Native American Chief

Trying out a new supplier of cottonwood bark, this bark is from North Dakota. This piece has some tight grain and held the detail well. Also, has a great color. It was finished with a light coat of water based polyurethane matte varnish. Available for purchase at my Etsy store.

 Native American War Chief Wood Carving

Urban Woodsman Event

Our carving group was invited to carve at this year's event at the Anita Gorman Conservation Discovery Center in Kansas City MO. There were numerous presentations for the public to view and participate in. We spent the day demonstrating, visiting and answering questions with the public. There were 300 visitors that attended the event. It is a great facility. If you are in the area, you should plan on visiting. Hopefully, we get invited back to next year's event.

My great niece and nephew.

Carving a Happy Santa in Cottonwood Bark

This cottonwood bark can be addictive. This one was a lot of fun to carve. I don't like to paint my carvings, I prefer a natural finish so the grain will show. However, Christmas is one exception. When I do want to add color, I first seal the carving with a light coat of lacquer. I use a 'wash' of color by thinning acrylic paint with water, this still allows for some of the grain to show. I apply a couple light coats of lacquer over the carved area. I prefer this look. I think using a lot of paint creates a plastic or ceramic look, and after all this is wood!

.pai

Carving a Native American in Cottonwood Bark

I carved this Chief from a piece of Montana cottonwood bark. The photos are pretty self explanatory. Just remember when you are carving any face, to start with the nose. The nose sticks out farthest on the face. So you need to remove wood on the face to bring the nose forward. A lot of carvers don't do this, and end up with a flat nose.