Making Boxes

Want to know how to pack your carvings so they'll arrive safe?  Well, here are two videos which will show you how I go about it.

The Cherokee Kid

Old Will, or rather Young Will in this case, is passing the time spinning some rope and that boy can spin some rope!  This was really an enjoyable figure to do.  Lots of action with a little humor tossed in for good measure which Will would probably approve of.   I based the figure and the colors of the clothes and chaps on the painting "Dog Iron" by Wayne Cooper which hangs inside the Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma.  The Dog Iron Ranch was where Will grew up just outside Oolagah, OK.  The ranch is now part of the Memorial and well worth a stop if you're ever in the area.

For the rope I use a larger size of commercially twisted wire available at Lowes so as to bring it into scale with the figure.   There are some more photos in the gallery and your comments are always welcome.

Will Rogers - Part 2

Finished up with the carving part of this project this afternoon.  He's looking better and better.  Still have to burn in the color breaks and the details.  Thought I had a problem with the rope he'll be spinning but figured it out after the second trip to Lowes.   This is a  pretty big bust, standing around 15" tall with the base, so he'll be a pretty impressive piece.

Hope you like him.

El Jefe - Painted

Got this Hombre painted yesterday and he turned out quite well.  Hope you like him.

El Jefe

I haven't decided on a name for this fella yet.  Would like to call him Santiago but I've used that one already, same goes for Pancho, Pedro, Pablo,  so will continue my search for a good one.

He's pretty good sized, standing about 15" with the base.  Hope you like him and there are a couple more photos in the Gallery.

Will Rogers

It's been quite a while since I carved Will Rogers and as they were asking about him last week when Judy and I paid a visit to Woolaroc museum I thought I'd do another bust of the Oklahoma humorist.   The hat behind his head is not the one that will be there at the end but it will give you some idea of what's to come.   Hope you like him.

Hot Tamales

Here's an old friend from the past.  I did this one back in 2000 for a collector down in San Antonio, Texas.  It ended up in Southern California and was recently put up for auction.  It was purchased by a couple in Arkansas.  Unfortunately, the previous owner didn't spend much time packing him up so he arrived beaten and broken.  As I have a policy of guaranteeing my work for as long as I'm around to do it I told them to drop the poor guy off for some repair work.  Well, he's back in the street, ringing his bell and hawking those Red Hots just like before.   What a guy!

The Pot Seller

Well this little lady turned out fantastic!  I will admit though that I thought I was going blind for a while after painting those pots.  In the end it was certainly worth all that squinting.   I think she is one of the best pieces I've done.  The composition and the attitude of the little scene just makes you smile which is what it's all about with my work.

As I mentioned earlier, I turned the pots on my lathe and then whittled them to look more in line with the girl.  Well, while that looks nice it certainly maid painting a lot more difficult.  To get the rings to look good I put the painted pot back on the lathe and with a marker slowly turned the wheel while holding the marker as steady as possible.  Had the pot been completely smooth as it was originally this would have been an easy job but with all those little divots the pen zigged and zagged each time it hit one.  I had to go back with a brush and clean things up the old way.  Another problem was those markers.  For some reason they just don't seem to work well on a varnished surface. Must be some kind of chemical interaction between the pens fluid and the varnish.

Anyway, I hope you like her as much as I do.  More photos in the gallery and your comments are welcome as always.

The Pottery Seller

Here she is in her setting.  Pretty nifty even if I do say so myself.  Should be quite a piece when finished...especially with all the painting to come on the pots.  I think I've figured out a way to add the decoration so that will be a new challenge to look forward to.

I spent about as much time turning and whittling those five pots as I did carving the figure!  I first turned them on the lathe and then, because I didn't want them to look out of place with the textured of the figure, I whittled the surfaces.  The dark pot is walnut but it will be painted over as will the others.  Want them all to look like fired clay which will be a couple of tan colors.  I'm thinking a white/beige color for the blanket with red and blue stripes.  Should balance out well with the black hair and the blue of the turquoise.  The skirt will probably be black or a very dark blue.

I have no doubt that this will be a classic once done and someone is going to get a great piece of original work.  Hope you like her.  No more photos time time but your comments are still welcome.

Hopi Maiden Part 2

Passed on football today to spend some time in the shop blocking out the body for this young lady.  Also gave her some earrings.  Actually, that's the second set of baubles  that I whittled as I made a mistake and brushed off my table and the first bunch fell the floor and disappeared into a large pile of chips.

I've got something really special planned for her setting which should be a real winner....at least I hope so.  She's working on her dowry so she's been busy down at the clay wall scooping out a supply to flesh out her inventory.

Stay tuned!