[Woodcarver] Coping and original work

[Marcia Berkall]

I also teach, and my students also do 2 projects using my patterns.  Even 
with these two projects, they are encouraged to "experiment" with design as 
long as they are getting the techniques down.
If you were to come to one of my classes, you would see everyone working on 
something different.  That is because I firmly believe that we derive the 
most personal satisfaction from carving what is close to us in the way we 
see it.  We also tend to do far learn faster and gain skill faster when we 
are working on things that have meaning to us.  Each of us sees things just 
a little bit differently and it is those little differences that make our 
work unique.
Part of what I teach is how to carry an idea from inception to finished 
carving using different means of "working" out the design, including clay, 
drawing, etc.  I recommend that everyone invest in Betty Edwards' "Drawing 
on the Right Side of the Brain" and go through the book doing all of the 
exercises.  I use a lot of those exercises in my classes and find that 
students are thorouthly amazed when they see what they really can draw.

Marcia (aka Mush)
South China, Maine
At 12:46 PM 1/28/2005, Bill Judt wrote:

>When I teach, my students are encouraged to carve two projects, using 
>patterns I provide. But only in their first course. The second course 
>normally finds them on the light table designing an ORIGINAL piece. They 
>may use images that others have created (wildlife paintings, for example) 
>but the composition of their carvings is to be theirs alone.
>Subsequently, the majority of the student carvings that emerge from my 
>studio are unique. Most of these are entirely original, starting with 
>photos THEY have taken. The satisfaction my students receive from these 
>carvings is huge.




Visit Marcia's  Whittlins 'n Wood  web site at:
http://www.pivot.net/~whitwood
http://community.webshots.com/user/cahvah





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