Chipmunk on Leaves

This is such a superior forum. All the features work so well. this will be fun!

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

Welcome Donna! As a Fellow Chipmonk carver I can say you did a very nice piece. (Mine was only 2D) Nice details.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Welcome to Lumberjocks, it is a nice forum isn’t it. Very nice carving.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Colors and details are great. How tall is it? Nortwes

The whole thing was carved in one piece from a 4” cube of basswood, so ti is a little shorter than that. Glad you all liked him. I’m entering him in a carving show next week- so I hope the judge likes him too.

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

hey donna. very nice. i like him. is he going to be featured in carving magizine?
and welcome to lumberjocks. this is a very nice site.

-- pat,ohio...http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y198/patshwigar/

Oh Pat- you got me there!
I’m working this one for all I’ve got, of course:

• He is already dressing up my web site.
• I’m teaching people how to carve, burn and paint him next week in Fredricksburg, and again in January, at the Rio Grande Valley carving get-totether.
• Then I’m entering him (along with the bluebird and a couple of small carvings) into competition at both locations.
• And he will make an extensive article for Carving Magazine ([planned for the june issue) – like 8 pages plus 7 plans in the pull-out section. I’d love to see him on the cover too- but the powers that be will have to decide that.
• I also still have the critter after all that usage. Not bad, eh?

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

Darn- what is with the strike-throughs?

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

I’ve fixed the formatting of your comment, Donna. You may use * to get nice bulleted list. – signs are used to mark strike-throughs. I will disable them because they are causing problems. Thanks for understanding ;) oh, and by the way – cool chipmunk.

Glad you like the site…

-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com | My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin_Sojka/1357216976

Thank you, Martin. You have a whumdinger of a site here. It shows that a lot of thought went into it. I know you keep a close eye on things too, and that is good. I am not an html cognizant person- as a matter of fact, it is a miracle that I can use the computer at all.
Give me a band saw now- and I can make just about anything, but a computer. . . lets just say it has to be very ‘user friendly’ for my level of competence.

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

Donna, this is amazing. I would guess that 4” makes it even more difficult to get all the detail.
A true treasure.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Donna,
My hat is off to you. Very well done. Yes. Carvings that require thin areas like your leaf and on the hats of some of my carvings is a real challenge. You seem to have mastered it well. I am new at carving animals. I did make a cat out of redwood. That is not easy wood to carve on. How long have you been carving? It appears you a God given talent and He has bless you well. I am very impress with you carving and hope to share some of mine with you. I will have to post some of them. I believe I still have Sam. My very first carving and really sad when compared with my latest ones.
In His Grip,
Jeff

-- In His Grip,

Hi all- just noticed an error when I wrote about the chipmunk carving being used for an article for Carving Magazine. I teach, and did the article on the simplified version of this carving- it is the Chipmunk on a Log. Both carvings are on my web site.
Thank you both for the fine comments. Working small- in this case, life size- has it’s advantages and disadvantages. It takes less time than a bigger carving, (the Emily carving for example is taking forever), but it is sometimes difficult to get into small areas and have enough room to stroke the knife. As for the thin areas- the trick for me is to stay flexible with the design. when something breaks off just modify the design to work with what is left.
I’ve been carving for 12 years- part time, more or less as a hobby that pays for itself.
Debbie- I looked for your web site, but did not see any sculptured wood art.
Thanks for the comments- Donna

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

no Sculptured Wood art there – yet.

That name has a little bit of history here. I had originally signed my posts with “Woodworker Wannabee” but after a couple projects the LumberJocks decided that I was no longer a wannabee and that I was a “Sculptured Wood Artist” and thus the change of signature.

I’ve been thinking to change it more to “Functional Wood Art”. Perhaps it is time for the change.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Debbie-
That is better. I was looking for some woodworking but the closest I saw was the link to pyrography and the link was broken. How can I get to see your work? Donna

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

broken? argh

best place to look is here at LJ
I’ve only been exploring this creative outlet since Jan. of this year.

