What should I carve as a beginner?
Which carving project would be easy for me as a first-timer?-Starter Woodcarving Tips

What's a good carving project for a beginner?
It's not hard to begin wood carving.
Every summer I stayed with my grandparents in a small Russian village by the Volga river. I remember when I was six years old. 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 sharp 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 to “chisel away”. I really didn't know what I was carving. I just enjoyed doing it. By 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 beginning of my lifelong journey as a carver.
Next, I used wood and found it better than brick. I chose. Carving wood is my new thing, not brick!
I knew nothing about types of wood or about different types of wood carving. How are chip carving and relief carving different? All those technical words were hard for me to understand. 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.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 talked about her childhood in her father's woodworking shop.
She remembered her father's songs. He was singing while working with 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.
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.
Which carving project would be easy for me as a first-timer?
What should I carve as a beginner?
Consider what you prefer: a spoon or relief carvings. Beginners sometimes don't notice how different it is to carve a wooden spoon compared to 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)
Join School of Wood Carving
Starting my first carving project. What steps should I take?
Ask another important question. What style of carving do I like? However, this isn't the only question to ask. Another question to ask is: what tools are at your disposal? Do you have basic wood carving tools or just a knife? Some of you have only a chainsaw :). You can carve with a chainsaw but not a spoon.
I suggest trying out different carving styles. Once more, what hand tools do you own? If you only have a chip carving knife, spoon carving is out, but you can still carve other things.
Dopamine is like transmission fluid: not enough of it, as in those with ADHD, makes it hard to shift attention or it jumps 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 – Which carving project would be easy for me as a first-timer?-Starter Woodcarving Tips
Here is a List of some ideas:
- Hand-carving spoons
- Old European Knife Carving
- Relief Carving
- Carving in the round
- Bird and Fish Carving
