(most) Christmas carving done for this year

Well, sorry I haven't posted much in the past few months. I have been doing a LOT of Christmas carving. mostly ornaments. I did mostly Santas and quite a few different angels, and some other things. I'm happy to say I sold quite a few too (see photos below). There seems to be no real trend to what people like. I try to make all different things, simple, odd, traditional, natural, colorful. It all seems to sell- eventually. Eye of the beholder, I guess. I will post more about this when the dust settles because there's still one big weekend coming up for last-minute sales. I took all my Christmas stuff out of my etsy shop and moved them to the local craft consignment shop. I have a much better chance there at this point. Interesting thing about etsy is, when people think they won't have time for it to be shipped before Christmas, everything just stops. That's about now, although I did sell a wooden spoon yesterday. Next year will be worse with the USPS threatening to add a day or more to First Class shipping time.

What I think is very positive about these sales is that people are willing to buy wood carving, with all the less-expensive options they have. That makes me feel good about what I do and about the appreciation that many people have for what we do. I was happy I decided to start in August with my carving for Christmas, which was a lesson I learn from the previous year, but next year, I'll know to start even sooner. Last week I decided to try something new for my ornaments and for my next post, I'll write about those. Maybe I'll even have a video, but certainly some pictures. Until then, all the best and have a great Christmas everybody!

Site of the Week -John Bryan

I want to apologize for no posting very much lately. I have been very busy carving, but I've been focused on Christmas work for my etsy shop. I thought I would at least post a Site of the Week entry. I came across the site of John Bryan's work. I especially enjoy his base relief work. Have a look...

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.