I guess this Covid-19 mess has hit us all, to varying degrees. At first I was eager to relax and spend some time at home, but after a summer at home, no travel, no classes and nothing new, it is getting to be too much. But if that is what it takes to kick this thing in its a#@, then I will stay home, wear a mask and social distance.

     Here are the finished products form my video series on carving from a block of wood. I hope you enjoy the pictures. One carving was finished before the series, and the other was the one we finished in the video carving series.

I hope you enjoy them. Thanks for looking.

Staying at home (otherwise known as "practicing for retirement")

     I realize this time of "Stay at home" social distancing is harmful to some in our communities, especially those who lost their job and are having to file for unemployment or even bankruptcy. I am lucky in still having a job and being able to work from home, as is my wife. We are lucky, incredibly so, to have savings in the bank, food in the pantry and hobbies to keep our hands busy and our minds off the crisis. We can only pray that we can get back to some semblance of normalcy soon and that our country, and the globe, can bounce back stronger and better than ever.

     I have been busy carving, creating more Youtube videos and creating more class projects. I want to create a series of carvings that can be used for classes. The series would be based on our new-found heroes (although they have been with us behind the scenes for a long time), such as nurses, doctors, EMTs, firefighters, other medical personnel, truck drivers, delivery personnel, police officers, military members and so many others. 

     The carvings would be simple, specifically for intermediate and advanced carvers, although some beginners could tackle the project. Of course, that assumes we are back to being able to mingle together soon, taking classes and enjoying each other's company.

     I have been able to create some carvings as well during this time.

     These carvings are from either blanks or from roughouts. The first two pictures are of a carving I did from a roughout  from Dale Green, a CCA member from Utah. His cowboy roughout is one I picked up in Provo last year, and was fun to carve.

     This carving comes from a blank created by Marv Kaisersatt. I purchased this one from Woodcarvers Warehouse. He was a lot of fun to create, especially his smiling face.

     This one was from a roughout from Marv Kaisersatt, if I am not mistaken. I am not sure, as it was started by another carver, and I received it from him. The right hand and the left foot had been carved, and I finished the rest. It did not come with a head, so I had to create one that looked like it would fit in with the carving.

     This carving was one I bought somewhere, but I can't recall. It was quite old as the wood was sort of dried out and hard to carve, but still fun to carve. It is a Phil Bishop roughout. Phil and Vicky Bishop are a carving wife and husband from Oklahoma and are long time members of the CCA, the Caricature Carvers of America. I hope to be a good enough carver to be included in their ranks before too long, but we shall see. It is by invitation only. 
     

     So, I hope you all are staying safe, having a great time with family, and have enough provisions, patience and activities to keep you busy during this rough patch in our lives. Look on the bright side. We will certainly have some stories for our grandchildren. and hopefully a few carving heirlooms that can be passed down and talked about. 

     I predict the birth rate will go up significantly in 10 months, possibly as much as the divorce rate! Haha!

     Have a great day!

Time off to get things done

     So I am sitting here waiting for the coronavirus epidemic to die down and things can get back to normal. Looking at the bright side of it, this is giving me time to get some things done. 

     I finished a series of instructional videos, titles "Carving the caricature figure with hand tools". There are 22 videos from start to finish, showing how to take a 2x2x6 inch block and carve it into a figure without using power tools. The only power was getting it cut into a block and using a drill to drill out the space between the legs. It was a fun series and I enjoyed it. I hope it helps a few folks doing a carving without having to go out and purchase a number of expensive tools that they may not have the budget or the room for.

Here is the link for the first video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxQ2z5jDEiY

     I was also asked if I would post the project drawing (pattern) for it. 
This picture is the carving pattern. It is slightly larger but I show how you can adjust it down to fit it into a 6 inch (15 cm)block.

Here is a picture of the "bojangle" carving aid. It allows you to position the figure in a variety of poses to get what you need. They are relatively easy to make in a variety of sizes, just size them down on the computer or on a copy machine. They are held together with brass rivets.

Below are the individual pieces you can make out of stiff cardboard (cereal boxes work perfectly for this). You can then arrange them into almost any pose you want.

This allows you to make a front and back pose for your figure drawing. I do not have one for the sides, but I believe you can take the front and side drawing and figure out the rest. Use similar figures or drawings to finish the side dimensions.

I hope that helps you with your carvings and layout of your figure. These are not my ideas; I am just passing them along. I have seen such noted caricature carvers as Lynn Doughty (outwestgallery.com) and Cleve Taylor (emeritus member of the Caricature Carvers of America) use these to great effect. I hope they help you as well.

Have a great day, stay safe, do some great carving and enjoy!