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Shell Niches Finished and Delivered

May 13, 2013 / Mary May / Shell Niches, Wood Carving Tips


I just finished 3 large shell niches and handed them off to the client last Friday. It’s always an odd emotional experience sending off a creation after  having it in my shop for so long. These shells are very unique in that instead of just a scroll in the center of the shell, there is an acanthus leaf with a scroll.

Matt Yank, who is a student at the College of the Building Arts here in Charleston, was a great help in finishing up the last shell. He asked me several months ago if he could help around the shop – just to have an opportunity to work in a woodcarving studio. He was very persistent and said “I’ll do anything – sweep your shop or whatever.” I finally agreed to give him a try. I was a little reluctant, and I wasn’t sure how it would work, because I never really had anybody else working with me in my shop. I thought “but it’s my space – my little world – I’m not sure if I want to share that.” He turned out to be a great help – both in helping to work on the shell and also several other projects that came in during that time. And I discovered that I actually like company while I am working! He’s also great at sweeping the shop… He’s off to work in Minneapolis for the summer, and hope I have enough work in the fall to keep him busy!

The shell openings were 32″ wide and 16″ tall and 12″ deep. They were carved in basswood and painted with 2 to 3 coats of white base coat.

I filmed the process of carving the acanthus leaf, but only have still photos of the process of making the shell.

I do not have much shop work at the moment, but there’s always things to keep me busy! Like video editing!

4 comments on “Shell Niches Finished and Delivered”

  1. Doug says:
    May 14, 2013 at 9:08 am

    Nicely done, when you are painting a carving like that, do you take that into account while working, carving details a bit deeper or not using small details that would get filled with paint? Or carve as you normally would?

    Thanks

    Doug

    • MaryMay says:
      May 14, 2013 at 9:15 am

      Hi Doug,
      Yes, that is certainly something to consider – and even some extra under-cutting to make the carving stand out more. Another thing to consider is what type of paint to use. If it gets too thick, and settles into all the details, all the sharp edges will get lost. Just use a small amount of paint on the brush. Something to consider also is to rub some brown glaze or stain over the painted carving, and wipe off the surface so that the stain settles into the deeper carved areas. It sort of gives it an antique look also – if that is what you want. Then a very light coat of shellac to seal in the stain.

  2. Bob Easton says:
    May 14, 2013 at 6:12 pm

    Awesome shells!

    How do you measure the effort / work it takes to do these? Hours, days, weeks? Or maybe tubes of muscle relief? I like to measure woodworking effort in chocolate bars. Looks like a case or two.

    Beautiful detail!

    • MaryMay says:
      May 15, 2013 at 8:25 am

      Thanks Bob. This was one of those rare times when my client did not give me an exact deadline – not necessarily a good thing for me! I have had these shells in my shop for over a year and worked on them when I could – therefore very difficult to determine the exact time involoved.

      Sometimes a good measure is how many band-aids… and then chocolate to ease the pain…

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