Some eye candy and, perhaps, some inspiration... Welcome!

Lots of fine work. I'm impressed. At some point, please share what your preferred woods and tools are.

I noticed some of your Maori style work. Very nice. Over the past few months I've made several visits to museums to looks at various examples of traditional wood carvings. There was a Maori paddle and a feather box in Kalamazoo that were extraordinary. The paddle was covered w. thousands of small indentations, arranged in rows, bands, and sections, perhaps from the ends of graving burins. The feather case, aside from the excellent carving, was wood so well burnished that it looked almost like a metal casting.

I spent several hours looking at the No. W. American section at the Field museum in Chicago. An immense collection of Tlingit and Haida, etc. works. A small forest of totems. There were only a few authority sticks, such as a chief's walking stick, and a speaker's stick. But there was a whole case of clubs that I think might have interested you. According to the info card, the belief was that if an animal was taken w. a club made in its own effigy, one of those animals would be there during the next hunt. Have no idea if that worked, but the clubs were made w. exceptional skill.

Lots of fine work. I'm impressed. At some point, please share what your preferred woods and tools are.

~~~ Thank you for the kind words.

I use various woods; the axe handles, saplings with root ball, oak, mostly. I use some tiger maple. Purpleheart. I even use pine and fir at times.

Tools are mainly a belt grinder to rough shape, and then it's just a folding pocket knife, or a small knife I made from an old surgical instrument. For some very fine detail, I might use a flexible shaft tool with dental bits...

Woods must be suitable for the job; weight, grain, flexibility, hardness...

I remember the interest with which I saw mu first rosewood cane (with a solid pound of silver handle that I cast) break in half, easily, while the heave half flew overboard and out to sea! ;(

Tools, of course, include an array of finishes, mostly oil based, some pine tar, perhaps. I like to feel the wood in my fingers, not some sterile 'plastic' coating. Many applications, burnishing, more applications... Very labor intensive! But you can 'feel' the spirit, the 'mana' in the piece!

And they are usually guaranteed for 300 years! *__-

I noticed some of your Maori style work. Very nice. Over the past few months I've made several visits to museums to looks at various examples of traditional wood carvings. There was a Maori paddle and a feather box in Kalamazoo that were extraordinary. The paddle was covered w. thousands of small indentations, arranged in rows, bands, and sections, perhaps from the ends of graving burins. The feather case, aside from the excellent carving, was wood so well burnished that it looked almost like a metal casting.

~~~ I intensely studied the Northwst Pacific native design.

Also the South Pacific design and surface decoration, for about ten years before I felt enough connection to translate the 'spirit' into my own Perspective.

I spent several hours looking at the No. W. American section at the Field museum in Chicago. An immense collection of Tlingit and Haida, etc. works. A small forest of totems. There were only a few authority sticks, such as a chief's walking stick, and a speaker's stick. But there was a whole case of clubs that I think might have interested you. According to the info card, the belief was that if an animal was taken w. a club made in its own effigy, one of those animals would be there during the next hunt. Have no idea if that worked, but the clubs were made w. exceptional skill.

~~~ Oh yes! Yes!

Such inspirational and beautiful work! Especially the Pacific Islands!

One begins to find design similarities between some very disparate regions. Just studying the surface decoraqtion, not evev mentioning the shape, is quite the anthropological study!

Ten years later, I felt secure and knowledgeable to make my atttempts!

(For better or worse! haha)

later

peace