After the cutter-wheel has done it's work we move on
to smaller , finer cutting tips on a dremel tool. Some larger carvings require a "
draw-knife" and very sharp hand tools.
We always move from place to place on our wood
carvings. Because in order for things on the carving to be proportionate, you need to
" become " the carving. After the power-tools have been incorporated, we move on
to " detailing" the eyes, nose , beak, feet, claws, teeth, ect;.
With these details, we use surgical scalpels. When
everything is in place ...... we begin the sanding process.
Taking care to smooth down any rough edges still
remaining from the roughing process. After the carving has acclimated for a short period
of time, we begin the painting .
We use a water-based acrylic paint. This allows a
faster drying time, and lets us blend colors much easier. We should mention that we always
use a primer coat before we paint the carving. This gives a good profiled base to be
painted over, so the wood doesn't take the color down. If the carving desired is to be a
fish species, we give all our fish a "crystal clear" finish.
This gives the fish carving that "Just out of
the water" look.
At the beginning of this segment, we mentioned
" cedar" as our choice for carving wood. One of the reasons for " red
cedar' as a wood choice is that red cedar is not as prone to heavy cracking as some other
woods. Cedar is , of course, very abrasive and it's more difficult to keep tools sharp.
We do, however, carve from other woods. We have
used " Kentucky coffee" or better known as " catalpa' wood. Catalpa wood is
a great wood to work with , but is more difficult to locate! We have some huge Catalpa
logs set aside for future " large-scale carvings".
We have also carved from ' Cypress". Cypress
is very rot tolerant, and stands up good to the elements. Unfortunately, it tends to crack
more than the others. Understanding wood and it's composition, helps in knowing why
certain woods crack more than others.
The wood that we obtain comes from trees taken
down by our local tree service companies and road depts. These trees would normally be
discarded, but we are able to give them "purpose" and helps keep them "into
the system"
