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Carving the Acanthus Leaf Book with Videos and Study Casts

January 15, 2018 / Mary May / Acanthus book, Acanthus Leaves, Wood Carving Tips

My new book, Carving the Acanthus Leaf, has been available for purchase since November from Lost Art Press (yay!). You can also view my Carving the Acanthus Leaf page on my website to learn more.

I recently made the casual comment “I just finished my first book”. My husband responded “you mean there’s more?” I think the “significant others” of authors deserve a lot of credit. How many late nights of clicking away on a keyboard, obsessive editing, and “I’ll only be a few more minutes” do they put up with? He’s a very patient man and I am so grateful.

I have been thinking about writing another book… I will admit. The process of writing my first book was an awesome experience in many ways. There were many times where I wondered whether I would ever reach the finish line. Then when I reached the end of the journey, I look back and think of all the other possibilities and directions I could wander. How many woodcarving books have not yet been written?

I think (or hope) I have discovered a way to teach that is easy for even the novice woodcarver to understand. And with that discovery, where shall I go next?

The following are standard learning styles:

  • Visual (spatial):You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
  • Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.
  • Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.
  • Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.
  • Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.
  • Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.
  • Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

In writing this book, I have attempted to make the process of learning woodcarving available to every possible learning style (except for the “social” unless you get together with your neighbors to learn to carve acanthus leaves). In the printed book I have made instruction possible through detailed photos, drawings and written step-by-step instruction. I now also offer instructional videos that show the process of carving each leaf in action (Premium Members of my Online Woodcarving School receive a 15% discount on these video lessons). And if the written instruction along with the video lessons do not offer enough information, I have created resin study casts of my original carved leaves. Each casting of the leaf can be held in your hand to be studied and viewed to learn and understand the details of the physical carved leaf.

So, if you have ever had the desire to carve the classical acanthus leaf, what better time to learn than now?

And now I ask your help to please share the word about my book. Please speak with your local woodcarving club, your woodworking guild, museums, schools or any other group or organization that may be interested in learning about this classical design. Share on your blog, facebook, twitter, instagram, or whatever the latest and greatest social networking app is out there. It is greatly appreciated!

Last Chance to Pre-Order Carving the Acanthus Leaf Book

November 9, 2017 / Mary May / Wood Carving Tips

November 13 is your last opportunity to pre-order my Carving the Acanthus Leaf book through Lost Art Press and receive a free downloadable pdf file of the entire book for free. After November 13, the pdf file will be available for separate purchase.

Also, I am having a raffle to give away resin castings of 2 of the acanthus leaves over the next 2 weeks. These resin castings are very helpful to look at and study while you are learning to carve the leaves. Sign Up Here. Next week’s casting is of the Scandinavian style leaf shown below. These resin castings will soon be available for purchase on my online school store.

If you have already ordered your book, they should be on their way to you soon! They have arrived at the warehouse. Yeah!

Enter to win FREE resin castings of acanthus leaves

October 20, 2017 / Mary May / Wood Carving Tips

To help celebrate completing my Carving the Acanthus Leaf book, I am giving away 5 different resin castings of several of the leaves I show how to carve in my book. For the next 5 weeks, I will be giving away a separate resin casting each week, starting October 25. Drawings will take place each Wednesday evening at midnight. Sign up HERE. You can only sign up once, and your name will stay in the list for a chance to win throughout the 5 weeks of the raffle.

 

Why a resin casting? Quite often, I make rubber molds and then make resin castings of woodcarvings that I have made. These are a great help when learning to carve so that you can refer to the actual shape, depth, and minute details that are often a challenge to see in photos or drawings. Take a look at the castings of carvings I currently sell on my online store that go with current video lessons to my online carving school. I plan on making more castings that go with lessons as I have more time… now that my book is finished.

The photos above show both original woodcarvings and also several resin castings. The raffle will be giving away only resin castings, and the following will be given away each week (shown in order in the photos above):

October 25
Chapter 5 (The Basic Leaf with a Twist)
November 1
Chapter 7 (The Rosette)
November 8
Chapter 8 (The Acanthus Leaf on a Cabriole Leg)
November 15
Chapter 13 (The Scandinavian Leaf)
November 22
Chapter 15 (The French Rococo)

 

I plan on having castings of all the leaves shown in my book available for purchase once the book is in print towards the end of November (Pre-Order Here and you can have a downloadable pdf of the entire book immediately).

Sign up for my acanthus leaf newsletter to receive any news and updates to my book and find out about any future give-aways.

 

 

Preview a FREE Chapter of my Carving the Acanthus Leaf Book

October 9, 2017 / Mary May / Acanthus book, Acanthus Leaves, Book Review

Pre-Ordering is now available!

The printed book will be available toward the end of November, but if you pre-order you can have access to a downloadable pdf file of the entire book immediately.

What the heck is this “Acanthus Leaf” thing? To help you get an idea of what my new book, Carving the Acanthus Leaf, is all about, you are welcome to preview a sample of my book. This “snippet” shares my personal carving journey and a complete chapter showing the instructional process I use to demonstrate how to draw and how to carve each acanthus leaf design. You can also view my Acanthus Leaf page on my website to get to know more about this leaf and to learn more about my book.

There are a total of 16 chapters in my book (can you now understand why it took 3 years to finish??) Chapter 1 walks you through the story and history of the leaf, Chapter 2 gives an introduction to basic woodcarving techniques, Chapter 3 explains an overview of the details of the leaf, and the next 13 chapters show how to draw and carve a variety of different styles and designs.

