essent�rving�28

E S S E N T I A L W O O D C A R V I N G T E C H X I Q f E S

FlCS 12,1 -12.4 Female figurę in ebn by a student. A charmingpiece. The carrer has a good eye but insujficient knowledge. The aren fiom the waist to the top of the thighs has almost naturalistic wluptuousness but the face is stylized Armpits are missingand the pubie region is too Iow in relation to the buttocks. The back is beautifid but a hint of shotdder blades would have enlwened a blank expanse. Lack of planning or cutting too close to the otulinę has madę the lower legs too thin. The top view sltows too strong a niemoty of the sejuared błock it was caruedfront.

Choosing a First Pose FOR CARVING

Ir is tempting to carve a figurę fuli of movement or unusual shapes, but you should do this only if you can check by looking in a mirror or at a model how muscles and the relationships of bones change when put under uneven stress. It is best to start with a simple pose which can be given some life by turning the head slightly or varying the positions of the arms.

The examplc I carved in cherry does not hołd a rigid pose. The figurę shows how the pelvis tilts and the legs change when the weight is taken on one leg. Experiment by sranding in front of a mirror and feeling your own pelvis as you shift weight from one foot to the other (Fig 12.5). If you are plump you will find the forward points of the pelvis (the anterior superior iliac spines) in dimples. If you are lean they may stand out. Noricc too how the head of the rhighbone (the greater trochantcr) sticks out on the leg that takes the weight while the other łalls into a hollow. Bonę structure determines proportions and gives rigidicy' (Fig 12.6).

Again, the amount of flesh will affect the appearance. A generał rule is that you ger an indentation where muscles attach to bonę, as muscles are thicker than the tendons that altach them to the bonę. Well-devclopcd muscles and fat make these hollows deeper. Such are the two dimples on cach side of the spine where it meets the pelvis just above the buttocks (Figs 12.6 and 12.7). These tilt with the pelvis as the legs change position. Muscles in tension contract and tend to bunch and swell. Try pulling with the arm and watch the biceps swell at the top of the upper arm.

VARIATIONS IN PROPORTION

We are all morę or less different. A child has proportionally shorter limbs than an adult, and its nose and chin take years to grow to fuli length.

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