Elephant wood carving

Today I began a carving of an Elephant. Surprisingly it has turned out pretty good. It even has character. A playful baby elephant is what it reminds me of. I think the wood is Black Maire. Very hard to carve! Its been clamped as it split while it was in the vice. I still need to shape the trunk and work on the body and head before sanding but I'm looking forward to the end result.
I've got a day in town tomorrow so will hopefully complete the elephant on Sat 2nd Nov.

Deer Antler carving

Well, I have nearly finished working on the deer antler. I still need to drill another hole in the greenstone to secure both pieces together. I think I will place it on a piece of black granite. The ends of the carving have been capped with a native timber, Totara and an oil stain applied.

Moved house

I've finally moved house and have begun creating again. It's become a slow process of sorting out my new workshop and managing where all my gear is going to fit but the good news is my scroll saw has arrived along with my grinder set up with a wet system for grinding greenstone.
Today I spent most of the day working on carving of a lizard from Totara in a contemporary style, as I don't have the ability to make a more realistic version. I had to cut off one front and one back leg due to too many mishaps with the toes, and am going to replace it with two cuts of wood and shape them into the lower parts of the legs and feet and pin them back into place.
I've also been working on several paintings. Focusing on Maori designs I've intuitively started sketching to see what happens. Most are small canvases and I might think about having an exhibition and include some of my carvings as well.

No photo yet

I've spent the last couple of hours working on a Celtic design on a slice of Australian river rock. Am pretty happy with the progress and hopefully the end result will be the same. 
I'm also in the stages of moving out of town so I should of been packing. I move this Saturday.

Carving nearing completion

Finally I'm nearing the completion of my deer antler carving. The greenstone has been attached along with the wooden caps. I just need to shape them closer to the actual carving and remove marks and stain part of the carving for some contrast then join the two pieces together.

The Temptations of John the Baptist

Finally I have found the time to make the base for this deer antler carving. I certainly add to my own stress level by working on too many projects at once. I'm hoping to have learned my lesson. It's a lovely grain running along the edge of the base.  Forgive me for the background. Carving measures 24cm L and has been stained in a tea blend. The base is made from Totora.