Feedburner Added

In case there are those of you who would like to "follow" by email, that is, get notices to your email when new posts are added, I have added a service that does just that. Please feel free to add you name to the list. I don't post on a regular basis, so when I do, you'll find out. Anyone want to test it out and let me know how it works? (I'll post something soon after this, so we can do a test.)

How Do I Measure Success?

It's been just over a year since I started The Sunday Woodcarver. I had some goals in mind and I hope I have reached some of them. But I feel far from accomplished as a carver. That was never my goal. I don't remember saying my goal was to be the best carver in the world or the best blogger on the web. But I am happy with how far I have come in a year.

When I started this blog, my goal was to become a better carver and to share my journey with carvers of like mind. I had hoped I could also sustain the blog over time, which I why I chose carving as a theme, because I knew I would have a sustained interest. I have gained a few followers, although that was never a specific goal. I have had over 20,000 pageviews (not counting mine) and I guess that was a goal although I never knew what to expect and I don't even know if 20,000 views in a year is a lot. I guess for a little carving blog it's a good number. With all those followers and views there have been very few comments left and I wish there were more. Honestly, every comment means a lot and lets me know there are actual people out there who are interested in what I have to share.

Along the way, I set up a YouTube account and started adding videos of my adventures. They too have gained a fair amount of followers. It has been a real learning experience to see who is interested in what kind of project. I don't know if I have said this before, but I don't consider my blog or videos to be instructional per se, but rather a chance for viewers to see how one person tackle a project in a specific way and show what I have learned since I got serious about carving. I guess that is teaching, but that is not what I intended. If so, I would edit out my mistakes, but I think it's helpful to see someone try a project or technique for the first time and figure out how to get out of trouble when that inevitably happens.

Of course, the original aim was to get myself focused on getting better by carving at least once a week (Sunday). Now there's seldom a day that goes by that I don't do some carving. And for sure, that goal has been met. I can say without hesitation that if you carve every day, or at least a few days every week, you will better at it. Thanks for being part of my journey!

Carving a Bowl from a Log - part 2

Well, this project wasn't a complete success, but I did learn a lot. I went too far with the wood removal and some parts of the bowl ended up being too thin and even cracked near the edge. I also got some feedback about using spalted wood. Of course, this led me to do some research. Here is a good article from a woodturner who offers some useful information. I think it is important to understand the condition of the wood with regard to safety with wooden food utensils and bowls. But I found it interesting that the fungal growth is stopped when the wood is under 25%. I also use a polymerizing finish, so that offers protection as well. Do your research.

Carving a Bowl from a Log - part 1

I recently acquired an angle grinder and some attachments from King Arthur Tools. These allow me to remove a lot a wood fast from logs and lumber to make all manner of bowls, spoons and whatever else I want to carve. I must learn to harness all this raw power, but I'm having fun learning. Check out my first effort.

My new favorite wood - Ginkgo

...or Gingko, either spelling is considered correct. Native to China and known for it's medicinal powers, Ginkgo Biloba also grows well in the North American climate.A huge one fell nearby when Hurricane Irene came through. I have posted about this a couple times earlier (check the archives), but I have only been using it to make wooden spoons up until very recently. I wanted to know how it might compare to my favorite carving wood, basswood. First let me say I also enjoy carving aspen and cottonwood (the tree, not the bark). Both of those have similar qualities to basswood - light color, fine grain, hold detail, relatively easy to carve. I find the aspen and cottonwood a little hard to work than basswood, but it might well be I have had some very soft variety of basswood. But back to Ginkgo. First, I really love the light caramel color and the delicate light streaks. I am finding it fairly easy to carve, with just a hint more resistance to my blade than basswood, but with a very sharp knife, not difficult to carve at all. A sharp tool leaves a nice sheen to the cut. It sands and finishes beautifully. I have added some photos of a little rustic santa ornament I just finished. I was able to hog off the waste very easily and quickly without any tendency to split away the way cedar, for example, might. Of course, I did have to mind the grain direction, but that's easier to actually see (more visible than basswood). Carve details was equally easy and quite enjoyable. An oil finish brings out the very best quality of Ginkgo, though this piece also has an antique treatment of some umber artist paint thinned with mineral spirits. I hope you can get your hands on some of this wonderful sometime and give it a try. I have quite a bit, maybe I'll list a few pieces on eBay if someone shows interest.

Site of the Week - James Atkin

"April Garden" by James Atkin

One of the styles of carving for which I have great respect and fascination is high relief carving. I have tried a few low relief carvings, and that is difficult enough. But with high relief carving, a whole new set of challenges arise. You must be extremely aware of grain direction and very thin edges of leaves, feathers, petals and wings. If you're like me and the courage to dive into a high relief project has yet to be summoned, you can at least enjoy looking at photos of some masterfully done work by other carvers. An excellent example I came across recently is on a site featuring James Atkin. Check out the gallery of work on his site and I think you'll agree his work is beautiful, balanced and very well executed. Something to aspire to for sure.

Two Giraffes

It's a great feeling to sell your work and also to make gifts of you work, but when your work ends up as part of someone's special occasion it's the best! My daughter's childhood friend, who I've seen grow up and become a lovely woman recently got married. She requested my daughter and I collaborate on the design and carving of a topper for her wedding cake. Her favorite animals are giraffes and she wanted two giraffes kissing to be the feature. I was a little nervous because she has been carefully planning her special day for several years and a lot of people I know were going to be part of the occasion. Add to that the fact that I have not carved a lot of animals and never giraffes. And I haven't carved anything that would be something to put atop a wedding cake. But that was her wish and we did our best to make her wish come true. Before it was all over, some cursing took place, but only in the privacy of my shop. I chose a piece of spruce I had lying around. I got this from a carving club meeting and, honestly, did not now what to use it for. I have an aversion to carving softwoods in general. I knew my daughter would insist on having it sanded smooth for painting - also not my style. You can see where the cursing will come from. But in the end it all worked out. My daughter did a wonderful job on the painting and her friend was more than happy. It was my gift to her. Better than a blender in my opinion!