Broody Hen in a Basket

Projects, Woodcarving

Zoë Gertner nestles into a project that will put a feather in your carving cap

Wooden chicken-shaped basket on stone surface.

Wickerwork and basketry are believed to be the oldest crafts in the world. Being constructed mainly of indigenous pliable plant materials such as rattan, willow osiers and flexible strips of bark from trees, basketwork is generally used for making functional and decorative objects in every culture in the world.

Unfortunately, wickerwork baskets last only until they collapse or decay, then are burned or lost for good, though impressions of basketwork found in mud in Turkey are thought to date from 7500-5500BC; and in the Egyptian Nile Valley the grain storage pits found to be woven from wheat straw were estimated to be between 10 and 12,000 years old by carbon dating them.

During WW1 when the War Office appointed a National Willow Officer as a reserved occupation for its meditative, repetitive and hand-eye co-ordination qualities, basket weaving was much used in the rehabilitation of wounded servicemen. Happily, on the marshy Somerset Levels you can still find a few small basketmakers – there osiers are still grown, cut and soaked, boiled or stripped and woven – continuing to use the traditional ways of the craft that is believed to be the oldest in the world.

From cradle to coffin, picnic hamper to pigeon carrier, basketwork is around us in some form or other – weaving it around your basket will give a distinctive touch to your carving.

Preparation

Wooden log on textured black surface — 1. For the carving I used a section of boxwood approximately 3in diameter with its grain vertical, aligned so to give strength to the handle of the basket. Alternatives to box could be yew, hornbeam, cherry, beech and apple, all of which are light in colour, close-grained and can be carved with delicate detail. For holding the carving securely while working I used my trusty woodcarver’s chops, though an ordinary woodworking vice could be an alternative

Chisel carving wood block on blue mat. — 2. Using the No.5, 1/2in gouge, first remove the bark, working from the middle towards each end of the wood

Rasp file smoothing wood on blue mesh background. — 3. Then with a Shinto rasp, Surform, spokeshave or the No.3, 1/2in gouge, smooth the surface, removing irregularities from all round

Wooden carving sketch for basket design — 4. Using a pencil draw the upper edge around the basket at approximately halfway the height of your wood; its handle lying over the top from each side, and the level of the contents inside the basket

Block of wood with sketched basket design. — 5. Round over the edge of the bottom of the basket with the No.5, 3/8in gouge, lifting your gouge hand and cutting towards the middle of the bottom of the basket from all round

Things you will need

Tools

No.3, 1/2in, 3/8in, 1/4in & 1/8in gouges
No.39, 1/4in & 1/8in V-tool
No.5, 1/2in, 3/8in & 1/4in gouge
No.9, 1/4in gouge
No.11, 1/8in gouge
3/8in Ray Gonzales hooked skew chisel
No.1, 1/4in & 1/8in carver’s chisel
Surform/spokeshave/Shinto rasp
Square-edged microplane
Small fine-toothed saw
Hand drill with small drill bit
Nail punch and light hammer
Wax polish, redundant toothbrush and soft bristled brush

Diagram of labelled woven basket components.

Close-up of wood carving with rasp tool. — 6. Smooth over the bottom edge using the microplane, spokeshave or No.3, 1/2in gouge, working towards the centre of the basket as before

Wood carving with engraved patterns and carving tool. — 7. Now with the No.9, 1/4in gouge, round over both areas for the handle each side, lifting your gouge hand and cutting across the top towards the middle

Marked wooden block with file on fabric surface. — 8. With the square-edged microplane, smooth and round over the surface of the handle equally from each side

Wood being cut with a saw, marked 'contents'. — 9. Next, saw down vertically in front of the face each side of the handle to the top of its contents using the fine-toothed saw

Saw cutting through a wooden log. Woodworking process. — **10.** Then saw horizontally across and above the contents to the vertical saw cut each side of the handle and remove the section above the contents

Wood carving detail with chisel in action. — **11.** Using the 1/4in V-tool, cut round the edge of the basket joining the V-cuts with the outer sides of the handle on both sides of the basket

Carving wood with precise chisel cuts. — 12. Round over the contents of the basket on both sides of the handle with the No.9, 1/4in gouge by cutting towards the middle of the handle from all round

Wood carving with pencil marking on wood block. — **13.** As you cut upwards adjacent to the handle and access is limited, roll the gouge sideways and slightly towards it as you round over the contents each side

Wood carving in progress with chisel tool. — **14.** Draw the centreline along the basket and its contents then, using the No.9, 1/4in gouge, with shallow cuts make a ledge or small platform along and above the edge around the basket. Continue cutting upwards towards the centreline and finish rounding the contents within it so they are symmetrical each side of the handle

Wood carving with chisel tool in progress — **15.** On both faces of the handle outline the edge of the handle underneath and a vertical centreline from the middle of that curve to the top of the contents. Invert the No.3, 3/8in gouge and cut into the face of the handle, following the convex shape of the rounded contents, then repeat the cuts at the other side

Wood carving in progress with chisel. — **16.** Tilt the gouge and cut from the face to make opposing cuts above the contents, and cut a channel around it. Carefully cutting into the channel above the convexity each side reduce some of the depth and thickness of the face of the handle

Wooden carving tool close-up — **17.** Remove deep gouge cuts from the ledge/ platform around the edge of the basket, flattening and smoothing it using the No.3, 3/8in gouge inverted and working up to both edges of the handle each side of the basket

Wood carving in process with chisel tool. — **18.** Next use the 1/4in V-tool and cut around the perimeter of the contents alongside the inner side of basket up to the inner side of the handle, then repeat this on the opposite side

Close-up of wood carving with chisel — **19.** Round over the inner edges both sides of the basket by inverting the No.3, 3/8in gouge and placing its corner in the V-channel. Then, while cutting towards the face of the handle, roll it outwards and over the edge of the basket to round the edge over

Wooden eye sculpture being carved by hand. — **20.** Adjust the top and side shapes of the handle to make it symmetrical, cutting upwards from the sides of the basket towards the top of it with the No.3 or 5 gouge

Wood carving in progress with a chisel. — **21.** Draw a centreline along the top of the handle from its base on the side of the basket each end, then round over both the outer edges using the gouge inverted as described before. Start at the top of the handle, the highest point, and work back from here along the two outer edges to its base, rolling and twisting the blade upwards, with the grain, and cutting from each side towards the centreline

Wood carving in process with carving tool — **22.** Having rounded over its outer surfaces, use the 1/4in V-tool to mark the inner edges of the handle. Start the cuts at the middle of the curve at the top and work downwards each side, joining the inner edge of the handle at its base to the inner edge of the basket

Wood carving with chisel in progress. — **23.** As before, use opposing cuts with the No.3, 1/4in gouge, cutting around and angling it beneath the handle from each side and reduce the depth or thickness of the face of the handle

Wood carving with chisel on wooden bowl — **24.** Periodically round over the lower edges of the handle as described before by inverting the gouge, using its corner and cutting away from the top of the curve and over the edge

The contents of your basket

Obviously, you can put what you wish in your basket – for sentimental reasons, I chose to carve my pet hen. When broody she would hide away in a dark corner of the shippon in a discarded old wicker basket.