Month: January 2023

Carving the Waveform

Once the excess wood has been removed form outside the areas marked as the outline it is time to define the actual shape of the carving. I started by drilling a hole to pierce the piece, and then carved the double spiral that will become the inner surface of the Mobius strip. This opens up the hole, although at this stage I do not carve the Mobius Strip edges accurately. I also carved the wave form at the right hand side and the lead into the wave on the right. I try to keep much of the base uncarved and flat, and some areas of the sides so the work can be held in a vice.

At this stage I always think that my work looks heavy and ungainly. The proportions and shape are not right yet. Experience dictates these will improve as the carving progresses.

Roughing out the Wave Form

Today I drew around the templates onto a piece of kiln dried lime so that the outer edge of the sculpture from the top, bottom and both sides were outlined. Then I removed the wood that was outside the outline quickly with a number 5 16mm gouge and my trusty mallet. Getting rid of the surplus wood leaves a rather unattractive shape, but it is ready for refining and the actual sculpture being carved from it.

From Maquette to Carving

Before I start to carve I often make templates from my maquette and scale them to fit the wood that I am going to carve. For this carving I drew around the base of the maquette and drew the outline from the side. The maquette needed scaling up by x1.8 so I used my printer to make a 180% copy the drawing. Then I cut the outlines out to make the templates.

The templates allow me to transfer the outline shape accurately onto the wood. Then I can quickly carve the outline shape and redraw it on if I carve away the outline.

They look a little weird, but allow me to remove surplus wood quickly and efficiently.

Modify the Maquette for the Wave Sculpture

So after a nights sleep I have modified the maquette, I think it is a bit better now. The left hand side seems to lead into the wave and there is a greater sense of balance as the piece starts, builds up and breaks over the top.

So I’ll sleep on it and then start carving if I am still happy.

Making a Maquette for the Wave Sculpture

I have been thinking about the forms I want to use in this wave sculpture for a while now. I really like the sea and the work of Barbara Hepworth.

I often develop my initial ideas in plastercine. It allows me to keep developing ideas as I go along, even once carving has started. This is a scale model of what I am going to carve, about half the final size. The Mobius strip is fine and I like the rolling nature of the wave form. I am less sure about the left hand side (it reminds me of a slug on this model), to I may play around with that over the next day or two. It is important to get this right as it will affect the initial cutting of the outline of the shape in wood and once this is done I will be committed to a certain shape.

I like the Mobius strip as a form, its sense of flow, the way it creates light and shade within a sculpture and the symbolism relating to love and infinity. Creating a wave from the edge if the strip works well and gives a sense of energy and the power of the sea. I nice combination of ideas.

Starting to think about what to carve

So now its time to get serious. Thinking about what to carve is a combination of the ideas I have in my head that have been mulling around and developing for a while. Today the one which is surfacing is a development of a wave form combined with a Mobius strip. This type of form enhances the wood with lovely areas of light and shade and a sense of swirling movement. I am thinking about whether to carve it in lime and paint some of the faces to create contrast, or to do it in spalted wood and let the grain come through.

I will have a look at some of the pieces of wood from my wood store!!

Then I can start to develop my initial concept in a more real way………

Starting a New Year in Carving 2023

My workbench is back in my workshop and my chisels are sharpened ready for a new year of carving. I am so excited. I always take a break over Christmas and New Year and come back with loads of new ideas for things to carve. The next few posts will be short and look at the process of carving from start to finish.