Janel Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 Finally! Back to sweet boxwood. I've messed around with other things all year, this is going to be fun! The dragonfly/water piece is waiting for the stain/finish tests to help me decide which way to go with it. Once the tests were set aside to dry/cure what ever, I thought about the rabbits I was drawing earlier today when while waiting for the does to do their baby thing. We've got six having litters today! So, this is a happy, dancing rabbit daddy, can you see the rabbit yet? Sorry for the poor quality photo. I'm using a little camera that does not do closeup very well, until the other one returns home from the camera hospital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergey_osipov Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 Hi Janel! This looks like rabbit! This really can stand vertically? (I have feel that center of gravity little displaced) This will be a rabbit-albino with red eyes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 Hi Sergey, Albino red eyes would solve the English Spot characteristics application! The eyes will likely be black, and I am considering learning about bleaching the wood. Seems to be one of this year's learning curves for many of my carving friends. Yes, it is standing on it's forepaws and nose. I like working on the balance challenges. No working today, we are going to the Saint Paul Science Museum in the big city. Mini-summer vacation day. Janel PS. For the United States members... Have a good and safe Fourth of July holiday or Independence Day weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 And for our Canadian friends, happy Canada Day today! (I hope I got the day right) for those Brits among us, you'll have to satisfy yourselves with some sort of bank holiday I'm sure is coming up soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beringia Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 Being a Brit and a Canadian I get the best of both worlds, although it can get confusing at times. Yes you got the day right but in true Canadian style the celebrations are a little less exhuberant than the US's 4th July! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ford hallam Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 And for our Canadian friends, happy Canada Day today! (I hope I got the day right) for those Brits among us, you'll have to satisfy yourselves with some sort of bank holiday I'm sure is coming up soon... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually Doug, I think you`ll find that we celebrate your secession from us too, for slightly diferent reasons though. Ford ( superior European smiley ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ford hallam Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 Janel, looking at the image of your latest emerging work i`m struck by the fact it looks "rude", What is it with the women on this site? I can see a paleolithic venus type figure emerging. and you`re going to have to stop nicking my ideas. I was planning a study of a dragonfly on a pebble ( might still get to it ) and yesterday was working up some rough drafts of a hare. Great minds think alike, heh? Actually, i`ve been out of the studio for the last 2 days with a nasty tummy bug, hence all the posts. Keen to get started this week-end on something of my own. I made a pair of menuki ( small sculptural ornaments that fit under the binding on the hilt of a Japanese sword) of millet grass last week-end. When I get to grips with this camera i`ll get some images up. Ford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 For ages now, I've thought a carving of a rabbit and frog dancing would be a fun piece to do- you know, friends holding hands getting down to a good knee-slapping jig. The frog would have a big belly; his feet flapping all about, a big goofy grin on his face. The rabbit's ears would be wooshing around, he'd be up on his toes, a little more reserved than his amphibious cousin... maybe I've lived in Indiana too long... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Ford, fortunately there are dragonflys and rabbits in other parts of the world, not just where I live! They are fare game for inspiration and carving, and this is their season! Go for it! I want to see what you come up with. Tom Sterling showed us his dragonfly lidded box a little while ago and that did not prevent me from going forth with my dragonfly plan at the time. Jim showed us your hare when he introduced you here. I chose to do a rabbit because of their presence in our lives, I enjoy watching them, and my son has been encouraging me to do one for a long time. We celebrate the creatures in our lives, and dragonflys happen to be magical. Wait until I carve more, the venus will disappear, sorry. I am the sort that puts clothes on human figures and but will carve insects that reflect their gender . Doug, I'd love to see you let loose with that one! You might create a new folktale! Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest katfen Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 Day two: finding the rabbit and his parts. The face photos failed but carving the nose and lips were fun! I went out and did some drawings of our rabbits to become more familiar with the anatomy. I had fun today! Janel The finish tests for the dragonfly are under weigh, but are not satisfactory yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Bonham Posted July 3, 2005 Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 Hi Janel, I love your rabbit especially balancing on her nose. Are you familiar with the sculptor/potter/medalist Jeanne Stevens-Sollman? She does great fanciful clay rabbits and wonderful bronze animals. