I have been working on a very interesting carved leg. This leg is for a large free-standing mirror with 4 legs. One leg was completely missing, and 2 of the legs had missing and damaged lions’ paws. The photograph here is the one that I made from scratch. It appears to be German carving, but I am not completely convinced.
This is in mahogany, and the grain is very squirley and knotty, so it has been a real challenge. When I was shaping the leg, I had to go completely across the grain in order for the gouges not to catch the grain.
I will be filing and sanding the main surface of the leg to make sure it is a smooth surface without gouge marks, to match the original. I won’t sand the acanthus leaf, however. I think if I did, it would lose a lot of the definition.
I have filmed this process, and will be having a separate video for the acanthus leaf and the lion’s paw.
It’s nice to get back into carving again after not having the physical or mental strength to do much of anything because of this flu. Feels good to be alive!
I love the definition of the acanthus leaves. Very interesting legs, I can’t wait to see the video and what this mirror looks like. Thank you Mary!