tow ornaments pt 2 plus 1

Well I not only have been working on the two ornaments but also carved out a 3rd to go with these. I now try and paint a few at a time instead of carve paint, carve paint. The three "wise" men are coming along nicely and will get a finish applied some time soon. In the past I have dipped my carvings but with these I will use a paint on finish and see which one I prefer and which one gives me a better carving in the end. There are always new ways to do things and more productive and efficient ways as well. Sometimes the better finish is not always the most efficient but we will see hopefully by days end. I need to get these done and into my shop as I am running low right now. If I don't put a finish on them today I will get to it tomorrow as I may end up carving some this afternoon. That is the blessing of carving in my living room, I can carve and hang out with the family at the same time, after all it is Thanksgiving Day.

as always, 

Good night and may God bless  

2 new ornaments in the works

Two more ornaments are in the works, both still need to be hollowed out in the back and an eye hook attached. I am happy with both but like the smiling Santa more at this point but there is more left to do so I won't pass complete judgment until they are both completed. I should have time to work on them in the next day or two and hopefully by the first of the week should post completed images of both. I am getting close to shutting down the ornament carvings for my shop and begin to focus on other commitments.

I am blessed this year to have two wonderful friends and fellow carvers that want to do an ornament swap so I will need to carve something for each of them and try to match their efforts. One of the two carvers has already requested a pilot based on my pilot ornaments from previous years and the other is leaving it up to me and I have already seen what hes has begun to carve. So stay tuned this will most certainly get very interesting in the coming days.

as always, 

Good night and may God bless

boots on the ground

So I carved a pirate based on a little people carving and enjoyed carving it and how it came out. This as many things do got me thinking, as many may know I like to carve many of my ornaments where they can stand alone for those who may want one on display somewhere other than the tree. Up till now they have rested on their beards but after the pirate I had an epiphany. Why wouldn't they have feet under the boots and now they do. So far the feedback is good on these carvings so I will do a few more and gauge how they do throughout the season but as for me, I like them.

These are carved from butternut and I have to say this is becoming my wood of choice. I still like bass wood but something about the way butternut carves and the way I carve that seem to match up. It also does well with my painting style and gives my carvings a rustic look that I like, hope you do to.

On a final note usually I carve something post an image of it and then paint and share the final. As you can see I am a bit behind so I haven't been able to do this as much. As of late I have been working on a design or two for a wonderful carver Wayne Shinlever. A few years back he had seen some of my cartoons and contacted me and asked if I could work up a design for him. The note had gotten buried under a pile on my desk and six months to a year later I found it and called him to see if he still wanted that design, he did. Wayne will be at the Dayton show this month and believe me you will want to stop by and see what ended up coming from my cartoon. He also is a fun guy to talk with, so stop by and say hi.

as always, 

Good night and may God bless

 

ornaments ornaments ornaments

Well I have begun the push to load my shop with my 2015 Christmas ornaments. This is the main portion though I do have a few more that may be loaded within the next few days. Not all have been loaded but my goal is to have everything in the shop by Friday. I was going to be doing a craft fair this year but at the last minute it was canceled for November. I believe they may try and do one in the spring if not they will set their sights on November 2016. 

I need to carve a few more but after a while I get itchy to carve something different but as they say "tis the season". Mine like many shops are busy from last week or so of October/ first week of November through the end of the year so this is when the main thrust of our sales occurs. I should have had all my ornaments in the shop by now but have had numerous projects going at one time. Starting this past Monday radio stations have begun playing Christmas music, people are counting down to Christmas both on TV and on social media sites, it has begun.

My hope and prayer is that we learn to enjoy the moment for once it is gone it is gone. Yes we have the memories but it is in the average every day moments that define who we are, husband, father, stay home dad or carver/cartoonist. I will end this with some lyrics from Billy Dean;

I'm gonna hold who needs holdin'

Mend what needs mendin'

Walk what needs walkin'

Though it means an extra mile

Pray what needs prayin'

Say what needs sayin'

'Cause we're only here

For a little while

as always, 

"Good night and may God bless"