WIP: "Corn Cob Carter" - Another Scrap Stick Carving-Part 2-(Final)

WIP= "Work in Progress"

 Lately I've been involved with a lot of projects so my old friend "Corn Cob Carter" got put on the back burner for a while, but finally the old man has come to life and what an interesting character he is.

As seen in the picture to the left I just caught glimpse of him in an early spring patch of wild onions just at the base of his mountain. Just yesterday morning Carter was out from his hole-in-the-tree during a brief warm moment to catch a peek at the early spring  green. But unlike Punxsutawney Phil, Carter didn't return to his hole declaring another six weeks of winter but instead just gazed at the few green plants of spring with the hope that winter is finally gone.

This North Carolina winter was so long and hard that Carter actually ran out of his wonderful corn grain and had to compete with the squirrels and deer for wild acorns. He is now anxious to get his corn planted because that alone is what makes him strong, bold, and happy.

In the first posting of Carter you might recall that I had only sketched him out, then just briefly began the carving of his corn-cob head. Well, you might say that he has really "sprouted" into full-bloom since then and is now happily living in his tree hole.

As seen in the pictures to the right, after roughly beginning the corn-cob head I then went on to sketching on and carving his puffy little face. For some reason the big lips of Fat Lips Bill seemed to linger on with this carving.

After finishing up the face I then went on to burn in the kernels of corn into his cobby forehead. This is the part that I was looking forward to since I've never incorporated corn into any of my carving projects and using the woodburner is always a very fun way to compliment a carving.

The burning went well but I had to lightly sand it down just a bit with 220 grit since the initial burning is usually too strong and leaves behind  some rough hanging particles that don't help the carving at all.

I also liked the way that the husks "enclosed" the corn which almost gave good old Carter a sort-of bunny rabbit look. Also if you look at the pictures above before the burning I was also amazed at how similar these husks looked like a flower such as a tulip. This gave me the idea of perhaps experimenting with carving some sort of flowers as part of a future carving. It's amazing how one thing in carving a project can be the catalyst for another whole direction which certainly makes carving one of the greatest life adventures!

After burning I then went on to mix up my acrylic paints for adding the final color tones. All of my paints were watered down with water to one degree or another until I achieved the correct tone.

Although Carter thinks that he lives in a fine tree hole in the forest he actually sits proudly with his other scrap-stick friends on the shelf in my living room and that is where he should remain happy for the rest of his cheery life.

Carter was a lot of fun to dream up and then carve but I'm not sure just yet what whimsical character that I must carve next to be his new neighbor.