Category: Research and process

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.

Making Maquettes

A maquette is a scale model made as an initial draft to help planning before starting a sculpture. It is used to help to visualise the overall form, plan the proportions and add details. It can be a rough model or it can be actual size or a scale model of the final piece. It is best not to scale up or down too much if it is being used to create exact measurements as it can lead to inaccuracies (perhaps no more than X2).

When I first started to learn about woodcarving I was encouraged to use maquette, but in my enthusiasm to carve I did not make the time to make maquette and just got on with my carving using images in my head, my drawings or photographs as source material. This I think was most significant beginners mistakes I made in my early carving days.

These days I always make maquette for complex or unfamiliar forms. They are always worth the time and effort and make carving easier, faster and more accurate. There are many ways of making maquette. I make mine from plastercine supported on a wooden base. The plastercine can be formed and reformed repeatedly improving the proportions and finalising the relationship between components and the details. As plastercine can be both added and removed (unlike wood carving) it can be used to refine and develop ideas and as the basis of discussion with friends, tutors, or those placing a commission with you. Maquettes are important in commissioned pieces to help to finalise the the form with a client, aid clear communication and ensure that the client is happy with the final sculpture. You also get to keep the maquette when a sculpture goes to its final home as a unique record of the piece. I am thinking about doing some maquettes in clay to create a more permanent record.

Making a maquette

To make a maquette I start by mounting a piece of dowling onto a wooden block. The size of the block and dowling depend on the size of the maquette that I am making. In this example I used 10mm diameter dowling. The length of the doweling depends on the height of the maquette. I then drilled a 10mm hole into a left over piece of wood with dimensions 7cmX 5cmX 5cm. It just needs to be big enough to make the maquette stable.

Then I glued the Dowling in place with wood glue and left it to dry overnight.

I then stuck drawing pins into the dowling to make it easy to apply the plastercine securely so that it will not twist around as I make the maquette.

Before starting to model with the plastercine I usually warm it overnight in the airing cupboard or in hot water (not in the microwave, this can go wrong!), knead it and apply it to the dowling post. Think about the dimensions of the the final piece and of the maquette and add enough plactercine to create the overall shape.

You can then start to model it with clay / plastercine modelling tools, kitchen utensils or modelling tools you have made yourself.

It is well worth taking your time with the modelling, refining and improving it until you are satisfied that it is right. I often create a maquette starting from a photograph or drawing and then make it over several days, building and rebuilding it. I measure the dimensions to make sure that they are correct and then model the details. The advantage of working over several days is that you can take long breaks and then return with a fresh eye and then adjust the maquette. It is also worth looking at it from different angles – front, sides, above etc. so that you have all around accuracy. It is surprising how direct things can look from different angles. A face can look right when viewed from straight on, but the nose may not be long enough when viewed from the side. You should also think about where the final piece will be displayed and viewed from as this changes the perspective. Many human figure sculptures in churches as mounted high on the walls and will be viewed from below. Consequently the feet should be carved a bit smaller and the face a little larger than normal to talk account of the effect of distance.

As a last thought, always work in good light, daylight is best for this kind of work.

Scaling Up and Down

If your maquette is the same size as the final sculpture (1:1) then transferring the dimensions onto a piece of wood is very simple. However maquette are often smaller than the final woodcarving and so scaling up is necessary. There are many ways of doing this. I frequently take a simple mathematical approach. For example, if my maquette is 2/3 of the size of the final sculpture then I will need to increase all dimensions e.g. maquette height 6cm : final woodcarving height 9cm, maquette width 4cm: final woodcarving width 6cm. The positions of all the features will be scaled in the same way. To calculate these you can take the final woodcarving height and divide by the maquette height to gain the scale i.e. 9/6=1.5 The scale is 1:1.5 Each dimension needs to be increased by multiplying by 1.5.

This principle can be applied to any scaling e.g. if the maquette height is 9.4cm and you want the final woodcarving height to be 15.2cm then the scale is 15.2/9.4=1.6, and so all dimensions need to be increased by multiplying by 1.6

The same idea can be applied to scaling down.

There are other ways of scaling up and down. I sometimes use a printer to increase or decrease the size of images used for relief carving. Be careful with images for carving in the round as dimensions may the distorted.

