What’s a good first carving project for me as an amateur?-Simple Sculpting Ideas for New Carvers

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As a beginner, what carving should I start with?

Starting wood carving is pretty easy. 

Every summer, I spent time with my grandparents in a small village by the Volga river in Russia. I recall when I was six years old. I sneaked into my grandfather’s workshop and saw a woodworking chisel. I didn’t know what the tool was, but I noticed it had a cutting edge and figured 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, though. I found a white brick and began to “chisel away”. I had no clue what I was carving. I just enjoyed it. By the end of the day, I could identify a human face in that brick. I don’t remember if I felt joy or frustration, but I know now it was the beginning of my lifelong journey as a carver.

Then, I worked with wood and preferred it over brick. I decided. I’ll carve wood, not brick!

I was unaware of the various types of wood and wood carving techniques. What sets chip carving apart from relief carving? All those technical words were hard for me to understand. I was unaware of the fundamental concepts 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.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 Grandma shared stories about her childhood in her dad’s woodworking shop.

She recalled her father singing songs. He was singing while working with 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.

I didn’t realize back then that woodcarving would become so important to me. Today, I carve for collectors worldwide and private residences. I had no clue woodcarving could be this rewarding.

What’s a good first carving project for me as an amateur?

What should I carve as a beginner?

Think about what you like more: 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 works through the constant interaction of opposites—earth and fire, sun and moon, male and female, dark and light. 

(Based on Robert Greene, Mastery)

 

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My first carving project: what should I do?

Ask another important question. What style of carving do I like? However, this isn’t the only question to ask. Another question to consider is: what tools do you possess? Do you have basic wood carving tools or only a knife? Some folks only have a chainsaw :). Chainsaw carving is possible but not spoon carving.

My recommendation is to try various 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 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, similar to people with ADHD, your focus can either freeze or suddenly become intensely focused.

WOODCARVING – What’s a good first carving project for me as an amateur?-Simple Sculpting Ideas for New Carvers

Here is a List of some ideas:

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

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