Just Another Newb

[TheJerBear]

Hello friends!

 

My name is Jeremy and I'm from across the pond in America. I've been carving for about a year and a half now after being asked to carve a pumpkin for my wife's pre-K class. After pumpkin season was over I looked around for whatever I could find to carve--carrots, candles, styrofoam, etc, until I rescued a piece of red oak from a neighbor's firewood pile.

 

I worked on that piece of oak for about four months with a dremel before it was a beautiful work of art that was sold before it was even finished. The money from that sale and a pumpkin carving commision and the paltry prize money from the county fair from my styrofaom Buddha was barely enough to unlock chainsaw mode, but unlock it it did.

 

I got a carving package from Bailey's and found a stump to carve, a less than ideal elderberry stump that was suffering from a rot issue (that actually came in handy).

 

So, without ANY training whatsoever, without any experience operating a chainsaw save for a three hour orientation I allowed myself in order to figure out what the buttons do and which end to point where, and without any art classes or training, this is my very first chainsaw carving and, to date, only my second wood carving.

 

The Davis Bloom

 

http://i.imgur.com/zngOHJz.jpg

 

 

Thank you for viewing and do please let me know what you think.

 

 

 

Art Hard,

J

[Steve Bullman]

Thats pretty impressive for a first time carving...original too. Look forward to seeing more, and welcome to the forum

[gobbypunk]

Yeh nice first carving and welcome to the forum what part of the country are you in I have a yard in dorset and welcome anyone who wants to come down for the day and make some sawdust

cheers Mark

[dervishcarving]

nice piece there mate. Self-taught is how we all started, i dont think anyone here has had any 'training'. pick up a saw and start cutting wood, thats how we all learn. How do you improve and get better? pick the saw up again and practice no shortcuts, no magic-book, just practice.

looks like you have got the carving bug trust me, it dosnt go away. I have carved for 2 years now and when i dont have my saw in my hand, i feel kinda frustrated

oh, just a thought but that piece has a hollow center (from what i can see) so its going to fill with water. Might be worth putting a discreet drain hole in it somewhere

Edited April 19, 2014 by dervishcarving
i forgot

[Goodpig]

That is pretty impressive. I think it would wipe the floor with most peoples first carve.( mine for cert)

Lovely piece,look forward to more pics,and welcome.

[wisewood]

Nice piece mate, and welcome to arbtalk, I hope you find it as useful and enjoyable as I have. Look forward to more posts of your carvings.

Si

[TheJerBear]

'ello again mates! here's an updated photo album of this piece, including pictures with flowers planted in it. The Davis Bloom - Imgur

 

Dervish thanks for setting me straight on the whole self-taught thing. It's just that my carving abilities kinda sprouted in a vacuum and All Of It seems a little weird to me. All the people whose work in this field that I admire (like Frost, Cragg, O'rourke, etc) all seem to have duel skill sets in tree work and art. When I think of all the stuff I could have learned by studying this stuff in school . . .

 

My hometown newspaper wrote a nice little puff piece about the Bloom . . . Local waiter carves out a reputation for artistry - Rome News-Tribune: Local

 

And in case you were wondering, here are some of the pumpkins that started it all . . . Pumpkins - Imgur

 

And here is my first wood carving, The Grenn The Grenn - Imgur

 

 

Thanks for the positive feedback, gang. And if any of you lot happen to know Andrew Frost, please tell him thank you for inspiring a baby cub carver from America to pick up a saw. I'll know I'm getting good if I ever carve something anywhere close to being as awesome as The Green Man of Crich.

 

Art Hard,

J

[thewoodwizard]

Great piece, looks like you getting a great start , goog luck .

[Coletti]

Excellent piece and I love the idea of placing the plant in the middle, really sets it apart from anything else I've seen