Sunday, March 20, 2016

Doing Some Bushcrafting Mixed with a Little Bit of Fine Art

I've been interested lately in wood sculpture of a different sort. On my many hikes I come across dead trees, lots of them. Why not harvest some of the wood for art? I admire "bushcrafters" for their amazing skill and use of natural materials. They are able to create objects such as spoons, bowls, kuskas (cups), and many other interesting items from wood and other materials. They use these in the field and camp. 
I made many of the pictured objects starting with my medium sized hatchet and then used a small Gransfors Bruks carving hatchet to bring the sculpture down to a workable shape, a shape that somewhat resembles a spoon, cup or whatever. The rest is completed using carving knives and gouges. I prefer to leave the "chiseled" look rather than sanding, although a few are sanded. I finish off the pieces with raw linseed and beeswax. That enhances and darkens the grain but does not really create a high polish. I'm still into the whole bushcraft art thing and will continue to make more interesting objects from claimed wood that I find. I think as I progress in the project the work will turn more into "fine art" sculpture. It seems to be a nice combination at the moment. Enjoy the pics. Most of the wood is mesquite and cedar. Other wood used is olive and cherry.