Bernard Queneau: 98 Year Old Eagle Scout

It's not every day that you get to meet a man who was working on his Eagle Scout rank way back in 1928 but here's a video that will open up that window for us. Mr. Queneau talks about winning a contest as an Eagle Scout and being selected to travel 7,000 miles across America at a time when there weren't any Interstate Highways. He was part of a 4-boy team leading exhibitions on safety, first-aid, making fire by friction, and other Boy Scout related topics.

Mr. Queneau later became a Commander in the United States Navy, earned a PHd in engineering, and was in charge of quality control at U.S. Steel Corp. He says that he owes a lot of his success to his early Boy Scouting experiences, especially when it comes to being "truthful" and "working hard" for what you have. Today we live in a much different culture where more and more people depend on anything other than their own hard work to succeed. It's nice to be reminded about some of the values that led America to producing the largest middle class in the history of the world. I sure hope that we can hold on to these indispensable values in an ever-changing world that appears to be headed into the opposite direction.

WIP: Forked Branch Carving: Meet "Herbert Sherbert" (Part 1 of 2)

WIP= "Work in Progress"

Here's one of the funnest little projects that I've worked on this year and it's been "ongoing" for a full month now. Thank goodness it's almost finished and the picture to the left shows exactly where I am with it right now.

What is it you ask? Good question because I've completely made it up as I went and this little fellow has evolved into quite the character. For beginners his name is "Herbert Sherbert" because I was looking for something to rhyme with Herbert when one of the kids suggested "Sherbet" and to paint his hair a bright and crazy color. I wanted Herbert to be a bright, happy, and cheerful fellow so that name sounded good to me.

I began this little mortise & tenon carving project by first cutting a nice three-prong rhododendron branch that was well seasoned. As seen in the pictures to the right those two outer branches looked like outstretched arms to me and that's all that my mind needed to get going. The center branch was a bit too narrow to make a good head so I decided to strip the outer bark away then made the stem perfectly round. I was thinking that I could use it as a tenon to hold an enlarged head securely in place.

As the pictures just below show, I then used a 1" diameter maple branch for the head by first drilling a 3/8" mortise which would tightly fit my tenon. With a little wood glue I then placed it onto the body for a snug fit.

 After the head was securely attached I then went on to drill the holes for the eyes, nose, and ears. I'll post the remaining photos and the finished "Herbert Sherbert" just as soon as I can finish him.

WIP: Indian From Core Of Red Cedar (part 2 of 2)

WIP="Work in Progress"
A few weeks ago I began carving an Indian warrior inside a very nice piece of eastern red cedar where part one can be found here. I carried it around everywhere I went for several days and continued carving on it whenever I could.

As you can see from the picture to the right as it sits on the steps of my house this warrior is now finished. Standing 9" tall with a 2" diameter it isn't too overwhelming and will draw just the right amount of attention from its place on the showcase shelf where it will remain, unless... someone pulls out a hundred dollar bill. (Ha) Don't laugh too hard because that's exactly what happened about ten years ago when I finished a very similarly carved Indian in a piece of red cedar. I told the kind lady that it wasn't for sale because I really liked it and wanted to hang on to it. She then proceeded to pull out a one hundred dollar bill when I then told her that I could "learn" to live without it.

 The carving went very well as red cedar is mostly a pleasure to carve. I used my Flexcut Carvin' Jack the most but I resorted to my macro tools for some of the finer detailing and hard to reach areas.

When the Indian was finished I then decided to add a Thunderbird just above his head as seen in the pictures to the left. This was a simple and very shallow low-relief carving because I wanted only the creamy white "surface" wood to show. I then went on to burn in some outlining of the design then added some very watered down acrylic paints for a touch of color.

The final finish consisted of a light sanding then a couple coats of gloss polyurethane. Only the face of the Indian, the Thunderbird, and the very top of the wood received the high gloss. I only hand rubbed a dull polyurethane finish into the surrounding wood for a "complete" seal and a nice contrast.

This one's not for sale at any price!
Well.......maybe I'll think about it if some kind soul just happens to pull out a hundred dollar bill. :)

Learning To Carve: My Story

Learning to carve takes me back several decades when I was in elementary school. Remember those kid's in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade who were "revered" for their ability to draw great pictures during art class? Besides producing great pictures they always got special recognition from the teacher and everyone in the class. Even more than producing great art I believe that I envied their positive attention which became a motivator. Kids are no different today where positive attention for excellent work is a very strong motivation to succeed.

I noticed that the kid's (usually only one in the class) who produced that great art were the one's who were always drawing. I'm talking all the time. One kid named Dan Roper especially comes to mind. They had the best decorated 3-ring binder notebooks, they doodled during class... they were always drawing on request for everyone and it seemed like the pencil was glued to their hand at every opportune moment.

