The latest video added this week to my online video school is a sweet little relief carved cross in a circle. This was a project I carved for a memorial bench for local church. There was also a lot of lettering carved in this project and that will be the video lesson for the next 2 weeks.
This is a great project for carving into a flat surface – such as a jewelry box or keepsake box. I show how to create a stippled background with a hand-made stippling tool. You can purchase these tools from carving supply stores or leather supply stores (probably Tandy Leather). Or you can make them from bolts or nails with a triangle file. The stippling really adds a wonderful dimension because it breaks the grain and when it is finished the background really stands out strongly from the carving. It also helps smooth out a not-so-smooth background surface 🙂
Carving the outside cove edge really brings back the donut exercise! I carved the donut with my teacher over 20 years ago, and it still haunts me to this day!