Читать книгу Woodcarving Illustrated Issue 70 Spring 2015 - Группа авторов - Страница 20

Checking

the List

Use basic relief cuts and

simple shaping to carve

a folk art Santa

By Ellis Olson

T

his slender old world Santa pondering

his nice list is one of my favorite

designs. To create his thoughtful expression,

I carve one eye open farther than the other,

and then I paint the eyes positioned so they

look a little to the side and a little upward.

You may notice that I do not use a cut-

resistant glove on my holding hand. I always

keep my holding hand out of the trajectory

of a slipped sharp blade. In 40 years of

carving I have never been cut badly enough

to require stitches.

Separating Elements

To separate elements in the carving, such as the lines

between the fur trim and the coat, I combine two cuts: a stop

cut and a relief cut. The stop cut is usually perpendicular to

the surface of the wood along the line of the element, but

it can be angled in under the element. The relief cut starts a

small distance from the stop cut. Hold the tool at a 10° to 60°

angle and position it so the tip intersects with the stop cut.

Maintain this angle as you push or pull the knife through the

cut. I use a 45° angle for the line between the belt and coat,

and a 20° angle for the line between the fur and coat.

Stop cut

Relief cut

10°-

60°