Yesterday and today I had 3 students that came to my shop to learn carving. Two came from Virginia, and one from North Carolina. It’s alway so much fun having carving classes in my own workshop – it’s usually a small enough class so each student can work on whatever they want to. It’s also small […]
Resin casting of coat of arms
I unwrapped my Christmas present – and Santa was good to me! Only a few little air bubbles, but no big deal. The silicone rubber mold came off easily. The first photo is difficult to picture, but it is in reverse (i.e. the carving is set into the mold rather than sticking out). Sometimes the […]
Pumpkin Carving!
How better to have a family “together time” than digging your fingers into a pumpkin, take out its inner slime, and be creative with sharp knives? Nobody cut themselves, and we all had a great time. My pumpkin is the really dilirious, goofy smiley face. Not quite the same as wood carving. I was considering carving […]
Making Silicone Rubber Mold
This was a nerve-wracking day. After spending many hours carving a coat of arms, I have just completely enclosed it in goo. Sticky, gooey, icky stuff. I brushed shellac over the surface of my carving to seal the wood (this will be painted in the end, so the finish color is not critical). The reason I needed […]
How to prevent those little leaf tips from breaking off
A question has come to me: “What is the key to not breaking off sensitive parts to a carving? I am carving an acanthus leaf and have had some trouble w/ the small tips of the foliage. It seems to me that if you set in 1/16″ – 1/8″ from the design completely down to the […]
Chisel Storage
I have had several questions as to how to safely store chisels so they don’t rust. Here along the coast of SC, there is a real issue with humidity. I have had students who bought really nice shiny new tools, bought a beautiful tool roll, and packed them away in storage after the class. 6 […]