Wood Carving – A Simple and Inexpensive Art Form

Just as man-made fabrics have increased in popularity in recent decades, displacing natural fibers like cotton, linen, and wool, other man-made materials have also made inroads into markets that were once the exclusive domain of natural products. People cover the outside of their houses with vinyl siding and the inside with vinyl flooring and synthetic carpet. Plastics are used for everything from clocks to kitchen utensils.

Even so, it’s still hard to beat the warmth and beauty of wood. Unfortunately, as a material for home décor, wood is often the most expensive choice. This is ironic, since millions of people around the world burn wood to keep warm or cook their food. If you live in an area where hardwoods are burned for fuel, perhaps you have lamented this apparent wastefulness. This feeling of wastefulness seems especially intense if you’ve ever had the opportunity to cut up a cherry, walnut, or similar tree for fuel. Perhaps you have found yourself wondering how hard it would be to just take a log and make something from it. Well, why not try? After all, if it doesn’t turn out, you can still burn it later. At the worst, you’ve wasted a little time making decorative kindling.

Wood carving is one of the oldest and simplest art forms. The picture of a boy sitting on a log whittling is a piece of American history. This is true in a very literal sense; the American artist Winslow Homer depicted that very scene in his 1873 painting The Whittling Boy. Although wood carving goes back many centuries before this, the point is made that even a boy with a jackknife can make something while sitting on a log whittling a piece of wood.

While a simple jackknife may be all you need to start carving a piece of wood, many other specialized tools are available. There are numerous sources for these, including Traditional Woodworker, Woodcraft, and Wood Carvers Supply. In the same way, while any wood may be used, they all have different qualities and work best for different things. The website Old and Sold discusses some of the different kinds of woods used for furniture.

Most woodcarvers start out making very simple objects. Even if you have never considered yourself an artist, you can probably envision what a spoon or bowl should look like. By trial and error you might find that you can derive great satisfaction from just making these everyday objects. They have the advantage of being not only decorative, but practical.

For more elaborate projects, you might need a pattern. These can also be purchased online, such as from the website Carving Patterns, or downloaded for free from sites like the National Woodcarving School. The magazine Woodcarving Illustrated also has free patterns, as well as an abundance of general information on woodcarving and links to other sites.

If you are really an artist you might try your hand at carving sculptures. For some inspiration you might enjoy the work of Caril Chasens or R. L. Blair, who includes a chain saw in his list of wood carving tools. Whether it’s a wooden spoon or a wooden sculpture, with a little time and patience, you too can enjoy the warmth and beauty of wood.