What should I carve to practice my skills as a beginner?-Simple Carving Ideas for Beginners

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For a beginner, what carving should I try first?

It's not hard to begin wood carving. 

Each summer, I visited my grandparents in a tiny Russian village near the Volga river. I remember when I was six. I snuck inside my grandfather's workshop, and I found one woodworking chisel. I didn't know what the tool was, but I knew it had a cutting edge and thought I could 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. I found a white brick and started to chisel. I had no idea what I was carving. I just enjoyed doing it. At the end of the day, I could identify 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.

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 unaware of the various types of wood and wood carving techniques. How are chip carving and relief carving different? All those complicated terms confused me. I didn't know any basics of wood carving.

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.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 recalled the songs her father used to sing. He sang while working with wood.My grandfather gave me my first chisel, and my grandmother gave me my first whittling knife. It was really a pocket knife from the USSR, not a whittling knife. Pocket knives work well 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 is enough to make 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?

Ponder on what attracts you more: a spoon or relief carvings. Many times, beginners don't understand the big difference between carving a wooden spoon and carving a 3D sculpture with a gouge and a mallet. This is also known as carving in the round.

Nature itself acts through the constant balance 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 is: what tools are available to you? Do you have basic carving tools or only a knife? Some of you might only have a chainsaw :). You can carve with a chainsaw, but not a spoon.

My advice would be to experiment with different styles. Think about it, what hand tools do you have? If all you have is a chip carving knife, you can't carve a spoon, but you can carve other items.

 

Dopamine behaves like transmission fluid: when it’s low, as in ADHD, attention can’t shift easily or it skips to high gear.

(John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman, Spark)

Dopamine in woodcarving is like the oil for your carving tools: if there’s not enough, similar to individuals with ADHD, your focus can either get stuck or suddenly jump to intense concentration.

WOODCARVING – What should I carve to practice my skills as a beginner?-Simple Carving Ideas for Beginners

Here is a List of some ideas:

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

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