Ball & Claw,naw,Trunk & tusk!

[Mark Yundt]

Ball and Claw, fairly routine stuff. Just did quite a few. Here's a twist, Trunk and Tusk!
I got this to do for a home in Fla. The Elephant heads will be the legs for an Island unit in a kitchen. I first did a clay model as you can see. First for the clients to see other than a sketch, and second , for me to use as a model. Makes life a whole lot easier!
I'm also making up some smaller ones you can make out on the bench that will be used for corbels to support the range hood.
Everything is just roughed in at this point and now I'm doing the details and finessing to get them all to look alike. Not sure if it matters TOO much as you can't see them all at one time anyway. But it's something I have to do.
Anyway, these are Walnut, glued up out of 8/4 stock , 8 pcs total. The height is almost 36 inches. It's such a nice wood to carve. And two of the pieces have conduit running up the inside of the trunk so power can be brought up to the island unit without seeing the wiring. I thought it was a good idea. Clients liked it. So there you go!
Hope you like them too.
If you like I'll post photos when they're done.
Mark

[Lupe Duncan]

WOW! Very nice work Mark. I would love to be able to carve like that.

[Kevin Adams]

Mark,

Very cool, thanks for sharing. You do wonderful work and very inspirational. This is certainly a little different than the religious work you had been working on!

Are the tusks separate (attached with tenon maybe) or all part of the original block?

Take care,
Kevin

[Mark Yundt]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words.
Kevin,
Yeah, this is a bit different than the religious stuff I've been doing lately. I do such a variety of work and it ebbs and flows. Sometimes it's nothing but religious for a while, then it shifts to other things. Now I have several homes lined up for work. I like the variety, never gets boring.
The tusks are part of the original block. Generally I try to do all my work in one piece. Somehow there is a different look and integrity to pieces done that way rather than a collection of parts glued together. I did though consider doing them separate.
Instead, I figured a way to be able to carve them before making a giant block and having to deal with them in a giant mass of wood.
What I did here was this.
The trunk itself is made of two pieces of stock which I glued together. Then , the next two pieces of stock to be added were where the tusks would be. I was able to band saw the general shape and do the carving with these pieces separate. Now I was able to carve around the tusks and the area underneath them making life simple for me. When the carving was done and nearly finish sanded I glued these blocks to the main trunk section.
Having the clay model I was able to make fairly accurate templates for all the shapes I needed to glue up the block. And it gave me reference points to follow so I knew where everything would need to be and where I didn't need wood as the glue up progressed.
One other thing you can't see with these things is how they fit into the Island unit itself. I made a model of the corner from the designers specs which is what the clay is fitted to. The back of the head will sit flush with a 45 degree panel on the island unit. But, the ears will lay over a part of the left and right sides of the unit. This took a little "figuring" but I was able to have the ears overlay about one inch on each side.
If need be I can show a picture of what I'm trying to describe.
Thanks again,
Mark

[John Timberlake]

Great job. Lucky client. Please post pictures when the island is installed.

[Mark Yundt]

John,
I'd be happy to post finished photos, but if this is anything like what usually happens, I don't get to see the final installation of most of my work. This job is in Florida, and I'm in Pennsylvania. Most jobs I have no idea where it ends up. This year it's gone to California, Virginia, Ohio,Wisconsin from what I've discovered. Some times I've seen photos in magazines by accident only to say,,," Hey,, I carved that!"
I'll ask for photos, sometimes I get them, usually I don't. The only clues to what I have carved is in the photos I take as I'm making something. And,, as is also the case,, I generally forget to take photos of much of my work. Go figure!
I have so much "out there" that I've never seen,, much less remember. I guess it may be nice,, but to me it doesn't really matter. It just doesn't quit.

[Kevin Adams]

Thanks, Mark, that makes a lot of sense. What I was getting at was the structural integrity of the tusks as part of the whole piece and how they could be vulnerable depending on grain direction. Your method takes care of that and helps the tusks blend in better to the rest of the piece rather than being separate.

I wish we were closer (I'm in CT) as I'd love to just watch you work for a few hours one day. I have taken some classes with a professional up this way and my work has benefited greatly. The books and DVD's are helpful, but nothing like standing beside someone who has been doing it their whole life and watch how they execute a cut with such grace!

Thanks again for sharing with us as it really makes a difference!