Carving the Human Face

Carving the human face is a very specific area of carving. I have recorded the main steps and some of my reflections as I was learning. I have been fortunate enough to be working with Master Carver Michael Painter to develop my skills in this area.

I started by carving half faces (left or right side of the face) under his guidance. This allowed me to start to understand the profile of the face, the relative proportions of the face and how to carve the eye, nose and mouth. I then went on to carving complete male and female faces as the feature are significantly different.

There has been much written on the proportions of the face and it is worth reading up on this to start to appreciate some of the basic rules. The eyes are about half way down the face. The nose is about half way between the eyes and bottom of the face. The area below the nose can be divided into three and the second line is where the lips part, the third line is the top of the chin.

For a half face I started by drawing the profile onto the side of the wood. The profile of the face can then be cut with a band saw or roughed out, keeping the point of the nose as the high point, and dropping the forehead, cheeks and mouth areas.

The forehead can be rounded to form the top of the head, and the cheeks taken down and sculpted back towards the jaw. The cheeks lowered and the eye socket formed. The area to the side of the eyes can be cut away towards the temple, the face does this to allow for peripheral vision.

The nose will have started to form and can be shaped so that is is like a triangle , the tip is the high point and it gets lower towards the bridge of the nose. The bridge of the nose can be formed carving it lower than the brow area. Either side of the nose is dropped away (always further than you think). The nose is half on and half off the face, and when looked at from below forms a 90 degree angle with the rest of the face, as shown on the third diagram below. The cheeks must have been dropped away low enough so the nose protrudes appropriately.

 

The cheeks and eye socket adjusted and further defined. Getting the eyes right is really important as they are a major focal feature of the face. The eye socket can be carved with a gouge. It is larger than the eye and the eye ball can be shaped and rounded like the front of a golf ball with visible curvature from side to side, and less curvature from top to bottom as this dimension of the eye is smaller so the curvature is less visible. The face is about 5 eyes wide at this point, and the two eyes are about an eye apart. Checking for symmetry on each side is essential, as is ensuring the depth, size and shapes of the eyes are the same. Mark the centre  front of the eyeball so that the eye is looking ahead and the high point of both eyes is symmetrical.

The upper part of the eye leading up to the brow can be shaped. Women have higher, more arched, lighter brows than men.

The eyelids can now be carved, draw in the position of the eyelids ensuring symmetry. The angle of the eye changes with the expression on the face. Eyes are angled slightly upward on a smiling face. Eyes are not simple almond shapes. the highest point of the upper eyelid is not in the middle of the eyelid, it is a little towards the nose. The  lower eyelid is not just a regular curve, it has an upward curve near the nose and a downward curve towards the outer edge of the eye so the chisel needs to be turned upside down to get the inner curve of the lower eyelid.

 

Once you are sure that the eyes are correct and symmetrical on each side of the face cut the inside line with a small flute to get the shape and recheck the size, shape and symmetry. Now use a bullnose gouge with a curve that matches the curve of the eyelid to cut the lines sharply. Use the same chisel to slice into the cuts and reduce the level of the eyeball. The lower eyelid tucks under the upper lid on the outer side of the eye so the lower lid needs to be cut away a little at the outer edge.

The iris can be carved by carefully cutting its outline, keeping it centred on the cross drawn on the highest point. the level of the iris can then be lowered slightly, maintaining the rounded shape of the eyeball. Remember the iris is not a complete round as the upper part is hidden under the eyelid. Finally redefine the socket above the eye with  small flute to form the crease of the upper eyelid and use a small flute to carve below, close to the eyelid to define the eyelash area. Smooth into the face gently.

Stop carving and have a good look at your work at regular intervals to check for symmetry from every angle and check and the relative heights of the different features of the face.

Now refine the shape of the nose, use a chisel to cut in the groove between the nose and the edge of the mouth on both sides. These drop away below the level of the cheeks, and start by forming the crease of the nostrils. The nose has bone and cartilage along the bridge and therefore is wider at this point and so is not quite  straight (as on the first nose drawing earlier in this blog). The nose also tapers towards the bridge, and the bridge is lower than the rest of the length of the nose. Once shaped the length of the nose can be blended into the side of the nose and then the cheeks. The nose tapers just below the tip before the columella (flesh between the nostrils) starts. The nasal wings are angles back from the columella. I would leave carving the hollowed out nostrils until the end incase further adjustments are necessary. A small flute can be used to extend the crease of the nostrils around the back of the nasal wings a bit. Keep checking for symmetry throughout.

