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CHAPTER 3

FIRST CUTS: CHIP CARYING

The Great Variety of Carving Tools

Although sculpture’ originally meant carving there is now an acknowledged but unclear distinction betweeÅ„ carving and sculpture. This difference becomes clearer when one compares che relatively few chisels used by many wood sculptors with the many shapes and sizes of chisel used by the traditional carver. Every chiscl has been developed to pcrform ccrtain tasks (^Chapter 1).

The carver competcs against others with similar background and training, so time and efFicient cutting are csscntial factors. The sculptor sclls his unique vision and is less concerned with time. The carvcr fits the shapes of his chisels to the shapes he wishes to make. The sculptor uses the chisels to remove the wood he does not want. Imaginc a linÄ™. At one end is the craftsman who is a wonderful copyist, giving only techniquc and nothing original: the model maker. At the orher end is the artist who is all ideas and passion, but has no skill: the conceptual artist. In the middle are the artist who is also a craftsman and the craftsman who puts somerhing of himself into his camng.

The first project, rhereforc, nceds to dcmonstrate how the shapes of chisels can be exploited. The following excrcises are also instructive for thosc unfamiliar with the behaviour of wood.

Carving is done either by making one or morÄ™ cuts steeply into the wood, followed by one or morÄ™ cuts towards the first from the side, or by making short or long cuts along or across the grain. The first merhod takes its simplest form in chip carving. I shall deal with long cuts in later chapters.

Requirements for First Chip-carving Exercises

Wood

Use planed wood, not sanded, as grit may become ingrained in the surface and blunt your chisels. You will need boards for practice and a piece

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