---- Chris Pye: WOODCARVING - NEWSLETTER ---- July 2002 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com "Dedicated to the teaching, learning and love of woodcarving" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello everyone! Please forward this newsletter to a woodcarving friend, and anyone else you think might be interested. Thanks! This is an opt-in newsletter and you should only be receiving it because you requested it from the website, or were sent it by a friend. Subscribe or Unsubscribe easily on the home page here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/index.html or using the link at the end of the newsletter. ****Back issues here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/intro/pastnews.html including zipfile for 2001 newsletters ============================================================ This month, a shorter newsletter than usual I'm afraid. Even now, I am in the front line, teaching woodcarving in beautiful Maine, USA... CONTENTS: 1. Slipstones Woodcarving Magazine - July 2002 2. Website News 1) UK ToolShop & Auriou Woodcarving Tools 2) New Website Inspiration 3) Survey in the Offing 3. Article: Foundations of Woodcarving 5: 'Working From The Tool' by Chris Pye 4. Follow up: More on 'Mind Mapping' Website Bookmarks at the end. ____________________________________________________________ 1. SLIPSTONES WOODCARVING MAGAZINE- July 2002 ____________________________________________________________ Have you got a nagging woodcarving question? Something you are not clear on, or for which you need a little advice? Slipstones Woodcarving Magazine is like an invitation to my workshop where I share my experience of over 25 years as a professional woodcarver, and offer advice and support, along with that of other subscribers. Join me! For full details of this invaluable interactive woodcarving magazine, go now to: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/index.html And get your FREE copy of '101 Master Woodcarving Secrets', exclusive to subscribers. Back issues of Slipstones now available without subscribing. ----- THIS MONTH: The *CLAY SPECIAL*, CONTINUED In the last issue I demonstrated making a clay model for a relief carving. We continue this technical feature with: *** HOW TO TURN THE CLAY MODEL INTO A WORKING DRAWING *** And when you have your drawing, you can bandsaw your wood and begin immediately to save time! What I am showing here is the professional approach to a complicated carving. The point is to produce not only a fine work, but to save time by working more efficiently. How can you afford to miss out on this? Find out more in this month's Slipstones! Also: *** SPECIAL CARVING SKEW/KNIFE. How to modify a Flexcut chisel into what has rapidly become one of my favourite carving tools? *** SEEKING INSPIRATION? Feel you are uncreative? There IS hope - lots of it! *** CARVING WOODS IN THE FUTURE? Well, will there be? Here's something simple and effective you can do about the depressing state of our carving woods. *** And more, including 'Lines of Light' and Carving Tips. Subscribe to Slipstones magazine. And get your FREE copy of '101 Master Woodcarving Secrets', exclusive to subscribers. Have you downloaded your FREE sample edition of Slipstones? Find it here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/index.html ____________________________________________________________ 2. WEBSITE NEWS ____________________________________________________________ 1) UKToolshop and Auriou Woodcarving Tools A few of you with NETSCAPE have reported a blank page when trying to access the UKToolshop introductory page: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/ts_uktoolshop.html Although they look their best in EXPLORER, I test ALL pages on my site (and the UKToolShop) in Netscape and that they show happily. So I have no rational explanation for the blank page! (Irrationally? Space Goblins.) You can try this direct link into the UKToolShop pages: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/uktoolshop/index.html If you haven't yet, and are looking to buy carving tools from among the best, do check out Auriou woodcarving tools and the UKToolShop with the links above. You can write to me about any aspect of Auriou or other tools presented on the website and I will do my best to advise. 2) NEW INSPIRATION Something not to be met with in a dark alley! But beautiful lines: flowing and restless energy that continuously brings you back to focus on the eyes, the eyes... See them here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/g_inspiration.html 3) SURVEY I have been thinking about the direction I'd like my website to go, possibly starting a new website for woodcarvers with a different agenda altogether. I am going to be asking you to answer a few questions for me in the near future - nothing stressful! - which will help me give you what you want. So, just an advance warning. If you have any ideas already, feel free to write. ____________________________________________________________ 3. ARTICLE: Foundations of Woodcarving - Part V by Chris Pye ____________________________________________________________ There are some things in woodcarving which are fundamental: "Being, or involving, basic facts or principles; far-reaching and thoroughgoing in effect, especially on the nature of something." Over the next few months I want to pick out, briefly, some of my favourites. If I'm any good as a carver then it's because I understand these importance of a few of these fundamentals. 