What are some easy things to carve for a beginner?

Can I get a suggestion for a basic carving project suitable for beginners?-Basic Carving Projects for Newbies

Join School of Wood Carving


 

For a beginner, what carving should I try first?

Wood carving isn't difficult to get into. 

Every summer I stayed with my grandparents in a small Russian village by the Volga river. I recall being six. I sneaked into my grandfather's workshop and found a woodworking chisel. I didn't know what the tool was, but I knew it had a cutting edge and I could probably 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 to chisel. I had no clue what I was carving. I simply enjoyed the process. At the end of the day, I saw a human face in that brick. I don't remember if I felt joy or frustration, but I know now it was the start of my lifelong journey as a carver.

Later, I tried wood and liked it much more than brick. I made up my mind. I will carve wood instead of brick!

I was clueless about wood types and wood carving methods. How do chip carving and relief carving differ? All those technical words were hard for me to understand. I lacked any basic understanding of wood carving.

I felt very fortunate with both sides of my family. My grandfather owned a small shop and a couple of workbenches, and I could spend time with him and watch him work. For him, his shop was a “hiding place” from his wife, my grandmother. But naturally, she knew where to find him.The other side of my family, my father's side, is known for their skill in woodworking and furniture making. A great-grandfather of mine was a furniture maker for a royal house in Saint Petersburg, Russia.My Grandmother shared stories of her childhood in her father's woodworking shop.

She remembered the tunes her dad sang. He sang while he worked with the wood.So, I got my first chisel from my grandfather, but my first whittling knife from my grandmother. Well, it was not really a whittling knife it was a pocket knife made in the USSR. Pocket knives are good for basic carving. Those two tools were my carving tools. I did not have any gouge or any power tools. Not even a real chip carving knife. A simple pocket knife to create something beautiful is enough.

Back then, I didn't know woodcarving would be so significant in my life. Today, I carve for collectors around the globe and private homes. I didn't realize woodcarving could be so rewarding.

Can I get a suggestion for a basic carving project suitable for beginners?

What is a good carving project for a beginner?

Ask yourself first what is more appealing to you: 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 operates through the steady interplay of opposites—earth and fire, sun and moon, male and female, dark and light. 

(Based on Robert Greene, Mastery)

 

Join School of Wood Carving

How do I start my first carving project?

Consider another crucial question. What carving style do I prefer? Yet, this isn't the only question to consider. Another question to think about is: what tools do you own? Do you have basic wood carving tools or only a knife? Some of you might only have a chainsaw :). You can do a chainsaw carving but with a chainsaw, you can't carve a spoon.

I suggest trying out different carving styles. Remember, what hand tools do you have? If you only have a chip carving knife, spoon carving is out, but you can still carve other things.

 

Dopamine works like transmission fluid: if there’s not enough, as is the case in people with ADHD, attention can’t easily be shifted or can only be shifted all the way into high gear.

(John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman, Spark)

Dopamine in woodcarving is like oil for your carving tools: without enough, just like those with ADHD, your focus can either get stuck or suddenly become intensely sharp.

WOODCARVING – Can I get a suggestion for a basic carving project suitable for beginners?-Basic Carving Projects for Newbies

Here is a List of some ideas:

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

Join School of Wood Carving