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 Thanks Dick, This is a fun little piece to be working on after two very time involved pieces. No toenails or great, delicate complexities thus far. I've just Googled Jeanne and found an image of her clay rabbits and read a bit about her history. Thanks for bringing her to my attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kelso Posted July 3, 2005 Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 I like how that's coming Janel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 It is interesting the number of times a piece changes before my eyes. There are so many options on the way into the wood. Sometimes the right choices are made, sometimes not. I do not draw a blue print, though I do sketch things for reference. Perhaps if I drew absolutely the end result, maybe the carving could be deftly accomplished. Would carving then be more fun than it is now? The end of day photos add another aspect to how I look at the carving progress. Changing the scale of a piece on the computer screen brings my attention to areas that will be worked on next. I have not used the computer until recently as a tool for viewing a work in progress, but shooting images for possible tutorial use has inadvertently become another tool. This piece, a single mammal (my fourth?) with no other props, no toe pads or individual toes, nothing complex attached to it, seems to be moving along at a rapid pace. Usually one or two frogs, with toes and inlaid eyes, with a leaf, flower and/or branch are united in a composition. For me, with all of the details, these become very complex and time consuming. It is refreshing to have a little piece progress significantly from day to day. Viewers of the photos on this thread may not see substantial change, but for me there is. Thanks to my family for pushing me out of the house to go carve. I'm loving it! Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DFogg Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 This is a wonderful series Janel. That last image was right on. I love digital cameras because of the immediate results. I often take the camera out when the light is good and just shoot whatever captures my attention. It has helped to define my eye and teach me about form. In the reference you mentioned it would be along the same perspective change that you get from the mirror. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Day 4: this image does not show today's work very well. Tonight's other shots did not focus on the wood. (I miss my good camera.) The area between the ears and neck was opened, the legs were worked on, the body was pared to a more flowing shape, and the head was defined a little more. I guess my style of carving is to work from the outside in. Today was a shorter day of work. Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Wow- that rabbit did a turn around (literally) from the first image! I had seen a completely different rabbit in the form. Like cloud spotting I guess. It's coming along well- I like the head down approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 Day 5 was a shorter day with no photo. Errands... Today was Day 6: Details, sanding, face and eyes. Decisions. Tomorrow the eye inlay. The camera will really not work for any inlay prep details. Next time around when the macro shot camera is back at home. This is being a fun piece to do, but isn't a masterwork of multiple parts and detail. I like interspersing a simpler piece now and then as a break from the weeks of tending to minute detail carving on the more complex compositions. Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kelso Posted July 7, 2005 Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 Day 5 was a shorter day with no photo. Errands...Today was Day 6: This is being a fun piece to do, but isn't a masterwork of multiple parts and detail. I like interspersing a simpler piece now and then as a break from the weeks of tending to minute detail carving on the more complex compositions. Janel <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You got that right, Janel. The piece I'm working on now is a paperweight with a moth on a river stone. The "stone" is Vera wood carved in a simple smoothed river stone form. It's been such a pleasure working the simple form. I love having a single side-light source and watching the light/shadow move over it. The rabbit is coming beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 Thanks Jim. I look forward to seeing your next one. Is the moth made of metal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kelso Posted July 7, 2005 Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 Yes, shakudo, copper and gold. Photos coming soon to a forum near you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2005 Next photo, lost track of the days, and the camera would not have done well to point out the interim work... Eyes are of African Blackwood, because our rabbits eyes are brown, not entirely black. Next will be cleanup around the eyes and face, sanding more, determining if the fur will have texture, and what to do with the color. I wanted to try bleaching this wood, but the sample tested did not work as I would have liked. We have white rabbits with a strip down the back and spot patterns on the sides, the muzzle is also colored as are the ears. This carving will be a solid color, likely a brown. You'll see latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted July 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2005 Color added. Now to wait until the color has hardened, likely for a few weeks in this heat and humidity, then a buffing to make it feel good. This was fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck bennett Posted July 10, 2005 Report Share Posted July 10, 2005 JANEL; How are you. I know this is not a great challenge for you. BUUTT, I like it. It is going to be one of those cute ones. Anybody that has ever raised rabbits, has seen a rabbit in just such a position. It genernally happens about three jumps away from the cage, wether you let them out or they escape. Thanks-- I have enjoyed the steps and daily pics. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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