[Woodcarver] Carvers block

[Marcia Berkall]

Hi, Paul,

I've been selling carvings for over 15 years now.  I started with a 
few Santas and swore at the time that I'd never want to carve 
anything but Santas.  There's no such thing as NEVER! :)  As Ivan 
said, you can carve what you want to carve or you can carve what will 
sell.  The problem with carving what you know will sell is that you 
get locked into a niche and when demand gets high it's hard to let go 
of that sure sale to carve what you want to carve.....and what you 
want to carve changes.  I am at that point now, so I am doing pretty 
much a combination of the two...carving enough of the "sure sales" to 
feel secure that I'll have some income, and at the same time 
expanding into what I really want to carve and finding the new 
outlets for those pieces.  I think that no matter what you do, to at 
least some extent you have to be carving something that you 
enjoy.  If you force yourself to carve only for others, you may 
quickly lose the motivation to carve at all.

As for figuring out what to carve,  you'll have to give some thought 
to what is important to you.  Those are the things that you will do 
best and that you will enjoy most.  I started with Santas because I 
love Christmas and the spirit of giving.  If you love wildlife, then 
that is what you should carve.  If you are motivated by carving 
pieces with a religious theme, or sports, or caricatures, then do 
it.  Whatever you carve, the trick will be to find the right 
market.  That, along with promoting yourself, will be among the 
greatest challenges.

Good luck!!  and Happy Carving!

Marcia (aka Mush)
South China, Maine

[snip]
Paul said:
  I have hit a major block. I can't figure out what to carve!  I feel 
stumped. And another question, is there any one in south jersey that 
teaches the proper way to carve with hand tools? Thanks guys. Happy carving

See Marcia's wood carvings 
at: 

http://www.pivot.net/~whitwood 

http://community.webshots.com/user/cahvah
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