essentÊrving°92

Essentiai. \Voodcarving T e c h n i q u f. s

che ground then began crcating the relative high and Iow points only to discover rhat he needed to go far dceper. Hc had come up against rwo natiiral tendencies to bcware of: one is to be conservative about how much we takc away; the other is to tend to flatten forms.

BEGINNING THE MODELLING

Whcnever one is uncertain about where to begin the modelling (shaping) of a form, it is always a good idea to separate forms which cross ovcr each other. In rhis case the banana skin crosscs over the flesh on top and there is the piece of skin which lies almost fiat on the ground (Figs 8.7, 8.8). Oncc these have been approximatelv carved one can set about shaping che flesh part and carving the flatrish panels of the skin where they still cover the core (Fig 8.9). However tempting it may be it is extrcmely risky, and unnecessary on this carving, to undercut any part until the forms are complete (Fig 8.10).

How the wood is cuc is very much up to the carvcr. Carving along the grain with broad flattish gouges (Nos. 2 [Swiss] to 5, about 18mm [34in] or 25mm [lin] wide) givcs strong planes, burnishes the wood and makes a good surface for drawing on. Carving around the forms, going across the grain with a No. 8, 9, 10 or 11 makes for deeper modelling of the forms. Provided that the corners of the chisel do not get under the surface of the wood there is less likelihood of splitting - unlcss this is intended. You are morÄ™ in command of the shape. A gougc 12mm (^Å‚/2in) wide should be sufficient here, although if the wood is soft enough and you have the strength a bigger one will be faster bur not able to enter narrow regions. A broad, flar one can then be used to smooth the surface for redrawing the finaÅ‚ details.

Undercutting a Cylindrical Form

The undercutting cflfcctively begins when the banana is roundcd underneath, but it is noc safc to do this until che top forms and sides are morÄ™ or less carved to size. Undercutting of a rounded form poses problems. If you carve a cylinder on a flat surface it will couch along only a very narrow linÄ™. The danger is that you could miscalculate and separate the round form from its background. You may avoid the danger by going too far the other

Fit; 8.7 Beginning the modelling.

Fig 8.8 The skin over the flesh bas been modelled further and the flower end of the flruit is pinched in.

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