This past week I had the opportunity to attend a concert of a high school classmate who has done very well for himself in the music industry. One of the things I enjoyed most about the concert, other than the amazing music and entertainment, was
seeing a friend doing what he was meant to do and thoroughly enjoying it. His father was the high school band director, so he grew up immersed in music and had the talent to go with it!
While not quite the same experience as an award-winning career in music, I do find similar satisfaction of doing something I was meant to do when I'm chip carving. Carving time for me involves a carving board and project in my lap, bright lights, and
listening to whatever music I'm in the mood for. Even if the chips aren't going the way I'd like them to, it's still satisfying to be focused on creating something with my hands.
I hope that you have a similar satisfaction when you make the time to tackle your next carving. I'd be interested to hear how you enjoy your time carving!Do you have a special routine when carving? What type of environment do you like to carve in? Let me know at troy@mychipcarving.com
Monthly Project for March:
Pencil/Candle Box!
Watchthe short video below to see it being carved!
Do you want to carve one for yourself, or a gift??
Thank you for sharing the process of developing this month's pattern with us. It's helpful (and comforting) to see that "experts" go through a process of discovery and "drafts" of their projects. It helps build my confidence as I go through that process, to realize it's a reality for all of us, no matter our level of
expertise.
In response to your question about what I look for in pattern balance and the associated difficulty, my personal approach is first and foremost to be aware of patterns that catch my attention. If a pattern catches my attention, my interest and confidence in carving it dramatically increase.
Recently, a daughter brought an adult coloring book home with her on a visit. It was full of geometric
patterns. As I looked through it, I got really excited about the patterns, and decided to carve some of them. The six I chose were patterns that I felt were a balance of difficulty and spatial variance that I could manage. Others were too busy or complicated for my taste.
I ordered six 8" plates from MyChipCarving.com, and went work. Those plates and patterns have inspired other ideas that I'm now working on. (For which I had to order more plates....)
I have yet to stain and/or paint them. Frankly, that's a whole other process I'm waiting on until inspiration strikes about the "right way" to
finish them hits. (Any suggestions!?) These are two of the plates.
Thanks again for the continued encouragement and inspiration to try new things.
Jon
I replied:
Thank you for your reply! Once again, your carvings are spectacular! No shortage of curves and circles - amazing.
I'll need to add adult coloring books to the resource library. If I'm out and about and see something I like I'll take a picture to look at later and see if it's something I think I'll be able to carve.
As for
staining/painting the plates you have carved, do you use Inkscape software or Windows Paint? Inkscape is a free(open-source) equivalent to Photoshop. It's a bit challenging to use, but I did find a way to use it to overlay colors onto the various parts of a carving. I've only used it on one plate to help decide the colors I wanted to use, but thought it could be useful in the future. It also might be a bit overkill for some. I just discovered that Windows Paint supports layers and will allow you to overlay colors. It may be an easier option to play with if you have any interest. Here's an example from Paint:
The layers are shown on the right-hand side, and allow you to show/hide them individually. This would allow you to come up with a couple of different color schemes and switch between them. Let me know if you would like more explanation, and I'd be happy to put some steps together.
Doug's a lucky guy! His friends help find the patterns for him!
Good evening Troy,
I have a story for you that relates to your looking for patterns. A good friend of mine was traveling in Spain and saw some great carvings in stone on some of the cathedrals he visited. He thought it looked a great
deal like the chip carving that I do. He took some great pictures and asked if I could carve a set of 8 coasters for one of his sons. It was a lot of fun to do. I attached some pictures of the photos of the stone work and my chip carved equivalents.
Doug
Thank you for sharing your story and carvings along with the inspirations for them. Very nicely done!!
I'd say your friend has a good eye for patterns and a good assessment of your chip carving talent.
I just discovered that Windows Paint supports layers and will allow you to overlay colors. It may be an easier option to play with if you have any interest. Here's an example from Paint:
