Looking for inspiration?  Then maybe a figure carving is for you. These fine figures are to be seen on the sea

front at Geelong in Victoria Australia. The figure heads were photographed on Tresco Isles of Scilly and The Cutty Sark Greenwich

Mick Price's musing moments

You’re probably sick of my musings but here we go again. Bill came round to have a look at the vices and to try them out. He seemed to be impressed and of course the conversation revolved around tools, namely Kolrosing knives and how I made mine. I explained how I made it from a 3/8th drill bit by slowly grinding it to an edge, and that during the process you have to keep cooling it in water so the high-speed drill does not lose its temper (become softer). Bill, not possessing the means to grind a drill to the finish required for a Kolrosing knife, I of course agreed to make him one as long as he supplied the drill.
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Bill duly came around with a drill bit which then sat on my bench for a while until I could get around to it. Time at the moment seems to slip through my fingers like money, I never seem to have enough of either, possibly because after new windows Angela decided a new kitchen would be nice! After much toing and froing, I put my foot down and said ‘no’. Anyway, the kitchen fitters are coming Monday.

Back to the Kolrosing knife, after much grinding and sharpening the drill bit was finished, now for the handle. I was going to carve the handle but providence provided me with a better alternative. (If we were all together, I would have asked our friend Richard to turn me one on his lathe - as I have said before, ‘BLOODY COVID’). Anyway, while returning my grandchildren to their Mum and Dad I spied four old chairs they were throwing out. My collecting/hoarding radar switched on and with my son warning me about the reception I would get when I arrived home with a boot full of rubbish, I loaded up the chairs just for the turned leg stretchers. Yep, readymade handles.

After sneaking the old chairs past the kitchen window while limboing is not easy at my age when aggravating my back again. I stripped the chairs down (they really were not worth keeping, even I had to acknowledge that). I cut a stretcher and drilled it fixing the Kolrosing bit in place with epoxy resin. I hope these musings keep your interest up, meanwhile I hope you are all well.

Keep carving and stay safe, Mick.

Shropshire Woodcarvers celebrate their             25th Birthday in happier times



     
       New Member Information
We welcome new members to join us at any time. We encourage those wishing to take up woodcarving to come for four taster sessions before making a decision on whether to join the group. We will provide the first piece of limewood and set you off on an initial project for which you will be able to use the club carving tools. If you would like to come along to a taster session please email us at shropshirewoodcarversgroup@gmail.com and we will endeavour to arrange your first taster session with us!
Currently 23 people have signed up for membership of our renamed group.


 

Still seeking inspiration then why not have a go at an abstract carving. The examples shown are by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore and were photographed at St Ives Cornwall and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Go to the gallery page for current action - Carvings in progress, Our work spaces, Tips and Advice

STEWART'S APPROACH TO LETTERING

The wall cried out for a dado but I wanted to do something a bit quirkier. Over a period of a couple of years the idea of a catch-phrase developed and, after a couple of my more risqué proposals were rejected, the wording in the photograph was approved.

The staircase is in oak so the choice of timber was easy but, before buying the wood, I wrote it all out, full size, on a piece of cardboard and we taped it to the wall for a few days to make sure that we had the proportions right. After a few adjustments I had the confidence to buy the oak. I had already identified the font from Microsoft Word and used the printer to get the right sizes, stuck them onto the wood, clamped it to the bench, sharpened the tools and, put my inhibitions to one side and got carving.

I have Chris Pye’s book on lettering which is extremely helpful and I have also a good few years ago, had lettering tuition from Mike Painter. They both use entirely different but highly effective methods of carving letters and my resulting style is a mish-mash of both plus a bit of my own. A technique of Chris Pye’s that I did stick with was to use an initial “stab-cut” down the centre of the letter stems before cutting the sloping sides of the letters. This relieves the stress on the wood as you are cutting the sloping sides and give space for the waste oak to move into thus making a cleaner cut. I did all of the straight cuts first and then reverted to the bull nosed gouges to produce the curves.

Patience is a key because the last thing you want to do is make a mistake on the last word. With all of the other things that were going on in in our lives, it took me about a month from the first cut to putting it onto the wall.

How Wood Carving Can Give You Mindfulness

Article passed on by Bob Svendsen secretary of the Western Australian Guild of Woodcarvers

Written by admin on March 6, 2019 in mindfulness, wood carving

Life can get a bit much at times. Occasionally, you just need to find something to take your mind off all the worries and give yourself a deserved break from life’s travails. It doesn’t help that this can stunt your creativity when you may well need it to move forward in life.

FREEDOM

View the contributions to Stewart's Freedom carving challenge set at the beginning of the first lockdown in March. Further contributions welcome

Thursday and Saturday carving workshops are set to restart at Mary Webb School from the beginning of the September term 2021

This end piece comes from the Western Australian Guild of Carvers most recent copy of Chips courtesy of Bob Svendsen October 2020

Ready to snap?
Life can get a bit much at times. Occasionally, you just need to find something to take
your mind off all the worries and give yourself a deserved break from life’s travails. It
doesn’t help that this can stunt your creativity when you may well need it to move forward
in life.
One way you can achieve this is by picking up a piece of wood and decent knife and
begin carving. If you didn’t know it already; there is something about creative activities
that will place you in a relaxed zone and clear your mind of stressful thoughts.
Woodworking or wood carving can be described as a “Whole-Brain” activity as it
makes use of both the practical side of your brain in trying to realise what the creative
mind has come up with. Also described as a state of “Flow” by psychologist
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi , a perfect immersive state of balance between skill and challenge,
whilst using your body to make it happen.