---- Chris Pye: WOODCARVING - NEWSLETTER ---- March 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 ==================================== 1. Slipstones - March 2002 2. Website News 1) New Gallery of Woodcarvings 2) Woodcarving Tools, Materials & Equipment 3. Article: Foundations of Woodcarving 1: Bosting In by Chris Pye 4. Quick Carving Questions 1) Carving Benches - to stand or not to stand? 2) How do I start? 3) Carving Woods? 4) Greatest Joy in Carving? 5) Acanthus Design & Carving? 6) Glue For Laminating Wood? 7) Glueing Oily Woods? 5. Carving Cuts from Maine 2001 - VII 6. Follow up to February 2002 Parallel Lines Guest Article 'Make It a Masterpiece!' by Rhoberta __________________________________________ 1. SLIPSTONES - March 2002 __________________________________________ Have you got a nagging woodcarving question? Something you are not clear on or need a little advice? Slipstones 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. So, join me! And get your FREE copy of '101 Master Woodcarving Secrets', exclusive to subscribers. Go now to: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/slipstones.html for full details of your interactive woodcarving journal. Back issues of Slipstones now available without subscribing. MAIN CONCERNS THIS MONTH: *** 'LINES OF LIGHT'? 'CANDLE'? If you don't understand the difference, you are missing out on a highly efficient sharpening practice, and you may be in for a revelation! Indeed I go as far a saying that 'Getting a grasp of this one point completely changed my attitude to sharpening carving tools'. Can you afford to miss it... *** THE 'BEAT' OF A MALLET? Some woodcarving reggae band? A rookie mallet walking up and down the bench when you are not looking? None of these, but something you should know about if you have a wooden mallet. Find out more... *** CELTIC CARVING TECHNIQUES? Carving like a Celt? Who knows how they did it, but we do know about their fantastic designs - a style growing in popularity. Here are some suggestions on suitable techniques to start you off... *** Carving Notes from Maine VII See section 5 below. *** And more, including 'Lines of Light' and Carving Tips. Have you downloaded your FREE sample edition of Slipstones? Find it here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/slipstones.html __________________________________________ 2. WEBSITE NEWS __________________________________________ 1) New Gallery I recently completed 2 pairs of large voluted brackets for a country house: Eardisley Park in Herefordshire. Pictures of these in the workshop and in situ can be seen in the new GALLERY 11 here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/g_index.html Coming soon a gallery of a 6ft eagle lectern, fresh from the chisel. 2) Woodcarving Tools, Materials & Equipment Volume 1 should now be available for sale. Volume 2 has just arrived on this isle - printed in Singapore! - is looking good, and will be distributed shortly, so I'm told. I'd be interested in feedback, particularly from those of you who will 'upgrade' from the original single volume. I'd just like to say that, for economic reasons, publishers will never again print such a big volume as the original one. This was my first book and entirely done by myself, drawings, pictures and all; I feel like a bereft parent! The fact that there is an updated version in no way invalidates the 'old' - most of the material will never change - and hasn't changed, probably since the Egyptians. Such is the timelessness of hand carving with gouges. __________________________________________ 3. ARTICLE: Foundations of Woodcarving 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 their importance. 1: BOSTING IN 'Bosting in' is a traditional term in the UK, which has a long carving history; but used less these days because most woodcarving teachers are self-taught. They may well 'bost', but won't necessarily highlight the qualities, or importance of this almost separate stage in a carving. I don't believe in keeping terms just for the sake of it, but this one still means something valuable: an idea, an approach, which is extremely important for carvers to understand if they are to be successful. 