1: March 02 - Bosting In 2: April 02 - Slicing 3: May 02 - Relativity 4: June 02 - Working With The Tool and now... 5: WORKING FROM THE TOOL Last month I talked about working WITH your carving tools. I wasn't being mystical, just pointing out how the mind likes to work, through those unconscious habits that arise with repetitive actions. You aim is to carve without noticing the tools at all... What's the difference between WITH, and working FROM, your carving tools? It's not easy to sum up the points I want to make but I once gave tongue to: 'cutting with the tools in the way the tools like to cut'. Here are some examples to illustrate what I mean: (1) THE CUT The cutting edge enters the wood, moves along and exits. Right? Three parts to the action. Long or short, it doesn't matter: in, along, and out; that's how carving tools remove wood. They like it. Happy carving tools, doing that at which they are best. So, levering the blade like a wrecking bar is not the way to keep them happy... Nor is scraping with the cutting edge... Carving tools like to CUT. (2) THE SLICE I talked in the second article about 'Slicing' - this is using the cutting edge to its best advantage. If you don't slice your cuts, what can I say? Read it and DO! (3) THE SWEEP In my relief carving book I describe setting in by 'matching' the sweep to the curve of the subject's outline. From this you can rotate the sweep of the edge around to make a longer curve of the cut. You can also tighten the curve by twisting the handle as you sweep round, making a tighter circle of the cut. In both cases the sweep of the blade is playing a guiding role - you work with it to produce sweet, repeatable cuts. If you work this way, with the jigging action from the sweep profile, you will always produce better lines than freehand work, say with a V tool. In each of the 3 cases I've described, the tools work best when you work WITH them: you are using their profiles and the way they actually remove wood to the best advantage. They are at their most efficient and you notice them even less. I hope you understand what I am describing here and can see it in action when you carve. Feel free to write and I'll be happy to run a follow up. ** Next Month - Vision. ____________________________________________________________ 4. FOLLOW UP: More on MIND MAPPING by Chris Pye ____________________________________________________________ Last month's guest article was on Mind Mapping. From your responses, I thought it might be useful to add my own take on this powerful way of working. In essence, I think of Mind Mapping as working with the right side of my brain. You must have heard of this idea: the right side of the brain tends to more creative and associative in the way it sees the world; the left side is more logical and critical. True or not, you really can train yourself to work as if there were two sides of your brain like this. I use the resulting approach a lot, and see Mind Mapping as an aspect and good example of the technique. What you have to do is * BEGIN with the creative side of the brain, * THEN refine with the critical side. IN THAT ORDER! So when you start, you must keep all criticisms and judgments to one side - there will be time for that later. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! You will get side tracked into 'Oh that won't work' or 'That's silly'. Just ignore these sorts of thoughts that try to gun you down, and dash on like the Light Brigade. So you START with what I call 'blurting' on a big piece of paper. Begin with your central thought, idea or theme, then just dump stuff; follow lines; draw bubbles; use different colours; spider web in an associated direction to produce your Mind Map. When you have exhausted your creative side, have a break. When you come back, then - AND ONLY THEN - put on your other, critical hat. Pick out interesting bits and start re-structuring or re-writing in a linear, flowing form. You can bounce back and forth between the 2 approaches but the real secret, the real POWER of this approach, is for me in separating the creative and the critical sides. You can use this approach for ANY problem, from writing to business planning, from what to carve to what it will look like. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ That's it for this month - sorry it's shorter! I hope you have found this newsletter interesting and useful. Once more: joy and success in your carving! Chris Pye ------------------------- PS: Another one to ponder at the bench: "The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind!" - William James WEBSITE BOOKMARKS ____________________________________________________________ * UK TOOLSHOP: Auriou woodcarving tools and other equipment http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/ts_uktoolshop.html * UKTOOLSHOP Direct Link (missing out introductory page): http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/uktoolshop/index.html * Slipstones Magazine http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/index.html * Learning to Carve Free - eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/learncarving/learn_ebook.html * A Guide to Safe Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/safecarving/safecarving_index.html * Mistakes and Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/mistakes/mistakes_ebook.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright © Chris Pye 2002 Chris@chrispye-woodcarving.com ------------------------------------------------------------- Chris Pye: Woodcarving Newsletter is listed in the EzinesPlus directory of newsletters and ezines. http://ezinesplus.com -------------------------------------------------------------