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.