'Bosting' (pronounced 'bosting' sometimes 'boasting') comes from an old word meaning to 'sketch'; it is a stage after coarse roughing out with saws and such but before modelling. TO 'BOST' MEANS TO CREATE THE MAIN FORMS, THREE-DIMENSIONAL MASSES, AND PLANES OF A CARVING; AND PLACING THEM, WITH THEIR INHERENT MOTIONS AND DIRECTIONS, ALL IN CORRECT RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER. To my mind it is a much more an exact term than 'roughing in', although I'm ready to accept some people mean bosting when they say roughing in. I like to define 'roughing in' as an earlier stage; bosting points more to a considered approach, almost an attitude of mind as much as anything else. After bosting comes modelling, in which the bosted shapes are further refined and separated. Bosting is by far the most important stage in a carving, and for most of us, the most difficult. I think I'll say that again: BOSTING IS BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT STAGE IN A CARVING, AND FOR MOST OF US, THE MOST DIFFICULT. If you get the bosting right, everything else just falls into place as if by magic. If wrong, no fancy details will disguise the problem. It is that crucial. It is very common, very common, for students to go straight for detail first and miss this vital bosting stage altogether. Or go from roughing out to detail. A typical, though a little extreme, example would be a student wanting to carve a face' and starting straight away with a couple of eyelids, irises and pupils. Like such detail was the jugular of the carving. Never mind if the original block was square, with corners... Details are never a problem for students. Before the iris goes in, the bony shape of the skull, the muscles, the egg-like lump of the eyeball and so on, these must be formed, bosted in. The shape, dynamics of the head must 'read true' - that is what the bosting is all about. When a head is bosted, is well sketched in, modelling just makes clear, refines these underlying bosted forms, and details such as eyes, nostrils and so on are (excuse me) icing on the cake. In a way bosting means working from below upwards, towards the surface. This is how you should visualise your carving, not from the surface down; not from the details first, but from the forms and masses on which the details lie. When bosted, I sometimes think that a carving looks tightly wrapped in 'cling-film' ('cling-wrap'): I can see the finished carving quite clearly in there. After bosting you refine the parts further - modelling. But, really, by this point you have won, such is the fundamental importance of bosting. That's how it feels to me: it's downhill after the bosting. It's now fun; the battle's won. Think carefully what I'm getting at here. You want to establish bosting in first as your habitual way of carving. It may means revolutionising your approach, and you may not find it easy to practice bosting even if you have grasped the concept. * Feel from the inside of your carving, out. * Think big: masses planes, movement first. * Refine and define from there. * Leave any detail - surface work, the little things, to the last. I hope you understand what I am describing here. Feel free to write and I'll be happy to run a follow up. __________________________________________ 4. QUICK CARVING QUESTIONS __________________________________________ **** QUESTION 1: BENCHES - STANDING OR SITTING? **** "I am a beginning carver and want to set up a shop. Do you recommend carving from a standing or seated position. I have seen the Veritas carving bench on the internet and it looks interesting. Would something like that be better or a regular workbench? Any ideas?" **** ANSWER **** Standing is always the better option, unless there is a physical reason not to. The Veritas is a good bench in many ways but costly and short. I suggest you get my book 'Woodcarving Tools, Materials and Equipment' http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/writing/w_bk1.html (Vol 2 of the new edition out very shortly) and there are notes on making wooden benches - quite easy, far cheaper and to your size. =================================== **** QUESTION 2: HOW DO I START? **** "I have a calling to carve but simply do not know where to start. I have all the wood I would ever need. I was going to try with a chain saw to start but chickened out. I know I would love it but need help...." **** ANSWER **** Don't be intimidated, carving is quite straightforward. Get my book Relief Carving in Wood, it's a complete course in solid woodcarving techniques that I know works well - I teach it often! You'll find it on the website along with a recommended list of carving tools. Then, just start the project! it's as easy as that! All my book will do is to get you some good habits and encourage the right approach. You might find Slipstones useful too. to which you can write if you have problems. There is also a free eBook on the site called 'Learning to Carve'! =================================== **** QUESTION 3: CARVING WOODS? **** "Can I buy/carve any wood found in my local builders providers/suppliers, or do I have to buy a specific type(s) of wood for carving. I am not sure what's available here in Dublin (or back home in London come to think of it)." **** ANSWER **** You can carve pretty much anything except rhubarb (no, don't write!). Then again, you'll learn better on user-friendly wood. Limewood, Brazilian Mahogany, Jelutong are all good to work with. Check out local carvers, 'Woodcarving' magazine and such, Yellow Pages etc for wood suppliers. =================================== **** QUESTION 4: GREATEST JOY IN CARVING? **** "You talk about 'joy' in your carving. What are YOUR greatest joys?" **** ANSWER **** Two spring readily to mind: 1: When I make a stupid mistake, recover, and go on to carve something better than if I hadn't made it - I find myself doing that silly jump where you click your heals together. 