The Blank…cut and ready for carving
The pattern was traced onto the glued up block and bandsawed to make the blank that I’ll begin to carve
Making the Blank
Because of the large size of this carving, three 3-inch thick pieces of basswood were planed smooth and glued together. Glued and clamped, the blank will be strong and less apt to crack than if I used one thick piece of wood. One large piece would probably include both heartwood (closest to the center of the tree), and sapwood ( closest to the bark) which dry at different rates. That difference can cause stress cracks, or “checks”.
Clay Model
Sometimes transforming 2-dimensional images to a 3-dimensional sculpture can present some uncertainty in the design. Here I use clay to make a 3-dimensional model. This helps me to “figure out” the basic shape of the carving. No details are needed here. Once I have the basics worked out, I can then make sketches of the subject from different angles. These will become my pattern.
Getting Started
The first step in designing a new carving is to collect as much reference material as possible.
- Some of the reference material and drawings.
