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. :)
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