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If the 'first' pass was about establishing the big picture, then the second past is about refining that picture, giving more definition to various parts.
At this point I had a big change in my ideas. My original thinking and on model I had the owls sitting on a branch. However, I found I liked the chunky quality of the log itself and a couple of the pictures I had showed owls sitting on fence posts, and I decided this was how I wanted mine.
Notice the calcium deposits in the hairline cracks and the Superglue trick.
| 24 March 2018 07:37
Eric- That's all really good to hear! What I love about carving is that sense of 'journey' - I hope that doesn't sound pretentious or cliched. Although I do a lot of planning and preparation, I really don't know what the caving will look like at the other end, because there is a degree of making it up as I go along, creatively, rather like a painter and their canvas. (This is not true about some carved things like letters or mouldings of course.) The army has a saying, 'Planning is crucial but plans are useless, once the first bullet starts to fly'. There's a lot in that.
As for perfection, let me confess that at the end of almost every carving I'm always left with a sense of what I could have done differently or better. It used to get me down to begin with but I've long since recognised that it's the nature of the beast, and since I was always a bit disappointed when I got there, it was the journey, the getting there, that was to be rejoiced in and was the real buzz. That's one reason I rarely feel like I need to hang onto my carvings, when many people wonder how, after all that effort, I can bear to let them go.
Hope all that makes sense!.
| 24 March 2018 04:47
Carrie, I like the 10 minute mark for these videos. Sweet spot in my opinion. Get more into Chris as a carver, his process, not just a technical issue or step. Thanks.
| 24 March 2018 04:46
Chris, I really appreciate the comments you make about how you evaluate the carving all the way through the process, changing as necessary, or discovering a new direction to take. As a beginner, no matter how many carvings I do, I keep thinking there is the "perfect way" to do the carving and I have to make sure I do it "perfectly", each whack of the gouge. Your comments bring "art" to the subject and the process. I plan on being more relaxed and open in my carving after listening to you. Thanks.
