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CHAPTER9

CARVING IN THE ROUND

The rwo most common blocks which I encountcr with studcnts are convicdons that thcy are not artistic and that thcy cannot draw. Although this book is mainly concerned with techniques I hopc incidcntally to dispcl these bcliefs.

The Virtual Impossibility of Not Being Artistic

Unless you work Iike a pattern-makcr, \vhenever you carvc an objcct you put something of yourself into it and thereby enter, if only a littlc way, into the realm of art. Choice of subjcct and trcatment also come into art and that is why most of the examples in this book are used as demonstrations of approach and technique, not as patterns to bc closely followed.

Drawing as a Tool

1 havc carlier written about the need to draw and that a carvcr should be aiming not so much at making a good picture as learning how forms behave by the concentrated study that drawing provides. You could, of course, learn as much by modelling or caning the object but that is very slow. Besides, you need a means of recording visual images, whether from the outsidc world or from your imagination, when you have no access to modelling or camng equipment. It is visual note-taking.

My purposes in this chapter are to deal with the problems of carving simple forms in the round and, as a means to making them, some of the ways of comeying depth in drawings.

Drawing Lines

First, I wish to consider the qualities lines can have. An excellent way of dcveloping control and confidencc is to draw innumerablc lines with long strokes holding a soft pcncil or piece of charcoal at arms length, working with both hands unsupported. A roli of wali lining paper is not cxpcnsive and can be pulled over a drawing board

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