The March Of The Penguins Is On!

If you scroll back to my post on November 21st about how to carve "Simple Simon" the penguin, this is an update upon my own progress to carve a small army of penguins. Of course Christmas presents are heavy on my mind and this little fellow is going to be the star of this years celebration.

So far I'm up to 10 little penguins with two completely painted and finished. I have found that this carving project is just perfect for making some great little presents if you haven't yet started on your own present list for this year.  If you haven't started then may I suggest Simple Simon.

By observing the picture to the left then you can see how convenient this penguin is to produce. I cut several 1" X 1" pieces of basswood at approximately 6" long so that I could carve two birds  from one piece of wood. This way I had a good "handle" to grip while I carved one penguin at a time, then when both were finished I cut them in half with the bandsaw leaving a thin stand for each.

I carried several of the basswood blocks around with me in the cargo pockets of my pants so along with my handy Carvin' Jack knife I could work on them whenever I had a few free minutes. Now that I'm to the painting process I'm thinking about starting a another smaller flock of "baby" penguins that can be following Simon around on the ice. Now wouldn't that make the cutest gift!?!

WIP: A Thanksgiving Woodspirit Marathon (Part 2-conclusion)

Thanksgiving has afforded me with the addition of four new members to my woodspirit family. They are now finished and ready for duty in the hands of new owners as they will surely explore many new trails. Two of the sticks have some really nice swirls at the top near the handle on the woodspirit beards which make them quite unique and that also makes them feel good in the palm of the gripping hand.






The animal tracks also turned out nice and bold which compliments the woodspirits just right. Over the years I have developed several sets of animal tracks for placing on my walking sticks since most folks request them. I developed their designs from several sources including a large track collection that I have casted over many years in the field. I've also studied numerous tracking books where I've gleaned many other variations of how a particular animal leaves his print in the sand, mud, dirt, and sometimes the track is left wet as the animal steps from the edge of a stream to a rock surface. Animal tracking has been one of my fondest hobbies since I was a child so I am always learning more about what the trails of a wild animal can teach me.

WIP: A Thanksgiving Woodspirit Marathon (Part 1)

 WIP= "Work in progress"

Thanksgiving was a little different this year as I have been engaged in a planned carving marathon to produce 4 premium sourwood woodspirit walking sticks. I chose the wood from my best drying stock and these four sticks were cut last March giving them an approximate drying time of about 8 months.

The pictures on the left show the sticks just after the initial roughing-out phase which is my method for starting all of my walking sticks. During this phase I first cut the stick to 58" long then lightly sand the bark then seal everything with as thin a layer of polyurethane that  I can possibly rub on.

Next the stick goes in the vise where I use my larger carving tools and mallet to rough-out the basic face features and hair. As the photos to the left indicate this leaves nothing much more than eye wells, a square nose & forehead but you get the point.

From this point forward I can then manage the remainder of the carving with the stick in my hands while using my smaller palm carving tools to develop and to refine the details. Some folks seem to be quite successful carving the entire stick while held in the vise but after the roughing out I like to carve them in my hands where I do a considerable bit of flipping, turning, and other acrobatic-like maneuvers to get the effect that I like. I suppose that the correct method of carving is doing whatever works best for you.

The picture to the right is the progress made up to this point and the woodspirit faces are now ready for a finish. As you can see I am also putting on a strip of five animal tracks just below the faces which has become the norm for my spirit sticks during the last 5 or 6 years. At this point I only have them sketched out on a portion of the stick that I cleared of bark using the shaving horse, then sanding to a fine finish. The tracks on this series of sticks include bobcat, raccoon, opossum, skunk, mink, beaver, muskrat, coyote, red & grey fox, whitetail deer, and black bear. It takes a lot of focus to paint the tracks onto the stick with black acrylic paint but the end result after a polyurethane glossing is a stunning compliment to the woodspirit face.

I will post the completed sticks just as soon as they're finished. Meantime, have a great Thanksgiving.

How To Carve "Simple Simon" The Penguin- Part 3 (of 3)

Part 3 (of 3) Final

How To Carve "Simple Simon" The Penguin- Part 2 (of 3)

Part 2 (of 3)

How To Carve "Simple Simon" The Penguin- Part 1 (of 3)

This is part 1 (of 3) of "How To Carve Simple Simon The Penguin" video. This is a great project for the aspiring woodcarver who would like to try their hand at an entry-level "in-the-round" carving. Here you will be able to improve your hand/eye coordination with a 3-D project but not so complicated that you have to be trained as an architectural engineer to understand.

In the video I'm using a piece of southern basswood that measures approximately 1" X 1" and the penguin portion of my block is 2-3/4" long. I'm carving with the "Carvin' Jack" made by Flexcut because it's a complete carving set that I could conveniently attach to my belt as I enjoyed walking deep into the woods where I filmed the video. This simple carving project was the subject of a wonderful thread on the Woodcarving Illustrated Message Board where folks generously offered their own versions of the penguin. This video is the final result of how I carve this project in my own personal style. If you carve this project several times I guarantee you that you too will begin to develop your own unique style in creating a penguin that you will be proud of. They make great gifts too so that is only another reason (or excuse) to carve several of them and you'll be gaining more valuable carving skills while also producing some gifts that folks will love.

Image by mark van de wouw via Flickr

I've been using the step-by-step carving models for this little penguin in my woodshop carving program with great success. I've discovered that my 14-16 year old students find the visual steps easy to follow and they really like the bright black & white finishing colors with the red bowtie. This penguin is a real cutie and has been kid tested to be sure!

