essentÊrving±03

C A R V I N G IN THE R O U N D

leave a piece of rhe wood which can bc sacrificed at or ncar rhc finish or bc turned into a base. It is best if it is square so that if it is rotated the vice needs only minor movcmcnt each time. If you need to carve the whole bÅ‚ock and thc undemeath of the finished piece will nor be seen, thc work can be held by a bench screw or screwed to a squarc bÅ‚ock or a universal vice.

The form was basically cylindrical and so the first task was to make it round, starting with the top. Carving a sculpture out of a cylindrical piece of wood can be difficult, as it is sometimes hard to remember wherc you were stand i ng when you drew any linÄ™ on it. In this case, the major dents were on opposite sides of the can so it was not too difficult to esrablish the major planes. As with the reliefs in earlier chapters, control is greater if you carve across the grain with a decp gouge, but it is possible to cut out major shapes with saws. The main thing here is not to cut too close to the finished shape - about 12mm (Viin) is a reasonable amount of wastc to leave on a piece of this size. You could also cut large planes with a broad, fiat

Fig 9.15 The finished carving with the ońginal can painted grey to help the fiorms to be read.

chisel or gouge along the grain. Saw cuts across thc grain into large indentations make this easier. Each method will work and will produce slighrly different results. After removing large pieces with a saw I prefer carving around rhe form (Figs 9.13, 9.14). A major advantage is that a fiat or squarc look is less likely. It is worrh keeping thc offeuts as thcv can rhen be used for somerhing else or kept in case they are needcd for pacching if things go wrong. FigurÄ™ 9.15 shows the finished carving.

A Tap on a Column of Water The other carved example here is one 1 had in mind for some time (Fig 9.16). The movement of water is essentially a thing of change. It cannot be copied so it demands stylization. The column of water and thc pool it splashcs inro would make a sculpture in its own right but I felt that the regular shape of the tap, apart from the context that it provides, sets offthe haphazard flow of the water. I have not striven for literaÅ‚ representation of a tap. Since it has only to look right no great care was taken with measurements. The water was represented by shapes generally associated with water movement:    ripples, droplets,

spiralling forms which separate and merge and random bubbles and waves.

Anticipating FuturÄ™ Breakage of Short Grain

The bulk of the waste wood was band-sawn off and kept (Fig 9.17). Being fragile and furthest from the held end, the tap was carved first. The stem was carved around the grain with a deep gouge (Fig 9.18). It was then madÄ™ regular with a riffler (Fig 9.19) and finished with a fiat gouge.

1 rhen madÄ™ the water column approximately cylindrical. Using my drawing and a clay maquene (see Fig 9.16) as guides but allowing the tools and the wood some part in the design, I first marked thc main forms with a 60° V tool

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