What is a good first carving project for a beginner?

As a beginner, what carving project should I start with?-First-Time Basic Carvings

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Which carving is good for a beginner?

Starting wood carving is pretty easy. 

Every summer, I lived with my grandparents in a small village by the Volga river in Russia. I remember being six years old. I snuck into my grandfather's workshop and saw a woodworking chisel. I didn't know what the tool was, but I saw it had a sharp edge and guessed I could cut something with it. To make a long story short, it was the start of my journey in carving. I didn't carve wood that day. I found a white brick and started chiseling. I had no idea what I was carving. I just enjoyed doing it. By the end of the day, I could see a human face in that brick. I don't really remember what I felt, joy or frustration, but I know now it was the start of my lifelong journey as a carver.

After that, I tried to work with a piece of wood and liked it a lot more than brick. I made the decision. I will carve wood and no longer the brick!

I didn't know anything about different kinds of wood or wood carving. How do chip carving and relief carving differ? All those complicated terms confused me. I wasn't familiar with the basics of wood carving.

I was very blessed with both sides of my family. My grandfather had a small shop and a couple of workbenches, and I could spend time with him and watch how he worked. For him, his shop was a “hiding place” from his wife, my grandmother. But obviously, she knew where to find him.On my dad's side, there's a long history of talented woodworkers and furniture makers. One of my great-grandfathers made furniture for a royal house in Saint Petersburg, Russia.My Grandma talked about her childhood in her father's woodworking shop.

She remembered her father's songs. He sang while working with wood.I got my first chisel from my grandfather and my first whittling knife from my grandmother. It wasn't actually a whittling knife; it was a pocket knife from the USSR. Pocket knives are good for basic carving. Those two tools were my carving tools. I didn't have a gouge or any power tools. Not even a proper chip carving knife. A simple pocket knife can create something beautiful.

Back in the day, I didn't know woodcarving would be such a big part of my life. Now, I carve for collectors all over the world and private homes. I never thought woodcarving could be so satisfying.

As a beginner, what carving project should I start with?

What should I carve as a beginner?

Ponder on what attracts you more: a spoon or relief carvings. Sometimes a beginner doesn't realize how big the difference is between carving a wooden spoon and carving some 3-dimensional sculpture with a gouge and a mallet. Also known as carving in the round.

Nature itself functions by the ongoing interaction of opposites—earth and fire, sun and moon, male and female, dark and light. 

(Based on Robert Greene, Mastery)

 

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I'm starting my first carving project. What should I do?

Reflect on another significant question. What is my favorite carving style? But this is not the only question you have to ask yourself. Another question to think about is: what tools do you own? Do you have basic wood carving tools or just a knife? Some of you might only have a chainsaw :). You can carve with a chainsaw but not a spoon.

I suggest trying out different carving styles. Once more, what hand tools do you own? If all you have is a chip carving knife, you can't carve a spoon, but you can carve other items.

 

Dopamine acts like transmission fluid: without enough of it, as seen in folks with ADHD, switching attention is hard or it jumps straight to high gear.

(John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman, Spark)

Dopamine in woodcarving is like oil for your carving tools: if there’s not enough, like those with ADHD, your focus can either get stuck or suddenly become very sharp.

WOODCARVING – As a beginner, what carving project should I start with?-First-Time Basic Carvings

Here is a List of some ideas:

• Making wooden spoons
• Old European Knife Carving
• Relief Carving
• Carving in the round
• Bird and Fish Carving

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