Whittling Flat-Plane Animals E-Book

James Ray Miller

• Herausgeber: Fox Chapel Publishing
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 108

Beschreibung

The approachable method of flat-plane carving is the perfect starting point for beginners to fall in love with woodcarving, or for experienced carvers to try something new! Featuring 15 projects of wood animals focusing on this accessible style of woodcarving, each project includes step-by-step instructions, full-size patterns, a brief overview on the animal's significance in Scandinavian culture, helpful tips, and more. From hares, ravens, and rams to bears, reindeer, and more, learn classic Scandinavian flat-plane techniques, further your skills, and discover a new favorite carving method! Author James Miller is an award-winning Scandinavian-style carver and a contributor to the acclaimed Woodcarving Illustrated magazine.

Leseprobe

Dedication

In memory of Dave Fowler, who channeled my urge to create woodchips into an everlasting passion.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all the people who have supported me along my carving journey. The members of my hometown’s carving club were instrumental in providing the instruction and support that I needed as a young child eager to immerse myself in the woodcarving world, and their support continues to this day. Those who invite my trail of woodchips at local gatherings and festivities push me to create more and allow me to share my passion for handcraft with others. And of course, none of this would likely be possible without Harley Refsal, friend and reviver of the flat-plane style.

Tusen takk (a thousand thanks) to my Scandinavian friends for providing invaluable feedback on which animals should be represented in this book and for providing stories and context for what makes them so important.

All step-by-step photos in this book are taken by my beloved girlfriend, Allison Cully. Without her, life would not be as beautiful—partially because I would have needed to grow a third arm.

© 2020 by James Miller and Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552.

Whittling Flat-Plane Animals is an original work, first published in 2020 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. The patterns contained herein are copyrighted by the author. Readers may make copies of these patterns for personal use. The patterns themselves, however, are not to be duplicated for resale or distribution under any circumstances. Any such copying is a violation of copyright law.

For a printable PDF of the patterns used in this book, please contact Fox Chapel Publishing at [email protected], quoting the ISBN and title of this book, as well as the pattern or patterns required.

Print ISBN 978-1-4971-0115-9eISBN 978-1-6076-5819-1

To learn more about the other great books from Fox Chapel Publishing, or to find a retailer near you, call toll-free 800-457-9112 or visit us at www.FoxChapelPublishing.com.

We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to [email protected].

Because working with wood and other materials inherently includes the risk of injury and damage, this book cannot guarantee that creating the projects in this book is safe for everyone. For this reason, this book is sold without warranties or guarantees of any kind, expressed or implied, and the publisher and the author disclaim any liability for any injuries, losses, or damages caused in any way by the content of this book or the reader’s use of the tools needed to complete the projects presented here. The publisher and the author urge all readers to thoroughly review each project and to understand the use of all tools before beginning any project.

Preface

As a child, I always wanted to become an author. In preschool, I began creating books of my own that told stories of imaginary creatures having crazy adventures. Most conclusions dealt with the characters returning home and relaxing. I must have known, even then, that all the toil and excitement of daily life needs some balancing out. My creative attention soon turned to woodcarving, and as I entered middle school, I discovered that woodcarving could provide my life with the balance it needed.

Countless woodchips later, I am being presented with one of the most exciting opportunities of my life: constructing an actual book for Fox Chapel. Although I have previously made and distributed a book on Scandinavian-style figure carving, the copies were black and white, stapled together, and not professionally designed. After all, it started as a collection of pamphlets to be used in classes I taught. With the help of Fox Chapel, this book will be able to provide an even more lucrative experience for seasoned carvers, beginner carvers, and those who have never carved before but would like to.

I know from numerous public carving demonstrations that there are plenty of people who are interested in taking up a handcraft. Even in today’s technological world, word is spreading that directing your eyes to your hands rather than glowing devices can be calming and healthy for the soul.

Previous books on flat-plane carving have done a great job promoting the style as something that is accessible and inviting to all, regardless of skill level. This book does not aim to waver from that, nor does it aim to twist the flat-plane tradition in a direction it has not already historically frequented. Rather, this book aims to shine a spotlight on another major area of flat-plane carving: representing animals in wood. While many flat-plane carvers today like to carve European immigrants from the past, the flat-plane tradition originally focused on carving people and animals the carvers saw in their daily lives.

I specifically chose a selection of animals that would be, for the most part, familiar to much of the Western world. Many Scandinavian animals are nearly equivalent to those in the northern regions of North America. Carving familiar subjects ensures that you have some frame of reference from the start, and it also allows an artist to focus on features they think are important in order to create a proper representation. If one had never seen a rooster, but heard it had a red comb, one could easily miss important details and end up creating a sparrow-chicken hybrid. That could make for an interesting piece, but this book intends to encourage thoughtful and appreciative reflections of the natural world. Animals are amazing, and they have provided endless inspiration and direct utility to humanity since the beginning of human history. A sparrow-chicken hybrid would, however, be a great subject for a future book! For now, I will focus on hybridizing three of the things I love most in this world: animals, woodcarving, and Scandinavian culture. In doing so, I hope to encourage you to explore your passions as well.

My first animal carvings, a pig and an owl.

