[Woodcarver] Carving from one piece of wood

[Joe Dillett]

Hi Ivan,

Nicely said.

I'm looking forward to seeing you in a little less than a month for class. I
haven't given much thought to my project yet. I best be getting busy. I'm
thinking of finishing up that Nativity scene, I been adding to every year in
your class, by doing a backdrop behind the figures. The backdrop will be
some relief and some in-the-round with an angel and the 3 kings with the
village in the background. I'll meet with the church committee to see what
they want?

Joe Dillett
The Carving Shop
645 E. LaSalle St. Suite 3
Somonauk, IL. 60552
(815) 498-9290 phone
(815) 498-9249 fax
http://www.thecarvingshop.com
jdillett at thecarvingshop.com
http://www.carvingmagazine.com Carving Magazine web site and Readers Forum
http://community.webshots.com/user/joe_dillett
http://www.citizenactions.org
http://www.safeguardsystemsinc.com
**************************************************

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ivan Whillock" <carve at whillock.com>
To: "[Woodcarver]" <woodcarver at six.pairlist.net>
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2005 10:20 AM
Subject: [Woodcarver] Carving from one piece of wood


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> >> When someone says that they carved their caricature scene from one
piece
> of basswood.  Does that mean that the design was drawn on the basswood and
> everything was carved from the one block or are pieces cut off the one
> block, carved and then reassembled?  Does my question make sense or am I
> just confused?<<
>
> Many sculptors in wood--caricaturists, abstractionists,
> representationalists--choose to carve their works from a single block of
> wood.  It gives them a particular challenge--creating a design that
> challenges the material but still respects it.  A block of wood is a solid
> mass.  One would be prone to carve solid objects from it.  You will notice
> that in Marv Kaisersatt's work, however,  he challenges that property of
> wood and creates an airiness--interesting and varied openings between the
> figures.  But also in respecting the material, you will notice that he is
> also aware of the fragility of cross grain and therefore ties most of the
> fragile elements to a stronger element.  This working a material against
its
> original from is a challenge many sculptors enjoy.  Marv also works in
many
> different levels and tiers, again to create drama and visual interest--to
> move the carving out of its original "block" shape.  To take individual
> pieces of wood, carve and assemble them into a scene--for some--takes part
> of  the fun and challenge out of it, but it also presents a different
visual
> effect. (All that is not to imply that there aren't  many  fine
"assembled"
> carvings as well,)
>
> For realistic carvers, a challenge is to "take the figure out of the
block."
> Here is what that means:  A block of wood has four sides.  There is a
> tendency to carve the figure so that the planes of the body are pretty
much
> parallel to those four sides.  (This is somewhat aided by the fact that a
> bandsaw creates a cutout with all of the sides parallel--because, of
course,
> the blade is a 90 degree angle to the table top.)  A figure that is "out
of
> the block" does not have the planes of the body parallel to the original
> block of wood.  The head is turned, the shoulders are twisted, the hips
out
> of parallel with the shoulders, etc.  This creates movement in the figure
> and avoids the tendency for blockiness .  (In many of my figure carvings,
I
> try to have NONE of the planes of the figure parallel to the original
block
> of wood.  It's a little fettish on my part, based on my sculpture
training,
> but one of the challenges I present to myself, and I think my "out of the
> block" carvings are just more interesting to look at than my "still in the
> block" carvings.)
>
> There are aesthetic advantages to a carving from a single block.  The
> transition from one element to the other is smooth because the forms are
> integrated.  The grain, too, can add to the effect.  From a single block
the
> grain is continuous, particularly valuable in unpainted works.
>
> A little wndy, but I hope this addresses artistic issues related to
carving
> from a single block of wood.
>
> Ivan Whillock
>
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