I believe that this early experience taught me that the only way to get better at something was to do it all the time. To get better I know that I have to carve something every single day. That's the reason I wear pants with cargo pockets so that I can have a small project with me 24/7... OK, I do take my pants off for bedtime, but they're only 3 feet away at any given moment. My Carvin' Jack (by FlexCut) is also always on my belt loop so I’m always on “go”.

Back in the early 1990's I wanted to stretch my ability to the next level so I became obsessed with learning to carve face's... mainly woodspirit faces. I literally studied the people around me with a laser beam focus (and I continue to do so today). Whenever I'm talking to someone my brain is also absorbing a lot of information about how their nose is shaped and its relation to their eyes and forehead, the unique form in their lips, their eyes in relation to their nose, etc. I am truly obsessed with learning and EVERYONE is my teacher. I've actually become pretty good at carrying on a conversation while simultaneously absorbing a lot of facial structural information then tucking it away somewhere in my brain for future reference. That's really how I've gotten better at what I do because there's a lot more to it than just reading how-to carving books. You must engage your brain in real life.

As for woodspirit walking sticks, I recall having to carve over 30 of them before I was finally satisfied with trying to sell them. They weren't bad sticks and I loved them but I still needed to improve. I gave them all away and remember jokingly telling the happy recipient that it was only a "B" stick. But the day came when I was finally satisfied and knew that I deserved to be financially compensated. I continue to refine my own unique brand of carving but I never want to feel like I have "arrived". I continue to be obsessed with learning more and being obsessed has a lot to do with it for me.

 When I successfully hiked 2,565 miles in 2001, Mexico to Canada, on the Pacific Crest Trail I became obsessed with ultra-light camping methods and pack weight reduction. The base weight of my pack was only 9.2 pounds and that's the main reason that I made it all the way in only 109 days. Same goes for learning to carve because you WILL learn how to carve if you become obsessed with learning how and never quit looking for your own answers. If you want something bad enough then you WILL find a way to get there. Several decades ago I wanted to be a good wood carver more than anything so I kept at it almost every single day for years.

Looking back to those early experiences in elementary school I know that I learned a lot about how to obsess myself with learning something new. Then I was motivated by all the positive recognition from teacher's and peer's, but today I am doubly rewarded with extra dollars in sales and even my career has been centered around teaching kid's to carve and work with wood every day in woodshop  and Scouting classes.

So how long did it take me to get what I consider good? All in all I'd have to say that it's been a lifetime experience and that I've always found ways to push myself from one level to the next... AND I always carve something, no matter how simple, every single day! If you do that then you will greatly improve your ability to carve great things tenfold.

Hands-On Pictures Of Rural America from 1939-1943

 I just came across an amazing collection of color photography from an era in American history when life was tougher, but in a lot of ways life was much better than today:
Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943 – Plog Photo Blog

The pictures found at the link above are special because they are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America’s rural and small town populations. I didn't even realize that color photography was around during this period in time but after a little research I was amazed to discover that the first color photograph was taken in 1861. Apparently it never took off on a massive scale since the color process was not as "convenient" as our digital photography today and certainly not as affordable. Thank goodness that someone was able to capture at least a few glimpses into the past that help us understand a time gone by.

Kodachrome color transparencies  first came onto the scene during the mid 1930's from which most of these pictures were taken. Kodachrome offered the most highly developed process for recording our world for about 74 years but unfortunately it has not been produced since 2009 with the advent of the digital age taking hold. Kodachrome 64 was my  choice for recording the events in my own life for over 27 of those years and I still have thousands of these quality color transparencies today. Digital is hard to beat these days in both value and quality so a great warrior known as Kodachrome is now gone. Kodachrome was the "digital" quality of the day and viewing these pictures can easily fool your eye into believing that they are digital... they are that clear.

Of course my favorite pictures from this rare and magnificent collection are those where the kids are making things with their hands. I have posted two lower quality prints here from that collection but you need to see them at the link provided for their full glory and vivid detail. The first picture posted above (on top) is number 29 in the collection and shows a boy building a model airplane as a girl watches in Robstown, Texas, January 1942. The other picture just above is number 42 which shows children aiming sticks as guns, lined up against a brick building. Washington, D.C.(?), between 1941 and 1942.

Pictures from my own family's  past  have been know to capture my attention for many hours at a time as I scan every detail. I especially enjoy studying the pictures of my own great-grandparents as they were during a time that I never knew, but sadly there aren't many of them. Every detail of that person and their surroundings seems to release a new clue to understanding my own past every time that I zoom into their hidden stories. All of these pictures are "black & white" which have their own charm but to see a quality color picture shows us the world more "as it was" and that's what makes the pictures in this rare 1939-1943 collection so special.

