Shadows...Part 2 (or is it 3?)

I've got a shelf around the stairwell in our house where I've placed a number of carvings, turnings and such. Here's a collage of a few of the pieces.

How are you able to see what I've carved?

What is it that draws your eye to in each carving?

Okay, class, the answer is....the SHADOWS!

The cross (lower right) is the smallest carving and as a result has the smallest chips and shadows.

The two plates and the side of the Gothic Stool have the largest chips. Those shadows are very clear. The bigger the chip, the deeper the cut and the darker the shadow. And, of course, the positive uncarved areas of each item are flat and don't create any shadows, creating a nice light contrast.

and did you know...

The way a carving is finished affects the shadows!

All of my carvings shown above are finished the same way. Each carving has a clear, satin finish applied. Focus on the word "satin".

Satin, or matte, finishes are very flat, dull and reflect very little light. This type of finish "absorbs" the light rays and scatters them all over the place. When you look at each of these items you see very little of the reflected light and instead notice the shadows - EXACTLY what we want!

IF a carving is finished with a semi-gloss or gloss finish, the surface of the wood will reflect the light and naturally be very shiny. When looking at a carving with this type of finish, your eye will be drawn to the shiny surface and NOT to the shadows created! Comments may be, "Wow! What kind of finish is that?" or "I like the shine on your work." That's not what you want to hear.

That said, whatever style of carving you're doing, applying a rather dull finish will accentuate your carving and the shadows you created. That's the goal!

I grabbed this carving from the I Love Woodcarving Group on Facebook. Attention is drawn to the carving and NOT the finish. Good job!

Some of your chip carving!

This came to me from Carl who said,

"Marty, before staining I used colored oil pencils from the art store, then thinned/blended with turpentine. Walnut stain. Finished with Minwax Polycrylic satin (my emphasis)."

I heard from my friend, Marcel, from the Ottawa area, who I first met at a chip carving class there quite a few years ago. Those of you who have been with me for a while may remember some of his work I've posted before. Marcel is a master stone carver by trade and master chip carver and turner by passion since his retirement. He will be sending me more pictures, but for now you can see one of his natural edge chip carved clocks. 

Something NEW!

Layered Chip Carving!

For quite awhile I've followed @bazfurnell on Instagram.
I told him that he is the Shadow Master!!

Look at his drawing at an early stage and then below the same drawing with the Shadow Master's touch!

Simply AMAZING! Adding shadows makes it jump off the page. It looks like you can reach down and pick it up!

For the longest time I've wanted to carve something similar to one of his drawings, and I finally did it.

I'm pretty jazzed (there's that word again) by this and feel like this has opened another window of unlimited chip carving possibilities!

Maybe I'm getting over excited. 🤣

But this leads us to a new CONTEST!

~Layered Chip Carving~
Pattern Design Contest

The layered chip carving I carved was made from two pieces of basswood. There is one pattern for the bottom and one for the top. I carved and finished both pieces and then glued the top to the bottom.

LAYERED PATTERN CONTEST RULES
1. Create a 4-1/2" square two-part layered pattern. Attached are 3 formats of 4-1/2" squares for you to use and create patterns. One .jpg, one .SGP for Pattern Wizard, one .pdf for freehand drawing.
2. Get ideas from anywhere you like.
3. Show clearly which chips are removed (shading, dot in center, etc.)
4. Email me only ONE final pattern (in any format) before the deadline.

Deadline: 12:01am, Friday, March 25, 2022 CT

LAYERED PATTERN CONTEST PRIZES
1st place: One carved and finished Layered Chip Carving with your winning pattern, carved by me and shipped* to you.
2nd place: One Layered Project for you to apply a pattern to both pieces, shipped* to you.

*International contestants will need to pay amount over US shipping cost.

, I hope you'll ENTER!

Enjoy the coming Spring as much as Chip and I are!