---- Chris Pye: WOODCARVING - NEWSLETTER ---- October 2004 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com "Dedicated to the teaching, learning and love of woodcarving" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please forward this newsletter to a woodcarving friend, and anyone else you think might be interested. Thanks! This is an opt-in newsletter and you should only be receiving it because you requested it from the website, or were sent it by a friend. Subscribe or Unsubscribe easily on the home page here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/ or using the link at the end of the newsletter. ****Back issues here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/intro/pastnews.html including zipfiles for 2001, 2002 & 2003 newsletters ============================================================ Hello Everyone! - all 3000 of you... CONTENTS: 1. Website news 1) New Gallery Carvings 2. Three Things I have Learned... 2004 3. 2005 USA & Canada Teaching Dates Website Bookmarks at the end. List of Slipstones Woodcarving Manuals Teaching __________________________________________ 1. WEBSITE NEWS! __________________________________________ 1) NEW GALLERY WOODCARVINGS Two trophies for HRH The Prince of Wales that I have completed over the few months: * Royal Winnipeg Rifles Trophy: (I'm not telling - so don't ask - but how do you think I carved the tail and trident?) *Association of young Farmers Trophy (Inside this 'goblet/tankard type trophy I put something curious, even whimsical. Here I carved a pixie size of Wellington boots... I gave them highly gloss finish and the do look rubbery.) See them both in this gallery: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/gallery7.html Full Galleries Index: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/g_index.html __________________________________________ 2. THREE THINGS I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT WOODCARVING... __________________________________________ 2004 Each year, after teaching a week's course at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine, USA or Ottawa, Canada, I hand out a piece of paper which asks carving students to write an answer to the question: '3 Things I Have Learned about Woodcarving'. I dread the day someone replies: 'Not very much...', but I find the replies very interesting and I use them to help me teach better, or appreciate something I hadn't before. Here are a couple from this year, with thanks to the contributors and my brief comments: *** 'A DEGREE OF SHARPNESS BEYOND ANY I'VE EVER IMAGINED IN 25 YEARS OF WOODWORKING' If you are leaving a surface directly from the chisel, the cutting edge must leave an immaculate surface - we all know this. However you can have a keen edge which shaves hairs off your arm - and for some strange reason woodworkers always want to do this - but which actually 'cuts' badly: hard work, feeling out of control, crumbling easily. It is the bevel, the wedge of metal, which is responsible for how a tool cuts; how that keen edge passes through the wood. And here I mean both inside and outside bevels. Correctly sharpen from the bevel and the edge will take care of itself. This is a wider, deeper sense of 'sharpness' than is normally appreciated by woodworkers - and all too many carvers. *** 'AGGRESSIVE CUTS CAN GIVE GREATER SATISFACTION, BY BRINGING YOUR PIECE TO LIFE SOONER' I try to encourage carvers to be 'bold' in their approach - I wouldn't use the term aggressive but no doubt it might look that way. It's so easy to chip a little here, shave a little there and wait ages before the carving resembles what you have in mind even faintly. You should aim to clearly visualise the shape below the surface for which you are aiming, then just go for it. And getting that image fixed has a lot to do with working your carving out in your mind beforehand, by drawing and modelling for example. But a lot of this speed and boldness is about confidence. Which only comes with competence. Which comes with practice and experience. And some has to do with fear of failure. Remember, when all is said and done, it's just a piece of wood. A great exercise is to get a lump of wood and see how fast you can reduce it to chips on the floor... __________________________________________ 3. 2005 USA & CANADA TEACHING DATES __________________________________________ I can now give you advance notice of the dates for the two teaching programmes I'll be undertaking next year, 2005. * USA (CENTER FOR FURNITURE CRAFTSMANSHIP, MAINE) http://www.woodschool.org/ June 20 - 24 Ornamental carving (Mouldings) June 27 - July1 Relief Carving July 4 - July 8 Carving Tutorial As far as I am aware, CFC will not be taking bookings until January 2005. * CANADA (ROSEWOOD STUDIO, ALMONTE, ONTARIO) 2005 http://www.rosewoodstudio.com Sep 12 - Sep 16 Relief Carving I (Beginners) Sep 19 - Sep 23 Relief Carving II (Advanced) That's all for this month! Joy and success in your carving! Chris Pye ------------------------- PS: One for the bench: I love the Duck-billed Platypus Because it is anomalous. I like the way it raises its family: Partly birdly, partly mammally. I like its independent attitude. Let no one call it a 'duck-billed platitude'. Ogden Nash. ____________________________________________________________ SOME WEBSITE BOOKMARKS ____________________________________________________________ ----------------- SLIPSTONES WOODCARVING MANUALS Help yourself! Full list and details: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/index.html * Quick Carving Questions - 1 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/qcq1.html (Sponsored by Tools for Working Wood: http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/) * Quick Carving Questions - 2 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/qcq2.html (Sponsored by Classic Hand Tools: http://www.classichandtools.com/) * Quick Carving Questions - 3 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/qcq3.html (Sponsored by Preferred Edge Carving Knives & Supplies: http://www.preferrededge.ca/) * The Accomplished V Tool 1 - Free evaluation copy http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/v1.html * Learning to Carve - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/learncarving.html * A Guide to Safe Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/safecarving.html * Mistakes and Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/mistakes.html * Fundamentals of Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/fundamentals.html *Slicing, And The Value Of The Inside Bevel With The Chris Pye #2 1/2 Finishing Gouges From Ashley Iles - Free pdf http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/slicing.html ----------------- TEACHING * UK (1-TO-1 PERSONAL TUITION) Full details here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/tuition/t_custom.html Single day: £150 3 days: £360 5 days: £495 Lunch included. Local B&Bs in a very beautiful part of England... * USA (CENTER FOR FURNITURE CRAFTSMANSHIP, MAINE) 2005 http://www.woodschool.org/ June 20 - 24 Ornamental carving (Mouldings) June 27 - July1 Relief Carving July 4 - July 8 Carving Tutorial * CANADA (ROSEWOOD STUDIO, ALMONTE, ONTARIO) 2005 http://www.rosewoodstudio.com Sep 12 - Sep 16 Relief Carving I (Beginners) Sep 19 - Sep 23 Relief Carving II (Advanced) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright (c) Chris Pye 2004 Chris@chrispye-woodcarving.com ----------------------- -----------------------