2: Being paid. =================================== **** QUESTION 5: ACANTHUS DESIGN & CARVING? **** "I have an interest in Acanthus carving. There are no books in the USA that deal with "how to" on designing and carving acanthus other that maybe a one page mention. Do you know of a good teaching guide on how to design and carve acanthus in particular and architectural in general?" **** ANSWER **** I don't know of any books on acanthus carving as such. It's not the carving so much which is the problem as having good technique, full stop - carving skills are transferable. However, on the website -> writing recommended books -> how to carve: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/writing/recbks/w_recbks.html check out the books by Hayward and Wheeler, Fred Wilbur and Dick Onians - all of which have some info on acanthus leaf carving. It will be a matter of building up a scrap book and studying designs; starting to carve the simpler leaves and parts thereof, and slowly becoming proficient step-by-step. Don't be discouraged - pretend you are going to write the missing book yourself! Anyone out there know different? If anyone can put together a good list of references for acanthus leaves I'll put them on the website for others. =================================== **** QUESTION 6: GLUE FOR LAMINATING WOOD? **** "I would like to know what kind of glue is best for laminating several layers of wood."" **** ANSWER **** Any PVA woodworking glue should do - the sort used by joiners and carpenters. We carvers don't need anything special. Make sure you adequately clamp: laminations need more clamps to exert the necessary pressure compared with edge to edge joining. =================================== **** QUESTION 7: GLUEING OILY WOODS? **** "Are there special steps and adhesives for glueing up cocobolo, which seems to be oilier than a lot of other woods and wants to separate." **** ANSWER **** I'm not familiar with cocobolo, but with other oily woods such as teak or pitch pine this is what I do: 1. 'Key' the surfaces with the corner of a chisel first 2. Scrub the joint surfaces with methylated spirits (methanol) - surgical spirit/alcohol would do - something with gets rid of the oil and evaporates. 3. Then glue up as normal. Seems to work! _______________________________________ 5. CARVING CUTS FROM MAINE - VII _______________________________________ Started October 01 - Newsletter back issues here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/intro/pastnews.html While teaching at the outstanding Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Rockport, Maine, USA this summer, I asked carving students to write briefly down "3 Things I've Learned about Woodcarving" - important insights: practical, personal and technical - for this newsletter. Thanks very much to all contributors! Over the next few months I'll be sharing their discoveries. I'll be commenting and adding thoughts in this month's Slipstones: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/slipstones.html Here, I let the words stand on their own: --------------------------------------- 1. "Faith and confidence in yourself can be as important as sharp tools." 2. "It's best to view mistakes as opportunities to learn, improve and redesign." 3. "Cursing your tools won't make them any sharper!!" Read more in Slipstones. _______________________________________ 6. FOLLOW UP to Feb.02's Parallel Lines Article 'Make It a Masterpiece!' by Rhoberta Shaler _______________________________________ Thanks to Paul Weiss for this letter from Martha Graham, the legendary American dancer and choreographer, which she wrote to Agnes DeMille: "There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. "It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased ... there is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That's it for this month. I hope you have found this newsletter interesting and useful. Once more: joy and success in your carving! Chris Pye ----------------------------------- PS: Here's another one, for the bench: "Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can't - you're right! ========================================== Copyright (c) Chris Pye 2002 Chris@woodcarver.force9.co.uk ----------------------------------- Chris Pye: Woodcarving Newsletter is listed in the EzinesPlus directory of newsletters and ezines. http://ezinesplus.com ----------------------------------- ===========================================