What should I try carving first as a beginner?

What would be an appropriate carving project for me with no prior experience?-First-Time Basic Carvings

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For a beginner, what carving should I try first?

Starting with wood carving isn't tough. 

Each 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 saw it had a sharp edge and thought I could cut something with it. To cut a long story short, it was the beginning of my carving journey. I didn't carve wood that day, though. I found a white brick and started to chisel. I 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 if I felt joy or frustration, but I know now it was the start of my lifelong journey as a carver.

Following that, I used wood and liked it way more than brick. I decided. Wood carving is for me, no more brick!

I knew nothing about types of wood or about different types of wood carving. What the difference is between chip carving and relief carving? I found all those fancy terms very confusing. I wasn't familiar with the 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.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 Grandmother told me 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.My grandfather gave me my first chisel, and my grandmother gave me my first whittling knife. Actually, it was a pocket knife from the USSR, not a whittling knife. Pocket knives are good for simple carving. Those were my carving tools. I didn't have a gouge or any power tools. Not even a real chip carving knife. A basic pocket knife is enough to 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 would be an appropriate carving project for me with no prior experience?

What should I carve as a beginner?

Decide what you find more interesting: a spoon or relief carvings. New carvers often don't realize the huge 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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What should I do for my first carving project?

Ponder another vital question. What carving style do I enjoy? However, this isn't the only question to ask. Another question to ask is: what tools are at your disposal? Do you own 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 advise experimenting with various 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 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 oil for your carving tools: without enough, like people with ADHD, your focus can get stuck or suddenly become intensely focused.

WOODCARVING – What would be an appropriate carving project for me with no prior experience?-First-Time Basic Carvings

Here is a List of some ideas:

• Hand-carving spoons
• Old European Knife Carving
• Relief Carving
• Carving in the round
• Bird and Fish Carving

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