Synopses & Reviews
"Sometimes the wood tells you what is going to happen." - Jim Wright "Found wood already has inspiration in it It's a natural product, delivered to your hands just the way Mother Nature made it." - David Neener There is something exciting, challenging, and authentic about working with wood that has been found in nature. It begins as a washed a-shore branch of driftwood, a fallen piece of bark, or even a weathered piece of bristle cone pine found high a-top a Colorado mountain. But its natural beauty provides shape and inspiration for an artist. A twisted trunk becomes a prowling lion; a bended branch becomes preying bird. The wood itself guides the artist's hands and the project does not start in the workshop, but in nature. Inside this book you will meet many artists-masters in the art of carving found wood. You will hear their exciting stories of forging wood and view stunningly photographed samples of their work. You will also learn what each artist looks for in a piece of wood, what tools they use, tips for finishing and so much more. You will also be guided-step-by-step-through an entire project carved in cottonwood bark. You will never look at a tree the same again. - Jack Portice - Carol Jean Boyd - Debbe Edwards - Rick Jensen - David Neener - Marshal Artime - John Burke - Jim Wright
Synopsis
Create beautiful carvings from natural materials like cypress knees, burls, driftwood, and weathered wood. Includes tips, techniques, and an amazing gallery from today's top carvers.
Synopsis
Move beyond typical store-bought materials to see what Mother Nature can provide. Inside this book you will meet some of our nation's most acclaimed artists that specialize in carving driftwood, burls, cypress knees and other forms of weathered wood-commonly known as foundwood. You'll learn their secrets to remarkable carving and be inspired by a stunning photo gallery of their work. You will also be led, step-by-step through an entire project. Learn from the artists: - Jack Portice - Carol Jean Boyd - Debbe Edwards - Rick Jensen - David Neener - Marshal Artime - John Burke - Jim Wright - Gary Falin - Renee' Manning
Synopsis
Carving found wood is the ideal book for woodcarvers who are looking to move beyond the typical store-bought block of basswood. Here in this book, woodcarvers will find techniques and inspiration for turning materials supplied directly by Mother Nature into stunning works of art. The introduction to this book lays out the divisions in the carving world and the need for this type of book. In the field of woodcarving, artists use either lumbered wood that has been cut into blocks of an appropriate size, or they use wood in its natural form. The latter includes burls, cypress knees, driftwood and even stumps, and is the focus of this book. The co-authors of this book, carvers themselves, have spent the past two years interviewing top artists in the woodcarving field who exclusively use found wood for their finished carvings.
About the Author
Vic Hood is the president of a unique building corporation, Leatherwood, Inc., which specializes in historic restoration. As a restorationist, Vic has been responsible for the restoration of several presidential houses, national landmarks, national monuments and house museums. He started carving in 1991, concentrating on carving full-size human busts for which he has won 83 awards, including several Best of Show awards. His most treasured honor was to be selected to create a Christmas ornament for the White House in 2001. Vic is one of the founders of the Leipers Fork Carving Club in Leipers Fork, Tennessee. Vic studied carving under John Burke and Larry Rogers for several years before becoming a carving instructor himself. He currently teaches classes on carving the human bust at several major workshops around the country and at individual club workshops. Due to Vics experience in competitive pumpkin carving, he was invited to be the featured pumpkin carver at the 2003 Gentry Farms Pumpkin Festival. Vic, along with Jack Williams, co-authored Carving Found Wood, published by Fox Chapel Publishing Co., Inc.Jack A. Williams is a commercial photographer working from his studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Photography was once a hobby for Jack until he discovered he could make a living doing what he enjoyed. He then needed a new hobby, so in 1973 he started woodcarving. His artistic talents have been demonstrated with a third Best of Show in the first National Caricature Carving Competition held at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri; a Best of Show at the Ward Wildfowl Carving Competition in Ocean City, Maryland; Peoples and Carvers Choice and Best of Wood Sculpture at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; and Best of Division at the International Woodcarvers Congress in Davenport, Iowa. Jack also won first place in the Flex-Cut Tool Internet Carving Competition in 2001. The year 2003 marks Jacks 12th year to coordinate the woodcarving show at Dollywood, which hosts The Great Pumpkin Carving Competition, and to coordinate the National Caricature Carving Competition. In 2003 Jack was elected to become a member of the Caricature Carvers of America and is President and one of the founders of the Tennessee Carvers Guild. Jack now spends a great deal of time photographing carvings at shows and for friends, and his photography appears frequently in many magazines on woodcarving and other subjects. Jack is a co-author of Carving Found Wood with Vic Hood and of The Illustrated Guide to Carving Tree Bark with Rick Jensen, both published by Fox Chapel Publishing Co., Inc.
Table of Contents
Introduction vi Artists Marshal Artime 1 Carole Jean Boyd 10 John Burke 16 Debbe Edwards 20 Gary Falin 26 Rick Jensen 30 Carving Found Wood Step-by-Step 36 Artists Reneé Manning 62 David Neener 66 Jack Portice 72 Jim Wright 78 About the Authors 85 Vic Hood 86 Jack A. Williams 88