Thread: Nautilus in Huon

Simply Brilliant!!!!

Awesome work! I love it.

Thanks artme
Thanks TasSculptor

Beautiful to look at from all angles,great work. It might have nearly done your head in but look at what is happening to the poor old prawn. Brian.

Thanks Brian. Lol.

Nice work indeed!.
Curious to know about the subject matter.
Braidwood- nautilusses and prawns are 3 words you seldom hear in the same sentence, let alone book!
What made you focus on these things?

Lol, your funny. Thanks.
I guess I've been an avid beachcomber for as long as I can remember. I love shells and I have had a nautilus shell for years which I think is my favourite. I love cute little sea creatures like cuttlefish, nautiluses and octopuses And after watching youtube of nautiluses being fed prawns (they're just so cute!) I couldn't resist.

Awesome carving, very nice indeed , show us some more, cheers freddy

Lol. Thanks Freddy but I think I'm going to take a week off. There are more on my facebook page if you want to have a look.

As David Esterly writes in his wonderful book "The Lost Carving"
"Watching your earnings from a piece dwindle with every extra day of work. Poverty and sore muscles, as the old carver warned. The fascination of what's difficult will dry the sap out of your veins."

I just laughed and laughed when I read that. How true! Time for a break.

It is instructive to see the range of styles that people adopt, from the most naive to the most refined.
I confess I much prefer work at this end of the scale. Everything blended properly, everything resolved, no obvious rush to get to the end at the expense of the finished product.

Fantastic work.

Isn't the David Esterly book a terrific read!

Philip.

Fabulous

I think I can safely say... you've done it again. This is the best work of yours that I've seen. Bloody brilliant! Work at whatever pace you deem necessary to produce this kind of work. If you are doing it for fun then the sheer perfection of it will be its own reward. If for profit... well it may take a while to get your reputation out far enough to start attracting the clientele with the spare 'big bucks' but it will happen I'm sure. This piece is museum quality and eventually when it gets around that there's an Aussie out there who can produce world class work like this the clients will come to you.

I also think you should seriously think about taking bronze and other material casts of this one. You could sell this piece 50 times as a cast at a significant fraction of the cost per unit of the original, but totaling far in excess of it. This is what most of the really good carvers do and it often makes the difference financially, especially with small scale work. It also guarantees enough income that you can afford to take your time and get each original piece right.

Technical question: How did you achieve the 'sand' effect and the subtle bands on the shell?

Wow.

Thanks Philip
Yes, just when I think the end is in sight I think...that needs a bit more here and a bit more there and it just seems to never end. And at some point I have to make the decision OK this is my limit, today I have to finish it, sometimes at the expense of certain areas of the carving that seem less important at the time. Then when I look at the photos I think...damn I should have done more in that area and that area. But I know it's time to move on and settle with it the way it is.

Yes, David Esterly's book is an absolute gem and so insightful. Love it!