As always, never-ever compromise your safety. When carving always wear a glove on the non-carving hand and be sure that it's made from a high quality cut resistant material such as Kevlar. If your project isnt clamped or held secure on a table with a vise then be sure to use a lap board to protect your legs. (A piece of 1/2" ply board will work.) Above all be patient and never-ever force your knife. Learn to be safe and carve your project one thin slice at a time until you achieve the correct depth. If you've never had any carving experience then I would strongly suggest that you seek personal instruction from a professional carver and/or study carving manuals such as the Boy Scout Woodcarving merit badge booklet.

Be safe and have fun!

(Parts 2 and 3 will follow shortly.)

Pirates Have Taken Over Woodshop!

Pirates and piracy have been our campwide theme this session and that is what our teachers base the educational curriculum around in all subject areas. In woodshop class I had two students who I thought blew the theme out of the water (excuse the pun) with their projects and both Darian and Alex received advanced project design awards for their great creations.

As you can see from the pictures to the right Darian decided to extend his studies to modern day piracy by making a United States Navy battle ship that was designed to battle pirates off the coast of Somalia. To bring his idea to life we first found him a 2' block of pine that measured about 6" X 6" then cut some basic bow lines to the forward portion of the block. From here Darians brain went into overdrive and it was a great moment for the woodshop teacher to stand back and observe. This 14 year old boy was doing some major heavy-duty thinking about how he wanted to pull it off. Occasionally Darian would ask me a question or what I would suggest to solve a particular problem but he was clearly the Captain in charge of his ship. Even after the main body of the ship was complete I was really proud of how Darian then went on for several woodshop classes to extend his idea by adding a railing around the deck, a radio communications antenna, and a helicopter. Just great!

On the other hand I had Alex in another class and he had a vision to make a pirate. While I have a lot of woodcarving experience I thought that this particular carving in-the-round might be a little too much for a beginner carver so I suggested that he do a "flat" relief carving which I felt would produce a more successful pirate that Alex would appreciate. Using a 1" thick piece of pine Alex started out doing some basic cuts on the face that I helped him sketch out but during his second woodshop class he decided to work on his pirate with the woodburning pens. By this time he was well on the way with his creation and didn't need much help or guidance after he had a good grasp on how he was going to bring his pirate to life. As you can see from the top picture Alex added a hilarious hairy chest using some felt that he pulled apart, then "fluffed" up, glued and painted it on the chest area. He also added a red beard with the same red felt that he didn't paint. Absolutely a wonderful project!

These were only two projects that came out of the woodshop this session and there were many others. Woodshop class is a great opportunity that our students are fortunate to have and this experience greatly compliments their other studies while at the same time it allows them to let their minds wander into the world of creation. While our school greatly values and understands how powerful a hands-on woodshop program can be to a students overall complete education, it's sad to see a trend in today's schools that doesn't seem to comprehend this need in kids to build things with their hands. Personally I can't imagine an education being complete where their is no opportunity to see, design, to hammer & saw, and build things by hand. Woodshop builds more than boxes, birdhouses, and cabinets... it builds character. And that is what will count in the long run.

Sleeping Well & Teaching 120 Students Each Week

These days a good nights sleep doesn't come as easy as it used to when I was a teen or even twenty-something. Don't get me wrong because I believe that I sleep pretty good considering my aging body because for the most part I eat whole grains, plenty of veggies, and I've been consistenly getting plenty of aerobic exercise since before Dr. Cooper coined the "aerobics" word about 30-something years ago. In addition to these good life practices the last piece to the puzzle of getting a good nights sleep lies in setting high expectations for my students.

As a woodshop teacher I have approximately 60 students each week pass through my woodshop and I also have another 60 students attend my Boy Scout classes in the same week where I teach anything Scout related from tying knots, survival skills, merit badge classes, woodcarving, you-name-it. And with 120 students in my classes each week I don't have time to feel bad, even when I do. My goal each day lies solely with providing each individual student with an above average educational opportunity.

In 1986 I learned first hand about setting high expectations in the classroom. I was participating in a 28 day course with a particular school to learn some new skills for which I paid a tuition of about $1,500.00. One of my instructors was only hitting on about 4 out of 6 cylinders and obviously wasn't giving his teaching opportunity a hundred percent. This was his last course with this particular school so he was on cruise control. Fortunately his younger and more vibrant co-instructor also sensed the situation and she really worked hard to be sure that all of us students got the quality high-level educational experience that we expected.

As a teacher I have often reflected back on that experience when I'm in the classroom trying to figure out how to deliver a lesson in a way that will impact young lives in a positive way. My students don't have to care if I feel bad or if I might be experiencing some emotional challenge in my own life on any certain day, although it's nice when they do offer a kind comment of concern to me. No matter what the situation I feel a strong sense of delivering the educational experience that they deserve no matter what's going on with my own life. Yes, I'm only human and once in a while I'm gonna have a bad day no matter what but reflecting back on my own experience more than 20-something years ago usually makes my day a little better when I remind myself about how important each of my students are.

Yeah, any way that you look at it teaching is plain hard work and especially so when 120 students are depending on you to deliver every week. So how can all this help me to get a sound sleep every single night when it seems like I should be worrying? Good question. My answer lies solely in knowing that I did all that I could to provide my students with the rich and dynamic hands-on learning experience that they deserve... something that perhaps one day they can reflect back upon in a positive way. Today was one of those good days and after a 13 mile bicycle workout, yes... I will sleep well tonight!