More new stick designs for 2011

[Whittling]

There have been so many really top shelf entries lately that I am a bit reluctant to post the following here, but ... "if you don't show.. you don't grow". So.....

Here are some more new stick designs for 2011.

The first was a commission from a lady who is having trouble walking and needed a stick but wanted one that was 'different'. Her brief to me was a snake winding around the shaft with a good handle that she could really lean on. I'm a great fan of David Stehly's work and what ever degree of success I had with this one is due in large part to his tutorials on the technique for carving these guys.

The customer was so happy she phoned me up later to thank me again... a first for me.



The next one was a staff from ash wood which I have never used before. A neighbour brought around most of a tree that he had felled on his block after it had been dead for about a year. There was one branch that had this side branch sticking out just in the right place for a goanna head... not something to be ignored! The wood was hard but not too hard and it held detail well. I was pleasently surprised. Looking forward to using it again.

I used a Pfeil 17/3 to cut the scales but they were too small to undercut so I didn't try. They darkened up quite nicely when the oil hit them.

[Whittling]

This next one is a variant on the 'face in the shaft' stick I posted a while ago. (Carving the Capt'n') Another commission, this time the brief was "a 'professor' figure with a goatee beard. As an after though I decided to add glasses which turned out to be a good thing as the recipient of the stick (not the client) is a professor with a goatee and wears glasses. I got an email this week saying how uncanny the likeness is... all quite by accident as I didn't have a photo of the guy. The handle is Teak, the spacers are Jarrah and Huon Pine and the shaft is Poplar



This last one I had a lot of fun with. I saw something similar made out of what I think was porcelin. It gave me the following idea. The funny thing is, this is one of the most comfortable cane handles I've ever tried. I made both a right and a left foot but they both feel good in either hand. The left foot is English Lime on a red gum shaft and the right foot is Huon Pine on an Oregon shaft. Spacers are jarrah and huon pine in both cases.






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[Raven1970]

Great sticks there Whittler, love the feet!

[artme]

Top stuphph there Whittler!!! Love the feet!!

[Woodwould]

I like the foot sticks too.

[Carvin' Mark]

I like the goanna...but I'm a bit goanna biased!

[LimeTree]

good one! But make same end to the other side and go to gallery

[Robson Valley]

Perhaps the distance and the familiarity makes this awkward to comprehend.
Australia has the most distinctive fauna on the planet. Simple fact. No-Brainer.
I had the opportunity to fool with it, goannas and all, for 4 years when I lived there.
It is a delight to see examples of this in sticks and other carving efforts.
Please don't think for a minute that us polar-bear saturated folks don't look south for relief.

For me, the puzzle is how to connect with carvers to buy examples of your work. Do I need to PM for everything? Is that expected?

BTW, if you can get up here, there's a mobile Tundra-Buggy hotel out of Churchill, Manitoba that will take you out on the ice to play with the world's biggest land predators on their home turf. They fear nothing. My Dad did the trip. He told me that he had no idea how big they are, 1m in your face with raw seal-breath.

[Carvin' Mark]

Hey Robson Valley! ...I'm always for sale!! (or my work anyway..). Haven't got a web page yet but check out "Mark's Whimseys" Facebook page for examples.

Mark's Whimseys Carving and Sculpting | Facebook

[rocfish13]

SWEET!!! Gary

[cookie48]

I hate snakes, but you have created a good one there. Just hope I get to your standard ( or close ) one day. All sticks are fine.

[Whittling]

Thanks guys. I did enjoy making all of them though the snake was by far the most time consuming.... all those scales...

I think the feet were the most fun. I had to elongate them past normal human foot dimentions to make them work as handles but they still look sorta normal . What really surprised me was how comfortable they are. A real pleasure to walk with.

My sister was visiting from Korea where she can't get some aspects of medical care so she took the opportunity while in Oz to visit the Podiatrist. I tagged along and brought a 'foot' stick just to see his reaction.... he bought it!

[Whittling]

good one! But make same end to the other side and go to gallery

I'm sorry mate, but I'm gonna have to ask you to explain this one...?