Woodcarving: A Foundation Course

by John Yates (Illustrator), Zoe Gertner (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1998

  $3.75

  Create beautiful, expressive carvings, with clean textures and fine coloring. Pore through the oversized, brilliantly, colored pages of the most precise guide anywhere to absorb years' worth of woodworking knowledge. Understand how to exploit the beauty already inherent in the wood -- to work with, not against, the grain. Close-up diagrams illustrate the cellular properties of soft and hard woods, their rays, resin canals, and vessels. Check for serious flaws that can doom your work, and learn to conceal minor ones. Season and store pieces correctly, so they remain in good shape. Establish a starter kit of carving tools and an environment in which to maintain them and work safely. Special project sections cover drawing preliminary sketches, carving in the round; lettering, relief carving; simple and advanced hollowing; carving sitting, standing, and detailed figures; using contrasts; deep relief and undercutting; and carving compositions. Make a small round hedgehog using simple texturing and finishing, and a long-beaked heron with relief carving. Hollow out wood and watch a graceful and unusually shaped bowl emerge. Capture the look of straw and basketwork through carving. A three-dimensional shell, and a plethora of animal and human bodies round out the 10 projects.