Thank you, Bob Easton, for a great write-up and review of my book in a recent Lost Art Press blog post.

Waiting for the printed book takes me back to being a child and waiting impatiently for Christmas morning to come. It just can’t come soon enough to hold the actual book in my hand. Seeing it on a computer screen is one thing, but touching it, turning the pages, smelling the paper… now that’s something so much more!

Even if you have never picked up a carving gouge before, please don’t think this book is not for you. In addition to the chapter in the book showing how to get started with carving, I offer several videos and other printable teaching material as a FREE Member to my School of Traditional Woodcarving. You can start by registering as a Free Member. These Free lessons will go over tools (sharpening, tool selection, safely holding, basic carving cuts) and will also show the complete step-by-step process of carving several beginning carving projects. There are many more lessons available as a Premium Member (preview all lessons currently available) and I continue to add a new episode each week. The fun is never ending!

Happy carving everyone! Be-leaf me… acanthus leaves are really fun to carve…

 

 

Carving the Acanthus Leaf – Now Available for Pre-Order

September 29, 2017 / Mary May / Acanthus book, Acanthus Leaves, Wood Carving Tips

After 3 years, I am excited to announce that I have finally given birth to my first bouncing baby book (not such a baby at over 300 pages) on Carving the Acanthus Leaf. It was an agonizingly long gestation period, but don’t they say you forget about the pain, once the child is born? Odd, but true. The long nights, the focus, the red eyes, the trying to figure out how to describe something in words that is nearly impossible to explain, the edits, the edits of the edits, and then the edits of the edited edits… and then the final edits. Oh… and probably a few more edits after that – I can now sit back and watch as my baby gasps for air and is introduced to the world.

I remember when I first started this book writing process, I asked Roy Underhill if he could share some wisdom and advice on book writing. He explained that “Writing is 10%, and editing is 90%”. I had a difficult time understanding that at the time, but now it all makes sense. That will be the same advice I give to aspiring book writers.

The book is at the printers now and is due out mid to late November. It is now available for pre-order through Lost Art Press. Here is a direct link to the book sales page: Carving the Acanthus Leaf. As a bonus to preordering, you will receive a pdf file of the entire book that you can view immediately.

You can read a recent blog post with all the details by Christopher Schwarz of Lost Art Press. He and his team of editors and designers have been great to work with – and so patient.

Please note: video lessons that go along with the chapters in my book will be available on my website (http://www.marymaycarving.com) once the book is printed in November. These will not be part of my online carving school, but will be available for separate purchase. I’m still working on finishing these up.

And now I will rest… by getting back into my workshop and carve more acanthus leaves!

Thanks for your patience, everyone! It’s an exciting day! It will be even more exciting when I have the printed book in my hand.

 

 

142 Full-Length Lessons now on My Online Carving School

July 31, 2017 / Mary May / Wood Carving Tips

Have you wandered through my Online School of Traditional Woodcarving lately?

Learn more about me, Mary May, and find out why I ventured down this meandering road of creating an online carving school over 5 years ago.

There have been a lot of recent changes and upgrades to my school with new and helpful features – and a NEW look!

What FREE Members get (register as a Free Member):

• Over 6 hours of free videos to get you started with woodcarving (sharpening, starting to carve, safety, and several beginner lessons)
• All Free lessons are now in Ultra-HD video.
• A new “Getting Started” page that walks you through a 16-step process of learning to carve that includes 8 Free video lessons and lots of other free information that you can print out and review.
• You can check off each step as you complete them (everyone likes to mark things off as finished).

What Premium Members get (Register as a Free Member first, then upgrade)

• Unlimited access to ALL lessons as often and as many times as you want.
• Currently 142 full-length lessons, totaling 293 individual episodes – preview all current lessons.
• A new episode added each week (like a TV series!).
• Download videos so you can watch them off-line.
• Filmed with 3 Ultra-HD camera angles
• Basic, Intermediate and Advanced lessons available
• Lesson Library – Look up lessons by category, such as skill level, style, and design
• All videos show entire carving process, plus identify all tools throughout the lesson
• Each lesson has printable templates, tool lists, and photos of the finished carving.
• New Feature – Keep track of your progress by marking off lessons as you complete them in the “Progress Page”.
• Add photos of your finished carving projects to the Student Gallery.
• Monthly Membership – Recurring $14.99/month
• Yearly Membership – $159.99/year (over 10% discount off Monthly Membership) plus a loyalty renewal option of $129.99/year

Benefits of being either a Free or Premium Member

• Access to a new Woodcarving Forum.
• Announcement of new weekly lesson and Monthly newsletter (sign up here).

Join as a FREE Member, explore what the school has to offer, join in on conversations on the forum, and get lost in the wonderful world of woodcarving!

Upgrade to a Premium Membership, and the possibilities and adventures are endless!

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Watch a Sample Lesson from my Online School

Your Free Membership offers 12 Free Lessons. See more at My School of Traditional Woodcarving.
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Recent Posts

  • Carving the Acanthus Leaf Book with Videos and Study Casts
  • Last Chance to Pre-Order Carving the Acanthus Leaf Book
  • Enter to win FREE resin castings of acanthus leaves
  • Preview a FREE Chapter of my Carving the Acanthus Leaf Book
  • Carving the Acanthus Leaf – Now Available for Pre-Order
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