The b&w picture to the left (still no color) shows my two best friends, Scott and Van, (me in the center/9 years old) stretching out a snake for the camera. I like this picture because even in the mid-1960's when this picture was taken, most of the kids spent their days outdoors and/or in the woods and we were barefooted 99% of the time (as in the picture) during our 3-month summer vacation between grades. We'd never heard of "Air Jordans" and would have laughed at the prospect of our parents foolishly forking over $200 for a pair of shoes when we had our own feet to use. In the background can be seen laundry hanging out to dry in the sun... folks don't have time for that today because our societal priorities have been rearranged. Seems most parents now believe that it's more important for their kids to have Air Jordans on their feet while they play their video games indoors than it is to have a parent home hanging out the laundry.

All of the pictures in this collection are striking and I was amazed at how lean and tough that these people looked. Obviously they were from an era where more people lived on farms, grew or raised their own food, and had neighbors that they depended upon for their very survival. Notice that so many of the children were barefooted in the pictures and I bet they didn't feel the least bit deprived without a $200 pair of designer shoes. This was a time of mostly no running water, one room school houses, and no free meals at school. This was a proud, tough America where people provided for their own. Yes they were poor but most children from that era today would tell you that they never knew they were poor. It was a time where nearly every kid, both black and white,  came home every day to a mother and a father and that has become the exception in today's world. As one  commenter so perfectly said, "It was a Real America. Not a hypocrisy, as now."

It's great to know (and to see in living detailed color) that kids were busy using their hands to make things so many years ago. Technology is a great thing but I often wonder where you could find a group of kids like in the second picture above out playing with their sticks and play guns today? Some folks say that there is more "hope" to be found in the future but the future means nothing if we forget the past.

And Even More "Hillbilly Pencils"

Sometimes I just can't too much of a good thing and this is one of those moments when it comes to carving hillbilly pencils. Several days ago I posted all the details of how I make them here, but since then I've pumped out a few more that I thought I'd share.

From left to right in the picture to the right is what I consider to be a worm going into the wood on one side then coming out on the other side. Although it's hard to see in the picture I did wood burn a tiny face on him. The next one is the lips and tongue design for the Rolling Stones. That one has become quite popular since it's so bizarre. Oh, and there's that darn roadrunner again. Lastly is a little wizard man with his tall blue hat with a red ball on top.

In the picture to the left are a few of the unpainted pencils from above AND a few more that I'm still working on. One is a rooster and another one is my version of a coo-coo bird.

These easy little pencil carving projects make great gifts or collectibles. Right now I'm already thinking about making a simple display stand to show them off. Perhaps a foot long piece of 2 X 2 would work just fine but I'll probably go with using a straight piece of seasoned tree branch with the bottom planed flat. The natural design would go much better with this rustic wood-themed carving project.

Meet "Swamp Man Sam" (A Cypress Knee Project)

Here's a neat little cypress knee that I picked up last week then finished painting it this weekend. It's about 10" tall and these smaller knees are the ones that I like best for carving. It's a convenient size for tucking inside a cargo pocket then pulling it out whenever a moment to carve can be found. Like this one, cypress knees bring birth to some of my most hilarious carvings because you have to go with the wood which is quite a difference from your average "squared" basswood block.

If you look closely there is a little story being told by the carving. Ole Swamp Sam down below has got his swishy tongue ready and his beady eyes fixed on the little purple dotted lizard that is perched just above. It's quite a comical piece which has already brought many smiles. 

As you can see from the pictures above I first tried to take advantage of the knots, bumps, and free-form twists found naturally in the cypress knee. There was nothing planned out with this carving in the beginning and I just let the wood gradually find it's own story. I first began with the mouth where I made use of one "bump" of wood for shaping the tip of the tongue. After adding teeth and lips I then moved up the wood using a twisted section for its funky nose and then of course, those beady eyes. With a bit more thought I got the idea for the lizard and then the complete story came full-circle.

This was a fun carving project and if you haven't yet discovered the joys of carving cypress knees then you're in for a treat.

WIP: Indian From Core Of Red Cedar (part 1 of 2)

 WIP="Work in Progress"

Eastern red cedar has always been one of my favorite "found" woods for carving. Because of it's sharp contrast in colors between red and white, this is a very appealing wood for making everything from simple carved nameplates to making a jewelry chest. When I was a counselor the kids in my group valued its carving properties so much that they created their own monetary system using the wood as a valued trading item. Needless to say that we had to put a stop to that but it goes to show that eastern red cedar has always been a valued wood for carving.

I just recently re-found the piece of wood used for this project from where it had remained hidden for many years under a woodshop table. During a cleaning mission it was a great find so I decided that I'd put an Indian into it. Looking at the first pictures above you can see what a fantastic center of core red wood that this cedar had... just at the right proportion to white surface wood to make it ideal for an Indian warrior carving. This carving will only require a clear finish when completed because painting it would bring ruin.

For the most part I am very pleased with the results so far. With the Indian finished I then decided to add some supplemental surface carvings around the main carving and the Thunderbird is the first. I was careful not to go too deep because I will later lightly add some hints of color to this one and I only wanted the upper layer of white wood to show. Not sure what I'll do next but I'll let you know when I get there.