Mary May – WoodcarverShell Niches
More progress on carving the shell niche
I’ve made some good progress on the acanthus detail in the center of the shell niche. I am happy with the way it is turning out. Many times I will draw the design on paper first, but with the scroll design and the contours involved, I really needed to draw the design straight on the [...]
Grinding away the shell niche
Here is a photo of me grinding away the inside of the shell to shape the surface before carving the flutes. Soon I should be at a point where I can start to carve the scroll and acanthus detail in the center. That very fine basswood dust sticks to everything! I like hand carving – [...]
Starting Another Shell Niche
I am working on one of three shell niches that I am carving for a historical home in Louisville, KY. These are quite a bit larger than the previous shell niches I did. These are 32″ wide x 16″ tall x 12″ deep. My husband figured out the measurements and band-sawed out much of the basswood before [...]
Installation of shell niche
I just received a photo of one of the installed shell niches that I carved. There will be a mirror behind the lattice, and the curved cabinet and shell still needs to be painted. I will post another photo once it is completely finished. I wonder what will be in the niche????
My babies have been shipped
Between dealing with broken down vehicles, working on getting the shells boxed up ready to ship, and saying goodbye to my babies (shells, that is) after working on them for 4 weeks (3 weeks of actual carving) - it has been quite a whirlwind of a day. I finally got the shells shipped about 4:00 by [...]
Shipping off shells
Good morning. Today is the big day where I will be shipping off the 2 shell niches to St. Louis. I tried to convince my client that I should fly them personally to St. Louis, but no luck there. I had to give it a try. I will probably spend more time sanding the surface [...]
Feel the burn!
OK, I admit it. This is painful. I have not felt these muscles – ever. Muscles that one should normally never use, I have been over-using. Even after having my son help me with the carving the mass of wood away from the second shell, I can still feel the burn after working on detailing [...]
Second Shell
My son, Joshua, helped me this morning in getting most of the thickness of wood off the second shell. I think he has real potential of becoming a great carver and think he really enjoyed himself – in spite of the fact that his Labor Day was spent laboring. Time is getting pretty tight for finishing [...]
Starting on second shell
I have nearly finished carving the first shell. I received the glued up wood for the second shell this afternoon and am going to get my strong young son, Joshua, to help me rough out the wood for this one – so I can give my right arm a rest. I am expecting that it [...]
Articles on how to lay up wood for shell niche
I was able to locate the articles that describe some pretty complex ways of laying up wood for the carved Shell Niche (also referred to as “Cockleshell” carving). There are 3 that I could find and all are from Fine Woodworking. Sept 78, #12 – “Cockleshell – giant carving gives corner cupboard class” by Franklin [...]
