, too. Beautiful job!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

You certainly have more carving talent and patience than I do! Keep up the good work!

[Rob Russell]

Wow - nice work!

[Lou Morrissette]

Great looking piece of work, Matt. The detail is realy clean and sharp. True artwork.

Lou

[Michael Stafford]

Great looking work! Very talented!

By the way, either the dog wants to play or go out...

[Sal Morgani]

Great project, I like the detailed clean lines of your carving. Are you self taught or did you take classes?
Sal Morgani

[John Miliunas]

Wow Matt! Not even in 80 full DAYS could I even dream of pulling something like that off! Magnificent!:) By the way, the first pic with the reflection of the pooch is really an almost perfectly "framed" picture unto itself! Nice job!:cool:

[Tom Scott]

Excellent work, Matthew. The frame looks fantastic!

Tom

[Marshall Harrison]

Great work Matt. Great detail in the carving and the way the side piece carving blends with the top shows your true ability. I don't think there is any way I could do something like that. No talent, no patience.

Like John said, the first picture is a good one but I can't figure out what the green thing on the floor in front of the dog is.

[Marc Hills]

Holy cow, Matthew, that is stunning! Just beautiful!

And may I say, your first photo with your dog's reflection? That one just might rise to the level of art.

I was going to say your photographic composition skills are superb, but then I looked at the reflection in the second picture. Let's just say this: don't give up relief carving for a career in photography! :)

[Mark Singer]

Matt,

Beautiful work! We don't see much carving here and this is exceptional! Where did you find the pattern, or is it your design? I am amazed!!!! Beautiful!

[John Shuk]

WOW! Awesome work!

[Roy Wall]

Matthew,

Like everyone before me ----excellent work!!!!!! The frame looks fantastic!!!

And, okay - I"ll be the first to bite................I see a "little old man with beady eyes and a large, flat nose (and a mustache).......:p -----and lots of hair!!!

[Matthew Dworman]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone. To answer a few of your questions...


80 hours??! Looks fantastic, and I think that maybe you've done this kind of thing before!Hi Maurice - thanks for the compliment, but this is the first completed project that I've ever carved. I picked up my first carving gouge 6 months ago. see below for further comments re: Sal's question...


what's your dog's name?That's Beatrice - she turned 1 year old the day after Christmas...


Are you self taught or did you take classes? Hi Sal - I've been taking some one on one instruction with a guy down in Worcester, MA - it's pretty informal, but it's instruction nonetheless. I Basicaly hang out in his shop and work on my thing while he works on his - when I have a question or a problem, he's right there to direct. His philosophy is that you can't be taught how to carve - only how to use the tools. The carving comes from you and the wood, but learning to use the tools properly allows you to work WITH the wood to get the desired result. He's a bit "not-traditional" as an instuctor, but for me it works. He's a true master in every sense of the word. What took me 80 hours to complete would literaly take him 10 - no kidding - he's that good. If anyone is interested in getting in touch with him to set up lessons, Send me a message and I'll forward you his contact information. I'll be going down to see him again on Monday. I'm working on a rosewood frame now. The pattern is a bit more complex and detailed this time and encompases the full circumference of the frame.


Where did you find the pattern, or is it your design? Hi Mark - That is an origional pattern created by my instructor and myself. Making the pattern was the first 8 hours of carving! We hand drew it (1/2 of it) on paper, then transfered it to posterboard and I used the actual carving chisels and gouges to cut the pattern out of the posterboard. I then had a template from which I could trace onto the frame that would be symmetrical. I spent a lot of time "Learning" to see and draw flowing curves that allowed the pattern to appear "growing" and natural. No french curves or compases, just drawing, looking, erasing, and drawing again. If the pattern is no good, the carving won't be either (for a beginner like me at least)

Again, thanks for all the nice words guys. I posted this in another forum and had to say that after working on this for so long, I am very intimate with all of the flaws that I created. I have made and fixed many many mistakes on it and there are quite a few that are still there. I'm glad that nobody pointed them out, but mistakes are part of learning. Next time I'll make fewer.
Matt

[Alan Turner]

Very nice, and for a first carving project? Especially nice for that.
Alan

[David Klug]

Terrrriiifffic Matt.

DK

[Dave Right]

Fantastic! and what everyone else said too!

[John Dingman]

Matt,

I have no words, I am speechless. That is a work of art.

You did Great!
John

[Jim W. White]

As someone said earlier. .....I couldn't do that in 80 days!! :eek:

Was that peice made for the wife or to sell to someone?! This definately looks like a skill YOU could make a living with. Is that the case?

Just curious. NICE work! (NOTE: please disreard my questions ..I initially missed your follow-up post)

...Jim in Idaho

[John Carr]

Hey Matt, you told me you were "just learning" to carve. Doesn't look that way from those pics. That's a beauty.