• From Bob Easton on Carving in Fast-Motion

    Impressive and fun to watch!

    Being a very slow carver, I'm just trying to get up to "normal" speed.

    THANKS for the entertainment.

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    2013/10/31 at 6:45 am
  • From James Morgan on Carving a Classical Rosette - Episode 1

    Mary, I too enjoyed the drawing class. I'm not artistic so breaking it into a process really helped.

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    2013/10/15 at 9:34 pm
    • From Mary May on Carving a Classical Rosette - Episode 1

      James, I think I will be doing more "drawing lessons" as it is a big part of the carving process. It helps you think through the design before you actually carve it.

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      2013/10/16 at 9:29 pm
  • From Bob Easton on Carving a Samuel McIntire Styled Fruit Basket - Episode 1

    That 3-sided inverted pyramid is incredibly important. Before you taught me that technique, my grape bunches looked like a collection of marbles scattered out on the school playground.

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    2013/10/13 at 1:11 pm
    • From Mary May on Carving a Samuel McIntire Styled Fruit Basket - Episode 1

      It's also very easy for these "marbles" to break and go rolling across the floor. The other 2 videos that show this technique are the "Carving Grapes" and the "Carving Grapes and Leaf" video. I learned this technique from carving many bunches of grapes for the decorations for Greek Orthodox churches when I was working with Konstantinos Papadakis in Minneapolis. I saw visions of grapes floating in my head when I closed my eyes at night.

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      2013/10/14 at 9:25 am
  • From Dave Liske on Carving the Ball & Claw Foot - Episode 1

    I have become pretty good at making the cabrioe leg with a ball and claw foot.What is a good price to charge for a cabrioe leg with a ball and claw foot if I supply the wood.

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    2013/10/04 at 5:11 pm
    • From Mary May on Carving the Ball & Claw Foot - Episode 1

      Hi Dave,
      There are a few things to consider - how long is it taking you to complete the leg? What are your client's budget? Do you need to eat???

      I generally charge $200 for just the ball and claw foot. If I need to shape and form the rest of the leg, another $75 to $100. If they needed an acanthus leaf on the knee, then maybe another $200, and that really depends on how complex the leaf design is. So, if you can figure out how long it would take to perform each item, I generally try to charge $50 to $60/hour shop time. I rarely get that, and sometimes barely make minimum wage. Then you have to ask yourself how badly do you want/need the work? Are you independently wealthy (that would be convenient for a woodworker)?

      Hope this helps.

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      2013/10/04 at 6:27 pm
      • From Dave Liske on Carving the Ball & Claw Foot - Episode 1

        Your price quote is about what I had in mind. Iam a retired boilermaker, This is more of a hobby. Although I wont do this for nothing either. Thanks for the info and happy carving.

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        2013/10/04 at 7:24 pm
  • From David Taylor on Carving a Samuel McIntire Styled Fruit Basket - Episode 1

    Agree with Bob, terrific illusion! I really like how, when you cut the bottom at the angle, it makes the whole basket seem very round, very neat trick, I wasn't expecting it to look as round as it does, even while still being flat!

    I am liking the new scheduling format, too, knowing when the next video will appear, anticipating, being left with the cliffhanger but knowing the next part is just a few days away! You're doing a great job with these lessons, thanks so much!

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    2013/10/03 at 10:12 pm