What should I carve to practice my skills as a beginner?-Beginner’s First Carving Tasks

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What’s a good carving project for a beginner?

Starting wood carving is pretty easy. 

Every summer, I stayed with my grandparents in a small village by the Volga river in Russia. I remember when I was six. I sneaked into my grandfather’s workshop and discovered 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 beginning of my journey in the world of carving. I didn’t carve wood that day, though. I found a white brick and started chiseling. I really had no idea what I was carving. I just enjoyed it. At the end of the day, I saw a human face in that brick. I don’t remember what 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 had no idea about the types of wood or the different styles of wood carving. What’s the difference between chip carving and relief carving? I found all those fancy terms very confusing. I did not know any wood carving basics.

I felt 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 she knew where to find him.My father’s side of the family has a history of skilled woodworkers and furniture makers. One of my great-grandfathers crafted furniture for a royal house in Saint Petersburg, Russia.My Grandmother shared stories of her childhood in her father’s woodworking shop.

She recalled the songs her father used to sing. He was singing 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 then I didn’t know that woodcarving would be one of the most important parts of my life. Now I am carving for collectors around the world and private residences. I did not know that woodcarving could be such a rewarding hobby.

What should I carve to practice my skills as a beginner?

What should I carve as a beginner?

Ask yourself first what is more appealing to you: a spoon or relief carvings. Often, beginners don’t see the big difference between carving a wooden spoon and carving a 3-dimensional sculpture with a gouge and a mallet. This is also called 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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Starting my first carving project. What steps should I take?

Ponder another vital question. What carving style do I enjoy? However, this isn’t the only question to ask. Another question is: what tools do you have? Do you have basic wood carving tools or just a knife? Some of you have only a chainsaw :). You can do a chainsaw carving but with a chainsaw, you can’t carve a spoon.

I advise experimenting with various carving styles. Remember, what hand tools do you have? With just a chip carving knife, spoon carving isn’t possible, but other carvings are.

 

Dopamine operates like transmission fluid: if there’s a shortage, as with ADHD, attention shifting is difficult or jumps right 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 – What should I carve to practice my skills as a beginner?-Beginner’s First Carving Tasks

Here is a List of some ideas:

• Creating spoons from wood
• Old European Knife Carving
• Relief Carving
• Carving in the round
• Bird and Fish Carving

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