Thread: Back to basics - Carving

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

C- leave the knots and finish it

BUT.....let the knots influence the image somehow. I don't know how. Put a dog under the table with a patch over his eye. Just make it look like you know they are there. Not "knots? What knots?"
That's my 2 cents anyway.

Thank you all for your advice, unanimous so far. Interesting comment TL, the positioning of the goose's wing was more or less for that reason... shotgun blast maybe?

Notice the tactful silence of the professional sculptor and the professional carver. Given that they did not even go for the expected A, I'll take that as votes for D.

Hope there won't be many more Ds, or you three would become the minority...


PS. Nice unconventional handle Arty, more for fun than support as you said.

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

Notice the tactful silence of the professional sculptor and the professional carver. Given that they did not even go for the expected A, I'll take that as votes for D.
.

the tactful silence is the result of not being near the computer (looming sculpture deadline)
not a reluctance to answer your question.

there, I hope that answers your question.

ps. have you considered all the possibilities that barbed wire might bring

sorry Frank, just messin,
seriously though, what were you thinking, taking on a relief carving of a Bernard Strozzi masterpiece? thats about as tricky as it gets,....... good on ya
remember, "no thrills for the cautious".

what was the question again?

What time is it Undie? What were you doing on the 'puter at 5.30 am? Going to bed or getting up?

The barbed wire won't work unless you can come up with a good reason why it should be there.

Originally Posted by underfoot

ps. have you considered all the possibilities that barbed wire might bring

No longer silent but still tactful. Thanks U.

TL, the reason why it should be there is to complement the rusty nails... U agrees!

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

No longer silent but still tactful. Thanks U.

TL, the reason why it should be there is to complement the rusty nails... U agrees!

"You are the must beautiful rusty nail I have ever seen"?

No! I think it is creating a dialoge with the barbed wire.

Originally Posted by tea lady

"You are the must beautiful rusty nail I have ever seen"?

No! I think it is creating a dialoge with the barbed wire.

understanding the inner wire

Complementary compliments?

you have got advice for pros and us choppers so whats the plan now

C-A. Not superglue, I'll keep hacking at it as an exercise without patching the knots and without expectations of it ever becoming a masterpiece. Thanks guys.

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

C-A. Not superglue, I'll keep hacking at it as an exercise without patching the knots and without expectations of it ever becoming a masterpiece. Thanks guys.

your looking at it all wrong mate now what you have done looks good onther 100hrs it will be great, the knot is just a test how well can you carve, sharpen them chisels and carve though the sucker.

you can not carve it if you think it can"t be good it will get messier as you go
carve from the Heart not from all them books you read

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

Complementary compliments?

[Hah! That took me back to my prep eval for my thesis on Network Econ. I don't think I'll ever make that mistake again!]


So...

From what I gather from reading this thread... people consider carvers who use only chisels to be elite, especially with respect to the accurateness and precision of their representation of real forms.

Sculpture in wood is considered less awesome. You guys haven't really been clear about why. I'm assuming because most anything can be considered a sculpture, and since wood is so intrinsically pretty, people can rely on that beauty and not on their particular expression? And I'm gathering their are hurt feelings because stuff that takes less time can sell for more than stuff that takes ages? (Where "sells for more" is a way of expressing general appreciation.)

Am I on the right track or have I missed the boat? (Yay for mixed metaphors.)

What about abstract carving or representational sculpture?

Originally Posted by grainspeaks

Am I on the right track or have I missed the boat? (Yay for mixed metaphors.)

What about sitting on a boat in the middle of the track? (How's that for mixing? )

The way I see it, nobody here suggested that "Sculpture in wood is considered less awesome", which explains why " You guys haven't really been clear about why"; only that most abstract sculpture, in wood or otherwise, does not rely on craftmanship for its success.

You are right in assuming that ".... because most anything can be considered a sculpture, and since wood is so intrinsically pretty, people can rely on that beauty and not on their particular expression", which is more or less what Underfoot suggested to you in the thread you started.

It might also be true, although only they can tell, that some people feel a bit "hurt ... because stuff that takes less time can sell for more than stuff that takes ages". The main reason for such hurt feeling though is exactly your generalisation: (Where "sells for more" is a way of expressing general appreciation.) What they argue, rightly or wrongly, is that "sells for more" is all too often a way of expressing the ability to con a lot of people some of the time, as Barnum had already discovered many decades ago. You must agree that this is at least partially true, otherwise VanGogh, who never sold a painting in his lifetime, should not be valued as a painter now. In the end, appreciation is measured in centuries, not money.

Just my opinion, of course. I am not sure it is very humbly put...