Don’t tell the guys but I’m still a wannabee ;)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/620
this is one of my best pyro works

http://picasaweb.google.com/msdebbiep
and here us my photo album at Picasa if it will let you in.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Debbie-
Thanks- now I know what you are into. You are quite a good photographer. I like the macro images- someday I’m going to do some of that. Your project all show a lot of imagination as well as an appreciation for the nature of the wood you are using.
Are the fungus paintings yours? I wasn’t sure who ‘Mom’ was. Whoever it is has a lot of talent too. If it is your mother- then the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. My mother was a very multi-talented person with a wide range of interests. I like to think that the gene pool is still strong with me- after all, my daughter is an amazing artist/craftswoman too.

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

Yes “mom” is my mother. She is a quilter and a painter. She doesn’t see herself as artistic because she thinks that she can only “copy”. I just laugh and shake my head – we’ve had the conversation MANY times.

Thanks re: your feedback. SOme day I will hopefully bring my woodworking, my leatherworking, and my photography together into one venue. I don’t have it envisioned yet but I’m sure it is going to be pretty cool.

And what types of things does your daughter do?

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

One benefit is that you take really good photographs of your work. So many people cannot do that- and it doesn’t take that much. I use just a couple of adjustable arm lights and a piece of pastel paper for a back drop and they come out pretty good.
Here is a photo of what my daughter did when she was here visiting in Jan. she is 29 and lives in Boston. She spent the most part of a week here and spent quite a few hours working on this project as a gift for a friend who likes panda bears.
Thanks to your question I’ve generated a new page on my web site for students’ work:
http://www.woodworks-by-donna.com/studentswork.html
I is just a way to show off my daughter, but I’ll fill it out later. Thanks for the impetus to get this out there. Donna

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

that is wonderful!!
Yes indeed talented like her mother!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I really like this it is very good. I don’t think I could ever do anything like this.

Diane

-- http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/DMarcella/

Diane-
It takes a lot of practice and lots of patience, but you could probably make something similar that would please you. I will be teaching a 3 day class starting on Monday that will help students to do the Chipmunk on a Log. It is a similar carving, but a lot easier. If you can take a class where the instructor leads you step-by-step through the process you could probably do it. If you are just starting out in carving then doing something easier is a good idea- then you can do a more difficult one every time.
Just about everyone can do just about anything- if they want to enough. I just finished reading an article from a back issue of Woodcraft Magazine about a completely blind woodworker. He became blind in an accident when he was 21- and he is in his 60s now. He has a complete shop and makes planters and birdhouses, and enjoys his hobby. He is very careful and has avoided any major accidents. Interestingly, he works in complete darkness- so that is a little disconcerting to others who hear machinery coming from a dark basement. his wife and kids help him with reading plans and describing how the finished project should look. I take off my hat to that man.

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

Great work.i havent tryed a chipmonk did a few mice

-- Robert, mountainwoodcarving@netzero.net

Hi Robert-
I’ve done a couple of mice too- gotta love those cute guys. At one time I had a field mouse in the house and I had to catch it. I didn’t mind seeing it run up my exposed aggregate walls, but it was leaving messes on the top of the cupboards. Caught it in a conventional trap and it was such a pity to see how cute it was- even dead. Next time I’ll have to get a live trap.
Doing small animals is easier in some ways because you can do them life-sized and take measurements directly from the animal. My carving of the dachshund was very difficult because it is 1/2 size. Having to divide everything by 2 strained my brain-LOL
If you haven’t seen the Emily carving here is a link to the blog: http://emilythedachshundcarving.blogspot.com/
There is also a link at the bottom of my web site’s homepage: http://www.woodworks-by-donna.com/
Robert- is there a photo of your mice anywhere we can see it online? Donna

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"

Nice carving Donna! —“So much wood. . .so little time!” kinda describes me to a “T” All these projects running around in my head, keep about four or five going at the same time. Keep up the good work and have a prosperous new year in 2008. Semper Fi !!

-- www.flickr.com/photos/egamarine/

Hey Donna, nice carving. I’ve yet to try that.

-- Maplewood, MN

Thanks, Guys. If anyone want to try this carving I can send you the plans for cutting out the blank. There is a full article on the chipmunk on the log in the Carving Magazine, Summer issue. Carving little things like this is fun.
Now I’m developing a new class carving. It will be a full-sized hummingbird with inserted wings and tail feathers. I took a class in this when I first started carving, and I’ve made a bunch to sell. It will be a big challenge for most carvers, but I’ll give them 3 days and help them out as much as I can. The results are definitely worthwhile.
Enjoy 2008!
Donna

-- "So much wood. . .so little time!"