Snake on a stick!

I know it sounds like the latest deep-fried delicacy from the state fair, but maybe I'll come up with a better name. I just completed this staff/walking stick. It is about 60" tall from some twisted wood I got last Thanksgiving in Alabama. I think it really wanted to be a snake and I was inspired by the works of David Stehly in Pennsylvania to finally attempt one. I am pleased with how it turned out, although my wife and daughter can bearly stand to look at it! I plan to enter it in a couple of contests, maybe I'll get lucky. I should have some more pictures posted in my vimeo gallery later today, but here's some for now. Thanks mucho for looking! Here is the link to all the photos http://picasaweb.google.com/mpounders1/FluidByNature#

"Walking in Memphis"

"....walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale" is how the song goes. I finished this carving a few days ago. It is inspired by the song and a small photo of a guitar player in a magazine ad. I've studied and tried to figure out how to capture the energy and passion you see in some musicians for about 6 months. I really struggled with the positioning and tried clay models and other things before finally just starting and working it out as I went along! I carved different areas out of separate pieces of wood for strength and to allow me to accurately position things exactly as I wanted it to look. The guitar has over 40 separate pieces. Thanks for looking! Click on the pictures at the side and zoom in to get a close look at the details!!!!
(More pictures here too http://picasaweb.google.com/mpounders1/WalkingInMemphis# )

Finishing up a carving

I've been working to complete a carving to enter in a contest and just finished it the past weekend. I may not post any pictures of it until after the 30th, but here is a "preview" to keep you interested! I have started a snake cane, in the David Stehly style (http://www.artsticks.com/ ), and I am continuing to work on ornaments and holiday stuff in between projects. I have registered for a week-long carving seminar in northwest Arkansas in Spetember, and will be taking a class from the renowned carver Adina Denton Huckins! I am really looking forward to this and hope to take my carvings to a higher level! I am also trying to practice for some other contests, but will be posting pictures of completed work within the next week of those things. Thanks for looking!

Bark tree spirit and pumpkin ash cane

Here are a couple of carvings I finished this week. I also completed a shaft for a sword cane handle (for my neighbor).  I have been wanting to carve bark for a while but never got around to purchasing any. I found this cottonwood bark in downtown North Little Rock and got a few pieces to try. It is not as large or as thick as the cottonwood bark that you can get from other parts of the US. This is from the smallest piece, somewhat as an experiment, to see how it carved. I washed and wire-brushed the bark, and then cut off an area to reveal the inner reddish color. This stuff cuts very easily, but a sharp knife and care is needed to keep it from crumbling or flaking. Very fragile to carve, and difficult for me to detail, but it is so quick to carve! This is a tree spirit that took maybe 4 hours?

The handle on this cane is based on a tracing from the sword cane I repaired. It has a nice comfortable feel and I added a wood-burned Celtic knot. The wood is ash and the guy that gave it to me said it was "pumpkin" ash. He said it was used a lot in making guitars. I like the natural color and graining of it. The shaft is a skinny piec of Crape Myrtle. I have been making some slightly taller, skinnier canes. They are very light to carry.

Thanks for looking! (more pictures in link to my gallery at the left)

The Illustrated Man

One of my favorite books when I was in high school was "The Illustrated Man", a collection of science-fiction short stories by Ray Bradbury. I loved the book, but the cover showed a bald tattooed man from the back, sitting in a lotus position. His tattoos would come to life at night, illustrating various stories and .... the future! So I have admired tatoos for sometime and even aquired one as a souvenir of my Navy career. I have been wanting to carve something like this for a while, inspired by the book, Maori tribal tattoos, and various woad designs. Not sure if he is a wizard or an old warrior, but he has a certain air about him (my wife says he is a little too realistic for her to look at very long). I did some turning on the spacer and the shaft is bamboo that has been heat-tempered. Thanks for looking!

More pictures here:   http://picasaweb.google.com/mpounders1/TheIllustratedMan#