Make sure that the mouth level has been dropped enough and is rounded like a half barrel to form the profile of the mouth area (think Homer Simpson). Draw in the outline of the lips. In men the  outer edge of the lips are in line with the pupils, in women the lips are slightly narrower and the lips are fuller (although this changes with age). Boldly cut the philtrum (the furrow below the nose) as this helps to form the shape of the top off the lips.

Cut in the central line of the lips quite deeply using a bullnose chisel with the right curve, a number 3 is about right. To create a smile curve the mouth up at the outer edges, to frown down a little. Then use the chisel to curve the upper lip into this cut. Cut away the lower outer area of the lip with a large flute and cut away below the lower lip and shape the chin. Carve the curve or the lower lip. The lips are not exactly smooth, so cut grooves into the lips were I have shaded on the diagram and then blend into the lips. Look at your work from below the chin to check the curvature of the mouth and chin. Redefine the edges of the mouth if necessary.

 

Details can be added, such as the the dimple when a face smiles, the eyebrows, the nostrils and the hollow at the temples. A C shaped groove either side of the mouth and then blended helps to create the smile muscles around the mouth. A groove being and under the chin can be added to indicate the transition from the chin to the lower cheek. These details start to make the face more cohesive and increase the reality.

Your work can be finished with a more refined chisel finish or using scrapers to create a really smooth finish, this is a matter of personal preference. Two coats of half and half Danish oil and turpentine will protect the wood and enhance the grain. Leave to dry after each coat for 2-3 days. Applying wax over the dried oil created a lovely lustre and tactile finish.

I will be blogging about carving ears and hair in the near future.

Carving the Lioness Head

This blog follows on from my earlier blog about researching ideas for this carving. This is not a technical guide to carving a lioness head, but illustrates the processes used in carving, finishing and mounting a woodcarving.

I  developed my ideas by drawing and modelling in plastercine, after which I thought about the wood for carving. For this project I had a lovely piece of hawthorn cut from a tree as it was felled. It had been seasoning in my shed in a black bin bag for a couple of years. It was not fully seasoned, but with care it could be carved. It has a lovely grain and the right proportions for the piece, but is very hard wood for carving. I decided to do the piece in lime. If it goes well I may do a larger version in the hawthorn at a later date.

The lime is about 220x150x150mm. It has an even grain and is much softer and easier to carve. I started by marking the midline that will indicate the middle of the nose, head and neck onto the block. This is always marked and remarked onto a piece as I work to help to ensure symmetry.

The outline of the head was drawn onto the block from the side showing the neck, the slope of the head, nose and the positions of the nose and mouth. As the plastercine model was nearly the same size  as the lime block the drawing could be done without scaling.

The lioness head was then roughly shaped creating the line of the top of the head, nose and neck, being careful not to remove too much wood so that the ears could be formed later.

Then the sides of the head were roughed out, the widest points are the ears, so again wood was left here. The nose is narrower than the main part of the head, where the widest area is the just behind the jaw, where the jaw strength comes from the large bone and muscle structure. The head narrows to the mouth and nose. The neck was then shaped and rounded under the ears so that the ears stood out.

The ears were then roughly shaped, on a lion they are rounded like a teddy bear. I chose to carve them partly flattened back to help to create expression. The sides of the nose were then carved.

The eyes of a predator are always on the front of the face as the have binocular vision. They are positioned so that the lioness can see down either side of the nose and give a clear field of vision. The eye positions were carved so that the eye brows appear and are symmetrical on each side of the head. At this stage I looked at the piece from  close ups, from a distance, and from a variety of positions to ensure symmetry.

From the brow the head slopes back between the ears to the neck, and from the brows the face drops away infant of each ear. The eyes have a very large socket in lions. the eyeball within the socket can now be carved, Eye lids and details can be added later.

The nose and muzzle was then formed. Then time to get brave and take a saw to remove the wood from the open mouth, whist leaving wood for the large canines and teeth. This was achieved with a combination of sawing and carving. Wood for the teeth was left with lots of extra bulk to protect them from breakage.

I then took a couple of days out to look at the piece and check the eye position, symmetry. I added details to the eyes, and created the muscles in the cheeks joining different areas of the face and increasing structural integrity.

