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INTRODUCTION

Largely inactive siÅ„ce the 1940s, the \voodcarving genius of Britain and the English-spcaking world is reviving after a period when the tradition was shrunk by apathy, lack of demand and increasing mcchanization. Now, perhaps as a revulsion against the lifelessness of machine-made objeccs and cercainly as a response to greater leisure and Ionger retirement, an increasing number of classes are offered, and in their wake new b >oks and magazinc articlcs proliferate. It is, however, very much an amateur revival; the old .raiismen are few and not all are willing or able to :each. Tastcs, too, have clianged, and new machines and tools are bccoming nccessary parrs of the rrofessional workshop; they remove drudgery and disy are convenient and faster.

Twenty-eight ycars of teaching traditional and —odcrn woodcarving has taught me rwo things. Firstly, if left to explore the tools for themselves, :adents limit their style and subjects and develop -;chnique vcry slowly or not at all. Secondly, they r.rend to do carving, so carving is what they do. They may be persuaded to draw what they are a. :ng to carve or to make a model, but for most â€¢~~.e design is something to be worked out on the :; rving in progress. Rathcr than train their powers : obsemtion, develop a sensc of sculptural form and learn a repertoire of natural and conventional forms, many rely on the knowledge, skill and time of the tutor. An important theme of this book is the encouragcment of carvers to ovcrcomc their difBdcncc about their drawing and arristic abiliry.

To meet this deficiency I prepared a course with a regular progression through techniques for che City and Guilds of London Institutes Creative Studies series. The present book closely follows this progression. It is designcd to covcr the technical aspects rhat a carver should master before he or she is competent, and because some carvcrs are interestcd in traditional and othcrs in morÄ™ creative carving I have covered both in this book. The projects are arranged so that techniques of carving and ways of thinking build on those before. The City and Guilds Creative Studies courses are accompanied by a compulsory course in Preparing Working Designs. Design and drawing abiliry' are best learned by attending classes, buc I have indicated some of the problcms and have suggcsted how they may be overcomc.

Space, howevcr, limits the rangÄ™ of techniques covcred, including some advanced subjects - for cxamplc, relief carving of scenes and people has been omitted. Although it is popular with beginners it is a special discipline, demanding not

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