As I mentioned in my last post, we have been seeing, and hearing, ravens near our home. Lately, I hear them almost every day. This is very exciting for me. So...it isn't so strange that a raven is the theme of my new piece! Here is the terracotta maquette...still drying and unfired, but enough to give me some idea of what I wanted to carve.
I have had this oak log in my studio for some years now. It seems like a good fit for my raven sculpture.
The log's outer layer was punky and rather irregularly shaped. And I needed to make a fairly broad flat surface on which the sculpture would sit. After chainsawing, I hand planed to get it somewhat flat. As you can see in the photo, there is already a good sized crack, or check, in the log...a result of the log slowly drying out these past years. Checks come with carving logs...its part of the territory, a fact you have to face...
Here I have somewhat squared up the log, getting rid of that punky outer layer and the log's irregularities, making it easier to transfer my design onto the log's four sides. With the chainsaw, I kerf cut down close to the line...
After kerfing all four sides, I begin knocking, prying, and chiseling the waste wood off. It makes great kindling for the wood stove come winter...
The basic forms of the sculpture are showing. A lot of the original log's wood, and weight, have now been removed. Its time to get the sculpture mounted on my carving stand...
Here it is, up on the carving stand. It makes for much easier carving. I have started to rough in the raven's right wing. If you look closely, you can see the pencil lines marking the raven's beak. The fun has begun....