Table of Contents

Wooden Animals: A Selection of Scandinavian Culture

Flat-Plane Carving Basics

Projects

Stylized Rooster

Stylized Horse

Cod

Ram

Elkhound

Raven

Red Squirrel

Beaver

Mountain Hare

Wood Grouse

Seal

Lynx

Brown Bear

Reindeer

Moose

Project Patterns

About the Author

Wooden Animals: A Selection of Scandinavian Culture

Strictly speaking, Scandinavia is made up of the countries Norway, Sweden, and Denmark—yet the term is often used more broadly to include other Nordic countries such as Iceland and Finland. Regardless, these countries share related geography, history, languages, and other cultural elements. For the purpose of this book, the term will be used without specific distinctions. While Scandinavia may not be the most common vacation destination for those without Scandinavian ancestry, the general public seems to understand a few basic facts about these countries: mountainous terrain, cold winters, and sing-songy speech patterns. And, of course, Scandinavia is also known as the home of the Vikings. What many may not know is the important role that wood, animals, and wooden animals have played in the region throughout history.

Scandinavia is naturally a heavily wooded region, so traditional homes and workplaces were also heavily wooded. Spoons, bowls, furniture, wagons, boats, houses—all were primarily built of wood. And since these objects were so critical to a people who toiled the land, raised livestock, and fought off harsh cold winters just to stay alive, they were well appreciated. It seems that this appreciation, and potentially some occasional seasonal downtime, led Scandinavian craftsmen to decorate the surfaces of such wooden objects with beautiful forms and motifs. While craftsmen obviously reused symbols and overall styles throughout Scandinavia from time to time and place to place, I have not yet seen evidence of entire patterns being shared. Rather, traditions in these countries ebbed and flowed in the spirit of folk art; that is, inspiration was the primary subject that was passed on from one interested person to another.

An ale hen drinking vessel with decorative chip-carved feathers.

In terms of style, Scandinavia has had a fairly diverse palette. Carved dragons must have been high fashion in the Viking Age, since they not only stretched out from the ends of ships and drinking vessels, but also covered panels around doors on farmhouses and religious centers. Such carved dragons twisted and turned around each other, much like the floral patterns and acanthus leaves of later periods did. Another common decorative carving style is known in English as chip carving. In this style, simple geometric shapes (often diamonds, triangles, and crescents) are chipped out of surfaces over and over to form intricate designs. Of these decorative styles, basic chip carving is the most accessible. It can be executed with just a knife, it can be applied to almost any wooden surface, and, once you learn to make clean cuts, patience is all you need to make a pleasing piece of art.

A 19th-century Norwegian mangle board, a non-metal pre-electric clothing iron.

Folk art in pre-modern Scandinavia was rarely purely aesthetic; it was often inspired by important elements of the surrounding natural landscape. Scandinavians have historically utilized the natural shapes of tree limbs to create useful tools, and they have also formed traditions centered on borrowing the shapes of animals to make their wooden creations more interesting and meaningful. Naturally, the shapes of horses—common symbols of fertility—found their way into the handles of pre-modern wooden clothes irons called mangle boards. The necks and tails of horses, chickens, and other birds became widely used shapes for the handles of ale bowls. Lions, animals that have never in recorded human history natively occupied Scandinavia, were also popular symbols, especially in Norway. Lion heads are some of the most commonly used figureheads for the traditional Norwegian fiddle, although they may not look terribly recognizable to the untrained eye. While familiar animals were represented in imaginative yet meaningfully caricaturistic ways, depictions of unfamiliar animals like the lion or fictional beasts like dragons varied greatly.

Today, the Scandinavian countries are prosperous, their people are wealthy, healthy, and happy, and their influence extends throughout the globe. Scandinavian design, which focuses on naturalism and simplistic forms, is popular among interior designers and artists of all kinds. Furniture from IKEA, a Swedish company, seems ubiquitous. Mads Mikkelsen, a Danish actor, has been featured in many blockbuster Hollywood films for the past two decades. Many popular video games, including Minecraft, call Sweden home. Norwegian sweaters are loved by many Americans—especially those in the Midwest. Many young Scandinavians are obsessed with cell phones, listen to hip hop music, and often enjoy frozen pizza.

However, despite complete societal modernization, Scandinavian countries have preserved their cultural traditions. It is no longer commonplace for all men to carry knives, for handcraft to be depended on, or for whittling to be a common pastime, yet various organizations have risen up to preserve both cultural artifacts and traditions. Folk art clubs and organizations specializing in more specific branches—such as folk music, dance, carving, weaving, painting, and so on—exist throughout Scandinavia and abroad. If you visit the Scandinavian countryside, you will still see sheep and cattle roaming freely, the forested mountains will still inspire awe, and you might even run into traditional craftspeople. Without even leaving your own home, you can participate in traditional Scandinavian handcraft yourself. Flat-plane carving could be your perfect starting point.

Scandinavians have formed traditions centered on borrowing the shapes of animals to make their wooden creations more interesting and meaningful. Even today, if you visit the Scandinavian countryside, you will spot some of the same animals that inspired ancient craftspeople.

Flat-Plane Carving Basics

What Is Scandinavian-Style Flat-Plane Carving?

The term “flat-plane” is used to describe the Scandinavian figure carving style that flourished in the late 1800s and eventually migrated to North America. The only tool that one needs to carve in this style is a knife, and the style is characterized by the large facets left by the long blade.

While “whittling” seems to also describe essentially the same means to an end, figure carvings created in the last few hundred years in Scandinavia certainly have more in common with others in Scandinavia than with carved figures from other regions. To me, the shared quality is a sly simplicity. Many such figures literally have a sly twinkle in their eyes, which denotes the other meaning of the phrase: the degree of simplification expressed by the carver is sly as well. A well-carved flat-plane figure may look simple—minimal hair texturing, perhaps the belt buckle isn’t carved all the way—but the amount of lifelikeness expressed by the piece as a whole exposes that there is something more to it than just an avoidance of details. Part of this conundrum is the essence of caricature: making art that looks more like the subject than the subject itself.