Kevin

[Mark Yundt]

Yes Kevin, it seemed to make sense to me as well. Even if it didn't work, I've been in worse situations before that I managed to get myself out of. Besides, it's just a piece of wood,not a holy relic, throw it away and make another. There are always fall back positions. Experience gives you options.

Integrated pieces are inherently much better ( in my opinion) for many reasons. Often it creates more work,or may appear so, but ultimately I think it's worth it. Or I wouldn't do it.

The learning curve is much less dramatic if you can see something done first hand. And too, as you allude, pro's in many areas make things look easy or graceful. One is because they have done it, or something similar so many times it's second nature and takes little thought. And two, most follow Occam's razor. The simplest explanation or course of action is usually the best or most expedient.They have found ways to eliminate all unnecessary movement or actions. Just cut to the quick.
I'm essentially either lazy or not too bright and the simplest or fastest way is the method I will usually follow.
Life itself can be difficult enough ,, why complicate an issue? I bang my head against the wall over enough other things. I like to keep it simple. Happily it only appears complicated!

[Roger Strautman]

Mark, I hadn't seen any posts in awhile and was wondering what you were working on. Very nice work once again. When you are complete with the commission will you destroy the clay model or put in some corner and save it?

I just returned from Switzerland where I toured many cathedrals, monasteries, saw alters many architectural wonders and said to myself there is not enough time nor am I talented enough to create create some of what I saw. You on the other hand without a doubt could accomplish in your life time some of what I saw. Thanks for being an inspiration Mark!

[Kevin Adams]

Mark, I can relate to what you are saying and that there is no subsitute for watching a professional carver work. I remember laboring over a certain cut, just struggling to figure out how to do it, when the instructor stepped beside me, grabbed my tool, and just sliced the cut. I had been nibbling away at it for an eternity and he did it so quickly, somehow with both strength and grace...I think a lot of this type of work comes from just having the confidence to trust your instincts and go for it. However, that confidence comes from many, many hours of working at it.

Good stuff, thanks again!
Kevin

[Mark Yundt]

Hey Roger! Sounds like a wonderful trip. I love visiting Europe. Well actually it's more love/hate. I love what I see and am inspired,but hate that I don't have the clients , or time to follow in their footsteps! I've always wondered , as does another carving friend of mine, just what are you ( we) capable of if we had the time and $ to tackle a project if neither of these issues were a factor? Hmmmmm?
It always seems that a little bit has to be kept back in most cases. Not that we don't put forth our best efforts, but given the parameters ,just how far could you push something to find just where your limits are. Where are the limits to your imagination or abilities? Fortunately it can be taken to the point where most think a piece is great. But really , in the back of your mind, don't you wonder just how much farther you can push something. The difference may be minimal to most. But to travel that last bit of distance is disproportionate to the time and money required to achieve it. That's why I always feel my work falls short. And with that mindset,, would a piece ever be truly done? Can you ever be truly satisfied with a piece?
Sorry,, I'm rambling.

No posts on my part isn't an indication of not working. Usually the opposite. Either that or I died somewhere along the way.And besides , with the work that I have coming in, I can't die any time soon. Too much to do!
Also, I tend ( naturally) to post the more interesting pieces. Who wants to see me carve medallions for a Victorian sofa that's being restored, Legs for a ball and claw pie top table , or simple ( but large) brackets for the University of Virginia? To me it's not particularly exciting or unique. Most have been done to death. But it's part of what I do. Routine.

Kevin, Yes, trust your instincts. This stuff isn't rocket science. Be willing to say to yourself,,,, "What would happen if I tried this?" Then try it and see.
This has worked wonders for me over the years as I never had the benefit of classes or instructors, maybe THAT was fortuitous in it's own way, but figured it out for myself by trial and error. And don't be afraid of errors. They have a habit of teaching you more than successes. Learning what not to do is possibly more valuable that anything.
Over the many sites I've visited most will tell you how to do something because they read "That's how so and so says to do it" though they themselves can't. I get myself in trouble because I can do things in ways not endorsed by the local carving guru. It may be unorthodox,, but I find that the things I'm doing ,, are the very same things others making their living carving are doing as well. Trial and error, pushing beyond what is commonly "known" gets you to places you didn't imagine.
Isn't that the definition of insanity? Keep doing what you've always done and expect different results. Do what everyone else does and expect different results?
Nope, trust your instincts. They tend to be great teachers. Then you yourself will know and not just because someone else said so.