The surface was smoothed  using chisels and scrapers, so that I could start to see the impact of the forms on light and shade. Fine adjustments are then easier to make. The whisker ridges were then carved and the curvature of the nose shaped, and nostrils created. The teeth and inside of the mouth were then refined.

The lower canines fit into the gap between the upper canines and upper incisors. The lower canines are closer together and smaller than the upper canines. My study of the lion skulls really helped me to understand how all of this fits together.

I then started to hollow out the neck and the inside of the head so that the hollow area joins with the back of the mouth. Enough wood has to be left in the skull to support the pole that the lioness head will be mounted on. I then hollowed out the area behind the eyes and pierced the eyes through removing most of the iris and leaving the pupil attached by a bit of wood to the top of the eye.

The final smoothing proceed was done using chisels and scrapers both inside and outside the piece, smoothing until a great finish is achieved. A tool finish can be used, but I felt a smooth finish was more cat like.

The lioness  was finished with two coats of Danish oil and two coats of wax, buffed up to a satin sheen. It was mounted on a plinth made of  American black walnut using a piece of 22mm Dowling also finished with Danish oil and wax.

 

Maori Woodcarving

I have had a long term interest in Maori woodcarving, with its intricate surface designs and powerful imagery.

I recently travelled in New Zealand and used the opportunity to research the design and carving techniques used in Maori carving. Traditionally Maori carvers used bone, shell and stone tools, but my visit to The New Zealand Arts and Crafts Institute (college for the teaching of Maori crafts such as Woodcarving and Weaving) demonstrated the high quality training and use of modern tools. The carver I chatted to was using Swiss made chisels, gouges, fluters and veiners. Sharpening was done using oil stones, slipstones. Drills and coping saws were in use along side these tools. Not so different from my own tool bag!!

Maori carving varies and includes simple forms, two dimensional and three dimensional forms decorated with complex and often fine surface patterning. Totara is the most commonly carved wood (lime is its equivalent in the UK), chosen for its ease of carving, even texture and hardwearing nature.

 

The carving process is similar to that in the UK, drawing and modelling designs. Transferring designs onto wood and roughing out, refining, then carving the fine detail and finishing. Some Maori carvers use machinery, others do not. The use of power tool inevitably looses something gained by direct touch and feel, and cannot create the sharpness of direct cuts with a gouge or chisel.

 

Maori designs can be abstract or human forms. Decoration is added as spirals, scrolls, notches, pyramids and thumbnails and combinations of these. I have always like the thumbnail cuts used and was interested to look at their production with veiners and gouges.

 

Traditional Maori designs follow the traditions of tribes, but the design elements and principles can be adapted with endless variation and is being developed and used by contemporary carvers.

Contemporary designs combine the best of traditional techniques and modern imagery.

Shain Whateran is one of the many successful contemporary sculptors.

Lioness Sculpture – research and process

One of my favourite pieces is my Eagles Head which captures a wild moment in the angle of the head and the savagery of the beak. It is a contemporary piece which has been hollowed out from within. This enhances the impact of light and shade, especially through the pierced eyes.

Now I want to use these ideas when carving the head of a lioness. So where to start? I visited Liverpool’s World Museum and spent the morning drawing lioness skulls.

Then I developed my ideas drawing lioness heads, linking the external appearance with the underlying bone structure. I wanted to capture the savagery of a snarl based on lifelike representation which has been stylised.

Before starting to carve I still needed to get the shape firmly in my head, so I made a model of the lioness head in plasticine, gradually forming the head from a block. Fundamentally it is a different process because when modelling you can add and remove pieces of plasticine, but with carving you can only remove material. However it still helps to define the shape clearly in my mind. I gradually formed a head remembering to capture the snarl and keeping the eyes of the predator forwards.

My first attempt looked more like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, so I remodelled it several times more until it became more cat like, then like a big cat. The shape of the nose and ears developed. During the process I was lucky enough to have a day carving with the sculptor Michael Painter. He helped me advising on how to set the eyes in, shape the brow and position the ears.

After several more remodelling sessions it has started to take on the form I had in my mind. Ways of stylising it into a more contemporary form are growing in my mind. Soon I will be able to start carving the lovely air dried block of cherry tree which is tucked away in a black bin bag in my shed.