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The Secrets Of Wood Carving

by jimmycox

For the sculptor wood is only one of the media in which he works.
Stone, cement, plaster, wax, metals, and in recent years
plastics, are some of the diverse materials that come under his
hand. He is likely to have a bias towards certain media, a liking
for one or the other. During some periods he will prefer one
medium, or circumstances may alter his course of work.

To make a living as a sculptor he will often have to be ready to
tackle any material. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it
widens his powers and experience. He would be a superman if he
knew all the answers to all questions involved in the use of
every tool and all materials in such a wide field. He is
gathering knowledge all the time but never knows it all. He may
not do more than one wood carving a year but because of his
natural aptitude for design and appreciation of form he can
produce sculpture in wood.

The wood carver specialist, on the other hand, carves wood all
day and every day, and is usually quite an expert at carpentry.
He may be attached to a firm of wood carvers or run such a
workshop himself. His skill is admirable. He can carve the most
complicated ornament with sureness and dexterity.

In the speed of carving ornament he can make rings round many
sculptors. He is chiefly concerned with traditional wood carving
design and is engaged in copying and restoration work. He does
not make his living by creating new works of art but by repeating
forms already established.

From the aesthetic point of view it can be argued that there is
an over-emphasis on craftsmanship to the detriment of creative
work, and the cleavage between such craftsmen and sculptors may
be great, and not easily bridged. We can look back to a time in
Europe in the fifteenth century when the wood carver was
carpenter, designer and creative artist in one, an ideal state of
affairs.

There is perhaps little profit in looking back and if we then
look at things as they are now in America, we can say there are
pockets where traditional wood carving is pursued and native
skill and craftsmanship flourishes.

THE HUMAN FIGURE

From earliest times the human anatomy has been studied and used
by the artist. Canons of proportion have been worked out by the
Egyptians and the Greeks. The study of the living and the dead in
humans and animals has been part of the artist's experience for
many centuries. This interest waxed and waned. The great artists
of the Renaissance such as Leonardo da Vinci dissected the human
body in a spirit of scientific discovery.

Dissection would certainly be repugnant to most artists today.
Perhaps the spirit of inquiry is less intense. George Stubbs
(1724-1806), the great English painter was the last artist
anatomist to undertake exhaustive research in this field. The
study of the living model is still a valuable part of the
student's training today. This and the study of works of art is
the food his creative power needs in order to grow.

The beginner who wishes to carve figures would certainly profit
by some drawing from the model. If it is not possible to attend
classes, he should draw his family and friends. An anatomy book
is of little use unless allied to observation of people. In books
you will find the average proportions of men, women and children.
This does not mean that your aim should be to carve the average
man. To work with the latter concept in mind is likely to produce
the dullest work.

We can say that knowledge and interest in structure is valuable
but that all such knowledge must be re-created by the artist. In
the stone figures on Chartres Cathedral in France we see
elongation of the figure, the head enlarged and the shoulders
narrow. Here we have a superb example of sculpture and
architecture perfectly related.

The wood carver is able to carve any subject he can think of,
but the human figure is a very good place to start.  Good luck!

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