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'Ceci n'est pas une Chemise'... Eh? A few years ago, I put a similar shirt in an exhibition with this title - a reference to René Magritte's painting: La Trahison des Images, (1928-29): 'Ceci n'est pas une pipe'.
It's important to understand that I'm not interested in carving a completely 'real' shirt in the way some bird carvers carve and paint realistic birds. This is primarily a woodcarving; a sculpture that explores the forms and spaces of a shirt. I do want to fool viewers for a moment, from a distance, then let them realise they are looking at wood as they come closer; have them sort of hanging in the illusion between 'shirt' and 'woodcarving' for a while.
I'll talk you through this project more than usual. Your shirt will be different but I'm fairly sure I'll deal with everything you'll come across. In this first lesson we'll catch our model and create the all-important working drawing.
You'll find a written version of a similar shirt in my book, Elements of Woodcarving.
Wood: I used Sycamore. Plain shirt-type woods such as Basswood, Limewood or Jelutong would be alternatives.
Tools: My tool list and a few notes is available as a PDF below for Woodcarving Workshops subscribers only.
| 11 November 2013 13:30
Yes, great idea.. I'm putting a "bandana" or kerchief on my list of to-do projects!
| 10 November 2013 18:53
Ann - PVA is wood glue: once set, it won't wash out; any more than a glued up joint will wash out. The shirt was really old; from a thrift shop. It didn't fit anyway; I tried it... How about carving another, smaller item of clothing, or a hung up towel or hankerchief for example, using the same process?
| 10 November 2013 08:59
Thanks for the details on this working up a drawing: the "pointing through" seems a really useful and valuable technique: easy but not always thought about.
| 10 November 2013 08:57
Chris - excuse a possible "women's" thought: but is the shirt a "waste" after this stiffing up with PVC - or will it eventually wash out! :)
