Читать книгу Woodcarving Illustrated Issue 68 Fall 2014 - Группа авторов - Страница 28

Woodcarving Illustrated

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SUMMER 2012

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Guitar creations by Doug Rowell, from top to bottom:

Doug designed

Blues Girl

, a 1974 Gibson SG, for a collector

in Atlanta, Ga. In addition to the carving, Doug inlaid the

hitchhiker image in various hardwood veneers.

Doug chose maple Stratocaster guitars for his Dragon Den

series. He completed #5 in 2006.

A collector from London, England, commissioned this 2008

Telecaster, which Doug named

Lunacaster

. It depicts the

famous Buzz Aldrin image and quotation.

and everything to get the job done right. “I

also have about 40 chisels and gouges I use

for more traditional carving,” said Doug.

“Sometimes a gouge is simply the best tool

for the finish you want. Other times a gouge

is just right to move the amount of wood you

want to move. Also, whether using a mallet,

a palm smack, or a forearm-powered slide,

I love the feeling of pushing a sharp gouge

through a piece of hardwood. It feels more

like carving to me.”

Another aspect of Doug’s business

is bringing new life to damaged guitars.

Describing a Fender Telecaster that had been

run over by a car, Doug said, “The body was

so badly broken, and the rest of it so severely

worn, that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fix it.”

Doug recarved and refinished the peg head,

and then bought and carved a new body. He

replaced the damaged hardware with gold-

plated parts and dubbed the piece

Golden

Girl

. “I was real happy with the way it

turned out,” he said. “I wish I had kept

it, but I never do. I have 15 guitars but

not a single one that I’ve carved. Many of

the carving projects I create are based on

someone else’s idea. I have plenty of ideas

of my own, but I really enjoy working

with people to discover what they like

and then coming up with a design that

depicts their vision.

“

Michelangelo once said, ‘God put

the

Pieta

in the stone. I only remove the

excess.’ Every time I take a gouge to the

wood, that’s how I feel. I absolutely love the

process of getting that excess out of there.”