• From Oscar Ortega on Carving a Camellia Flower - Beginner Lesson #8 - Episode 1

    How far down was the background lowered?

    Thanks
    Oscar

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    2013/10/02 at 11:51 pm
  • From Mike Holzhauer on What videos would you like to see?

    I would like to see additional videos in the CELTIC DESIGNS section. Maybe carving a triad, or a Celtic cross, or a braid pattern, etc....

    Thanks

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    2013/10/01 at 9:17 pm
    • From Mary May on What videos would you like to see?

      Hi Mike,
      I would love to carve more of these. By the way, I recently was at Lie-Nielson filming for a beginning DVD and one of the projects that I worked on was a celtic design - but it is similar to the one in the school. The DVD should be available through Lie-Nielson within a few months.

      I'll put this on my "to-do" list.

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      2013/10/02 at 8:51 pm
  • From Michael Prebihilo on Carving the Convex Newport Shell - Episode 1

    Thank you for your wonderful classes! They are a blessing even to a long time carver. I do, however have a couple questions regarding the convex Newport shell. To carve the shell on the door of a Newport clock, is the shell applied to the door panel or is it carved on the end of the panel ? Also, does the grain orientation matter if it is horizontal as in the video or can it be vertical to match the door grain? Thank you for your advice.

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    2013/10/01 at 7:36 pm
    • From Mary May on Carving the Convex Newport Shell - Episode 1

      Hi Michael,
      Most convex shells, whether on desks or clocks, are applied. I have not carved one for a clock before, but had a class with Charles Neil and several of his students and they were working on this clock. They determined that the grain went vertical, so it would match the grain of the wood it was to be applied to. Similar technique of carving - you just need to re-think the direction of the carving cuts in relation to the grain - simple, right? I would say the convex shell is probably one of the more difficult pieces to carve, simply because of all the grain issues.

      Have fun!

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      2013/10/02 at 8:49 pm
  • From David Taylor on Carving a Dragon & Acanthus Leaf Design - Episode 1

    I've seen them all. I will admit to falling asleep through three episodes, but I went back and watched them again and stayed alert through the second viewing! Great project, Mary, and a lot, I mean a LOT! of great lessons harbored throughout. Thanks so much for showing us this entire project!

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    2013/09/28 at 1:36 pm
    • From Mary May on Carving a Dragon & Acanthus Leaf Design - Episode 1

      Hi David,
      Maybe if you play the videos while you sleep (listen to the gentle scraping of the gouges) you will learn carving subliminally! Sort of like learning a language with the tapes running while you sleep... When you wake up in the morning and put your chisels to the wood, the wood will just peel off like butter 🙂

      Glad you got a lot out of the lesson!

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      2013/09/30 at 7:36 pm
  • From Bob Easton on Carving a Dragon & Acanthus Leaf Design - Episode 1

    My new t-shirt says "I watched all 15 Dragon episodes!" ... without dozing off.

    The best parts were recovering from "redesign opportunities." (Hey Mic, why does David's left foot have only 4 toes?) One of the small boat building masters I learned from seemed to have taught as much about recovering from problems as regular building techniques. That's one of the most valuable aspects of learning.

    There will certainly be a dragon carving (of some sort) in my future. My wife loves dragons, especially black ones on Chinese Red backgrounds.

    THANKS for the series!

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    2013/09/27 at 8:41 am
    • From Mary May on Carving a Dragon & Acanthus Leaf Design - Episode 1

      Great idea about the t-shirt! There should be something at the end of the journey...

      The nice thing about this carving is you can put your own touch on - it doesn't have to be exactly as I carved it. As you saw in the video, there is no real right or wrong twist to any leaf.

      Happy "redesigning".

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      2013/09/27 at 9:10 am