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I'm using quite big carving tools here, deepening the scallops, what I've been calling 'petals'. It's not a problem if you don't have them, it'll just take a bit longer.
What you should start to see - and really take on board - is the carving process effectively creating the design.
Volutes: As I showed you in the first video, where I talked through their design, there are 2 sorts of 'endings' ('beginnings'?) in these clouds: (1) a 'volute', which is like the middle of a snail shell, and (2) a combination of two sort-of-volutes, based more on the yin-yang type of symbol.
I've focused more on the yin-yang sort because that's much trickier to get your head around. You should find the more 'classic' volutes readily emerging from the carving tool and if you put 'volute' in the search box, top left of the page, you'll find more examples of this single, snail shell type elsewhere on Woodcarving Workshops.
| 24 November 2021 10:45
Lucy - No problem; there's a lot to take in! The Oak I am using is very 'mild', meaning it has a straight and even grain without knots. It's also 'air dried' which is much less brittle than when wood has been dried in a kiln. All in all, then, this Oak is about as easy to carve as Oak can be. And I've used lots harder wood elsewhere on the site!
Carving is quite physical work, especially in the early stages and there's no getting around that. It's why a lot of (usually older) carvers resort to power tools. But there is a joy in handling carving tools that is part of why I do it, and you can always use a mallet, or take away half as much with the gouge and take twice as long...
| 21 November 2021 20:52
Ignore me (not difficult for you!), I’ve just read the reason under ‘finishing’. Lucy
| 20 November 2021 16:06
Hello Chris
Was there a reason you chose oak? It looks exhausting work, albeit fabulous eventually I’m sure.
Lucy Fox
