Phil White Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Hello everyone, Just to introduce myself, my name is Phil White, and I have been carving and sculpting various materials professionally for about 25 years. I live in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, where most of my days are spent designing and carving stone sculptures in the Gothic style for the Parliament Buildings. I have also spent many years working for the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation and Canadian War Museum, where I worked as a conservator and sculptor for both museums. I also manage to find the time for some private commissions, mostly heraldic sculpture. The inspiration for my work comes from English Gothic sculpture, Haida sculpture, and Japanese carving and metalwork on netsuke and tsubas. I have attached a few photos of my work in various materials, trying to concentrate on smaller pieces, or carvings with fine detail. Sorry, I don’t have a website. I look forward to talking to you. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Hi Phil, Welcome to The Carving Path! Thanks for the great pictures of your carvings!!! Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kelso Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Welcome Phil. What a diverse and interesting range of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Thanks for the pictures of your work. The heraldic piece with the strange creatures... half polar bear/half red raven? -Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ford hallam Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Welcome Phil, that's a pretty impressive introduction. I reckon you'll have quite a lot to offer the readers of this forum. Fine sense of design and beautifully executed too. regards, Ford ( the tsuba guy ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil White Posted April 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Thanks for the comments! I'm glad to be amongst so many folks with similar and varied interests. Yes, heraldic beasts are wierd and wonderful creatures. The "raven bears" are the supporters of the arms of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, who grant arms, flags, badges, etc. They represent a combination of strength (bears) and transformation, in reference to the raven as a transformer in Native mythology. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Thanks for the explanation One more question- what wood have you used for the military figure with the pike or polearm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil White Posted April 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Hi Doug, The pikeman carving was based on a 17th century engraving by Jacob DeGheyn. He was carved from basswood, is 11 inches tall, and was done in 1989 for the Canadian War Museum. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnus homestead Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Hello Phil, Thanks for your presence here - I like your work very much. I, like Doug wondered what the wood was that you carved the pikeman from - I have a friend who carves birds who uses basswood - have you ever tried boxwood? I very much like your Haida style totem carvings. I came up to the Pacific Northwest U.S. in 1978 and have always been impressed with the beauty of the carvings done up here. Magnus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil White Posted April 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Thanks Magnus, I really appreciate your comments. The Haida carving was something that I don't get into very often, but I love the style, and find it very inspirational. My father was from the west coast, and we used to go there almost every summer. The piece was done as a retirement gift for a former CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, who happens to be a leading expert on Haida art. When he recieved it at his going away party, he paid me one of the highest compliments I have ever recieved. He cried. I have worked in boxwood before. It's a wonderful material. I was fortunate to luck into a sale on French boxwood a few years ago at Lee Valley tools (about a 5 minute walk from my house) and I bought about 75 pounds of logs and branches in various sizes. The attached photo is of a plough plane I made quite a few years ago during my internship. It was made of boxwood, ebony and ivory. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sanders Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 (whistling smiley) That's a beauty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novice Carver Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Awesome stuff Phil, I'm excited to learn from your posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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