Читать книгу Woodcarving Illustrated Issue 78 Spring 2017 - Группа авторов - Страница 18

Cypress

Knee Fairy

Houses

Cypress knees are better than

cottonwood for whimsical

found-wood carvings

By Tom Borecki

C

ypress knees are a great source

of naturally available carving

material. They grow from the roots

of bald cypress trees and have no

known purpose, but are an intriguing

cone shape. Each knee is covered in a

thick skin, but underneath has a fairly

uniform carving surface. I consider

cypress knees a great alternative to

cottonwood bark, which tends to

crumble into a fine reddish-brown dust

that gets everywhere. Cypress knees

seldom crumble when you carve details

and have almost no flaws or splits.

However, you need to watch the grain,

which can curl and twist. Once you’re

done carving, the pale inner wood of

cypress knees lends itself to paints,

unlike dark cottonwood bark.

I didn’t include a pattern because I

draw different features for each house.

Refer to the photos and sketch directly

onto the cypress knee.

CARVING CYPRESS KNEES

Make sure your tools are sharp before carving

cypress knees. The wood fibers inside the knees

can crush instead of slicing.

TIP

Woodcarving Illustrated

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SUMMER 2017

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