Walnut carving

Here are a couple of photo's of my newest carving I'm working on. I'm unsure of a title yet but am aiming somewhere in the region of 'Hazardous Waste', Radioactive.....?. You get the general idea. 
I have found that this piece of wood (walnut) has a lovely grain to it. I think this is due to me previously using driftwood which doesn't show the grain as well due to being submerged in water for long periods.  I'm only about half way to finishing this piece so still a bit of work to do. The back (top below) was a challenge to add a curve to it but it's either beginners luck, which probably means i'll never be able to do it again, or I might be a natural (lol).

Water fowl carving

I thought I would share this carving of a local waterfowl, in abstract form. This particular waterfowl would use his colouring and extension of it's head pointing upwards to blend in with the reeds. I carved it from Tasmanian Blackwood. The base is a native timber Totara. I donated this carving to the community for them to raffle off.

Driftwood face

Today I started working on this carving again. I'm terrible at working on one carving at a time which makes it seem like it takes forever to finish one. This has been a struggle. As I am teaching myself I keep making mistakes and it takes hours upon hours to bring everything back into some sort of perspective. I hope to work on this tomorrow so hope to be closer to completing this difficult, learn by your mistakes, carving.

Pounamu(Greenstone)

It has been a long time since I have worked on this piece of Pounamu. I've spent the last few days shaping it. I believe I am not far off of going through the sanding process. Exciting stuff!!! This will also be my first Pounamu carving.

 I've included the early stage (right),which I have placed on here before to refresh your memory. As you can see I have made some changes above.

Gecko Series

I'm working on a Gecko theme at present. A possible total of 5 pieces to show the battle from beginning to end in a fight for superiority. The 'red' is to represent war and power.

 

Elephant progress update

I'm nearly at the sanding stage. I had to fill a small area today and as I'm out of town during the day for the next two days I will have to wait until the weekend to tidy up the filled area and begin sanding from there.

Torso

I bought this mannequin torso a few years ago for displaying my T-shirt designs and Jewelry but the other day decided to transform it into it's own piece of art. Covered in Maori design to fit my other works I've been working on to form a collection of artwork I'm left wondering whether I need to add to the design. I'm going to leave it for a while and see what I come up with. I do have an idea of what to do but am unsure at present.

Two carvings

These are my latest jewelry pieces. The pendant is from wood, I'm unsure what type but will hazard a guess and say limewood based on that it smelled like limes when I was working on it.  The pendant on the top right is the feminine side with it's soft curves and the pendant bottom left is the masculine side with it's crisp lines which means it is suited for both sexes.

The other is beef bone and the back side is greenstone. I will include a photo of the back at a later date. The etching of the Kowhai flower is called scrimshaw.

 I plait my own cord which is black waxed nylon cord

Elephant carving update

As you can see, the head is still oversized and I'm being careful to not lose the playful baby elephant look making it a bit nerve racking to take off too much at once.  All'n All coming together quite well. I'm sure my friend will appreciate it once completed.

Elephant carving

Today I spent it shaping the elephant more. I've placed some more plugs into holes and will cut and sand them back tomorrow. I can still see things that need changing but am being careful not to loose the sense of a playful baby elephant. I also need to make a foot for the front leg in the 1st image and toes on the back leg in the same image 
Feedback would be greatly appreciated

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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.

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.

new wood carving

The piece of driftwood I purchased from the arts recycling center the other day is now beginning to take shape. It is a very hard wood. I'm guessing it is Jarra but have my fingers crossed that it's Black Maire. Even my files are working hard to remove the wood. I've spent most of today thinking about the back of the carving and as you can see by the image I have begun work on it. As far as a story for this piece, I still am working on that too. The top image is day two where I have started to add more detailing to the hands etc. The bottom image was from yesterday.

Bird

I love this tiny bird. I did this along with 5 other small canvas' with varying images for a friend. I've included the Pukeko as well.

Old Art

I think for the next week or so I will place some of my older artwork up. Mostly paintings,pastels and stone sculpture. I hope there's something there to inspire you. Maybe I will place some of my signwriting adventures on here. I don't enjoy this sort of work but do do it every now and then.

Maori Carving

Although progress is slow you can begin to see the carving come to life. Still a long way to go I want to be patient and focus on  craftsmanship. I'm still a bit unsure where I want to take this but I'm sure it will come to me.

$200.00NZD

The Storyteller:

Depicts Jonah telling his journey inside the Whale.

Comes in a gift bag along with it's meaning on a nicely presented card

Manaia update

As you can see below the progress is reasonably slow mostly because I choose to use hand tools instead of electric tools. I have cut the bone in half  for a reason, which I will reveal when the time is right. Due to the age of the bone it looks and feels like a white wood. I'm not sure how it will polish up once completed.

I can give you a rough outline of the meaning so far. This is not written in stone, just a starting point. The Spiral patterns represent turmoil while the Manaia weaves it's way through the water. This is what I see at present and once I have completed the carving I will have a better understanding of it's meaning then.

The top image shows the tail of the Manaia wrapping round the bone.