We’re coming down to the home stretch! 3 more episodes have just been added to my online school – about 1-1/2 more hours of video.
It’s fascinating watching and editing a project that I did nearly a year ago and saying to myself “now, why would I go about it that way?” And then watch a little more and discover “oh, well that makes sense now”. It’s almost as if I didn’t do the original carving and I am watching the process for the first time. Fascinating! Makes me wonder whether I would carve it differently if I made another one of these.
Hello Mary, this is precisely what makes this series so interesting. You show to us the creative process involved in making such an intricate design. And this is the most difficult part at the beginning of de learning curve. Such decisions must be founded on a lot of knowledge and experience, two of the things beginners like me are really avid for.
Thank you very much.
Sergio
You are wandering through my mind as I design, adjust, and think through the process. Scarey place, isn’t it??? The really neat thing about carving your own design is there really isn’t any locked-in right or wrong way of shaping a leaf – some general shape concepts are needed to keep it “acanthus-like”, but whether it flips up here or flows down there – that is really up to you as you journey through the project. I think people are too hard on themselves thinking that the design and shape should just instinctively come to you – or that the gouges should just know how to shape it. Trust me, understanding shapes and how to form them in wood does come with time and practice – just start with one leaf, and each one you carve after will come easier and easier. You should have seen some of the first leaves I carved (now that’s scarey!)