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. 

Cross Carving

Months have passed since my last post on this blog but that doesn't mean I have not been busy creating art. Much of my time has been working with my students who are now finished with school. It has been a good year working with them and seeing all of the wonderful talent these young people produce. Lots of good kids and of course lots of challenging kids but I love both groups. 

This carving was done from a solid chunk of maple, the grain going every which way making it difficult to cut correctly. It was definitely a piece of perseverance! Near the beginning of the project I almost gave it up. The rough look of the tooling was left which fits the theme of the crucifixion. The crucifixition was real, brutal and took place in human history. To Christians the crucifixition is Christ defeating death and sin. Evil threw its worst at Jesus resulting in a humiliating death only to be absorbed and transformed into salvation for mankind. What a story! 

I wanted the work to have an abstract and symbolic quality so people could see the scene with a fresh eye. The construction was methodical with a plan of approach for each carving session much of it being done at school with my students. It was a pleasure to have my students watch and ask questions as I worked, sparking many good conversations, questions about life and meaning. 

I plan on doing more work such as.