Stormcarver
 
 
I am a little late in updating today because I was just so close to done and wanted to finish up. I cut a bunch of mahogany pieces yesterday for stems and chose one for this piece (1). The first thing I do is mark how large the insertion area will be with the same gouge use to create the hole in the bottom of the rose (2). Then the depth is marked on the stem with a straight blade (3).
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Rosebuds, Complete Archive Main -> <- Previous All images are the physical and intellectual property of Barbara Minnick, aka Stormcarver. Unauthorized use prohibited. The shape of the insertion point is made by carving down from the top to the depth mark (4, 5). You may notice that I also take down the squared edges to make carving more comfortable. The mark for the rise is next to be added. I trace the bottom of the thorn in pencil, adding the outer area of the rise as well (6). With a small skewed Exacto, I mark the outer edges and make a shallow carving around it to define the rise (7). The general roundness of the stem is carved out with a straight blade (8), making sure to compensate for the thorn rise (9). The stem is carved with a straight blade, then a #11 Exacto until the size and taper match the rose in a natural way, and the rise it rounded and smoothed with the same tools (10). I retrace the bottom of the thorn onto the smoothed rise and mark it with the small Exacto (11). The wood is taken from the interior of the tracing with the same blade, making sure that the depth and shape fit the thorn (12, 13). The thorn is placed into the hollow and secured with epoxy (14). Finally, the stem is attached to the rose with epoxy, ensuring that the thorn is visible from the front and the rose sits straight (15). And here are all 3 roses, complete. This has been an enjoyable project, exploring new stone and stylized color combinations for natural objects. I have a some ideas of where to go from here and how I can use what I have done so far to move in new directions. Before I do that, I will let the ideas marinate while I take advantage of the pieces of translucent alabaster left from cutting stone for the rosebud and carve out a couple lilies. 1 2 3 5 4 7 6 10 9 8 11 12 13 14 16