New Cottonwood Bark Carvings

A couple new bark carvings. I tried a new finish, boot cream polish. It does not darken the bark, but seems to seal it well.

Wally

Finished up Wally with a light coat of polyurethane. He is carved from walnut and measures 14 1/2" long, 4" wide and 3" thick.

Update On the Walnut Wood Spirit

Gave the new guy a haircut and beard trim, with the band saw. Then back to more mallet work to shape the flow of the hair.

Walnut Wood Spirit

I started a new carving yesterday, in walnut. If you have never carved walnut, let me tell you it is hard. It is all mallet and chisel work, so far.

Knothead

Meet Knothead, he is carved from a half log of catalpa. He measures 15 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 3".  I finished him by applying a liberal coat of polyurethane, and wiping off the excess with paper towels. I used a small dry brush to remove the excess in small areas where the polyurethane would pool. This allows a nice finish without the shine.

Wood Spirit in Catalpa

Started a new wood spirit this week. This one is carved from a half log of catalpa. Still a lot of work to do on this one.

Cedar Woodspirit

This guy started out as half of a log of cedar. I started on him last October while demonstrating  at Shoal Creek Living History Museum. Finally got around to finishing him. He measures 13" by 7" x 4" thick. I applied one coat of polyurethane and wiped off the excess.