just keep carving

Well as it says I just keep carving and mostly all of my carvings right now are Christmas ornaments, after all "tis the season". You may have noticed that most of my ornaments are carved from butternut and that is due to my love affair with the wood. It is a wonderful wood for carving and it seems to match my carving style. By this I don't as much mean the style of my finished carvings but the way I approach and carve a piece of wood. I have recently come to the realization that a carver either matches his style to the wood he/she is carving or matches the wood to his/her style carving. Butternut seems to handle a heavy handed carver such as myself.

I also love the grain of this wood and how it looks with the finished carving once painted. So as you see three more ornaments have been carved and two still need to have a sealant applied before I can begin the painting process.

Many people wonder if I ever get tired of painting the same old thing all the time and the answer is no because I don't do that. Each face is different, yes they may have similar features but no two ornaments are ever the same exact carving. I tell folks I am sure of this because I am not to the level where I can duplicate a carving. I still have facial expressions I think would look great on an ornament that I just haven't carved yet. For me this is my time to sit back, unwind and just carve. It is very therapeutic, almost an equivalent to someone meditating.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is ready to be filled with the joyous spirit of Christmas.

as always, 

Good night and may God bless