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One of the really effective aspects of our design is the twist in the fish, which gives it movement and prevents it looking stiff, and you want to pay a lot of attention to this and how the spine of the koi runs.
I'm holding the fish on a carver's screw and you'll see a certain amount of inevitable wobble. Actually, I didn't have a problem with this wobbling while I was carving (and especially using the mallet) but from the camera's point of view it seems quite a lot.
In this lesson we create a sculptural form and then consolidate it with spokeshave and rasp. By 'sculptural form' here, I mean the underlying mass and how it moves in a fish-like way; it's what we'd expect from a fish and underpins our sense of the whole carving, independently from any details.
| 27 April 2017 10:55
Karen - Pushing the spokeshave away allows you to bring your body weight into play; pulling just uses your arms. Having said that, here are indeed times when I pull it towards me rather than turn the work around.
The spokeshave is a very safe tool! I've never known, or even heard of, anyone injured by it.
| 26 April 2017 14:55
Chris why is it that you always push the spoke shave away from you? Maybe it is a safety issue or you have more leverage by pushing forward. It seems awkward to me but then I have never been shown how to use a spoke shave properly.
| 26 April 2017 14:46
Chris from the beginning you have started chipping off wood from the top of the fish, shaping it as you went along and then suddenly you are start from the belly and curve the tool toward the top of the fish. Why would you not continue from the top and work down? Has this something to do with grain or is it just easier to shape the fish this way?
