Graham Thompson makes the case for unplanned carving
‘Free’ carving, means unplanned, seat- of-the-pants, without design or hard and fast rules. Where possible I would also suggest the term ‘free-from’. Free from cost, perhaps, and why not free from conventions? It’s my opinion that means you can develop and improve your sense of form by constantly comparing your creation with a finished item (photo or in the flesh) – a carve-a-bit, compare-a-bit process, but always carve first. This may sound a bit reckless but I think it’s the best way to learn. If, like me, you prefer a rough log with all its imperfections to a perfectly square (and expensive) carver’s blank, then you will have to acknowledge my suggested process when it comes to a work-around that has been forced by unexpected imperfections.
I can draw – a bit – and don’t particularly enjoy the process. Many times in the past I have spent countless hours drawing with pencil and rubber and seemingly more rubber than pencil, to end up with a finished work that bears only a passing resemblance to my drawing. So why bother? Why don’t I mark the wood with the key high and low points – a process which takes just a few minutes – then dive straight in with either my Arbortech grinder and/or a large gouge and hefty mallet combo. Or your roughing-out tool of choice.
This approach could be of interest to novice, or highly experienced but used-to- fixed-plans carvers alike. Fancy having a go? Here are a few tips. Feel free to ignore all, or most, of them and just let yourself go if you want. You never know, you could create some kindling for the woodburner or just maybe an abstract piece to be proud of and admired by others.
- Keep moving around the work
- Develop your techniques for observation and replication
- Look at your sources, look again and keep looking
- Don’t attempt to ‘finish’ a detail until the overall shape looks acceptable
- Leave out any fine details
- Preserve the desired line (the outer surface) in the wood
- The material should always look a little large in all directions
- You can always remove a little more later – or keep it chunky
- Reduce the tool size as you progress
- The rate of wastage will reduce as you go
Regular block or the unloved tree stump?
Your idea or plan will be informed by the shape of or in the material, especially if you have an interesting piece of driftwood or perhaps a cut log with branches still attached. Alternatively, you may be motivated by the finished article’s form and wish to help your shape emerge from a regular-shaped block. Actually, it can be easier to improve a vaguely recognisable shape by gradually making it more so than trying to see the subject in a rectangular block. If your material looks a bit like an otter, why not make it look even more like an otter?
Alternatively, have you ever noticed that a tree bole (that bit where the trunk and roots merge) looks a bit like an elephant’s foot? There’s an idea. One of my very early carvings came from a piece of tree root driftwood. It had a naturally sinuous curve to it redolent of a fish swimming against the current. It was meant to be as the next day, on a nearby rocky beach, I found a lump of oak plank destined to be an easy base for the finished male salmon.
Start by looking at some images of your subject from all angles and make mental notes of the overall shape. When deciding what the overall shape looks like, try to imagine it covered in a thin and clingy material. You could refer to this as a ghost image, something that you catch f leetingly in the corner of your eye. Or try looking at your best image through narrowed eyes and see how the detail fades leaving the outline you require. Proportions can also help here, they are so important in getting the look – but not inviolable. Remember this is your ‘look’.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GRAHAM THOMPSON