Woodcarvings by Joe

2011-03-17T16:26:00.003-04:00

Here is a video of me roughing out the hands on the Lia Relief. Thanks for checking out my site!

New Project...Lia

2011-03-03T14:45:00.003-05:00

Last year I made a praying girl for my oldest daughter Angelina. I wanted to make one for my youngest daughter Lia. I started working on this. I decided to use an image of Lia rather then just a generic angel/girl. Here is what I have so far (I am only a few hours into it right now) I took a picture of Lia watching TV (It was the only way I could get her to sit still long enough for a profile picture) what I got was a 3/4 view instead of a profile so I went with it. I took a separate pic of her hands in a prying position as reference and added it the drawing. I took the picture of her hands from the wrong side but I just reversed them when I drew them out on the wood. Anyway, any critique is much appreciated. I stink at making eyes but I think these will work, I can't figure out how to do eyes the right way but oh well practice makes perfect, or as close to perfect as possible.
Thanks for looking!
Joe

Grapes part 2

2011-01-15T23:03:00.003-05:00

The finished project. I will need to seal and wax it and figure something out for the background. I plan on making some doors that will go on either side of a wine rack that I will carve a similar pattern on. This project was just practice for the real thing. Here is the second part of my grape carving video. Thanks for checking it out.

Grapes Practice

2011-01-07T18:54:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! Here is a video I hope you will all enjoy. I had an old piece of white pine laying around (I don't like carving white pine at all) so i decided to try this pattern by Nora hall of grapes on it. I bought Nora Halls DVD European Woodcarving with Nora Hall Advanced and it came with the pattern she uses in the video. She makes it look like a piece of cake and finishes the whole piece in 1 hour. My video is about two and a half hours shrunk down to ten minutes and i'm not even finished. This is part 1 and I'll be recording the rest later. If you're interested in the DVD you can find it at www.norahall.com

Speaking of Nora Hall, I really hope when I'm her age I'll still be carving. Actually, i hope to reach her age. I decided to help reach my goal and I am proud to say that as of January 3rd I am a non-smoker! It has been an still is a struggle but it's something I need to do. I've been smoking for 20 years and have tried to stop many times. I really think I will succeed this time. Enjoy the video and thanks for checking out my blog!

Joe

Acanthus Clock Pics and Video

2010-12-31T09:18:00.002-05:00

This is my version of Rolf Taraldset's Acanthus clock. I started working on it last year and posted some progress pics. In between moving to a new home and other things, I worked on this off and on over the year. This is also the first time I ever attempted to do any kind of lettering. I was nervous doing it as it was the last step and I could have really ruined the whole piece with one slip. I am happy to say that I am pleased with the results. I will try to incorporate lettering in future projects.

Below is a link for a Youtube video showng the stages. (I used some lighter music on this one based on some suggestions) As always thanks for stopping by!

Joe

My first youtube video!!!

2010-12-21T14:07:00.008-05:00

Ladybugs on Foliage

2010-07-09T11:33:00.003-04:00

Another one of my slow movers I'm working on. I haven't finished this one or the Acanthus clock yet as life gets in the way of my hobby. I really wanted to try a high relief/ pierced relief and play with foliage. This is about 2" high and the lowest spot (the flowers) are about 1/4" the ladybugs are about the size of a dime just to give you an idea.

Some detail on the face

2010-02-15T08:54:00.004-05:00

I started to add some detail on the face or rim of the clock. I will now start to focus more on cleaning up. It's taken me a lot longer than I thought just to get to this point. I did learn a good lesson out of it. Make sure to get all the levels correct when you rough out. I found myself trying to move on to shaping too soon. After I spent time shaping, I realized what I was working on was too high so I would bring it down some more then shape again...and again. I basically tripled the work. When I finish this one and start the next, I'll make sure I focus on levels first. It doesn’t look like I’m going to make my deadline. I’ll keep this one for my house and get a head start for next year and donate the new one.
Joe

Acanthus Clock Progress

2010-02-02T11:35:00.001-05:00

So far so good. I started some cleaning up and will be ready to add some details soon. I’ll be working on the leaf cuts and some chip carving for the face of the clock. T minus 15 days…I hope?

Hand Carved Acanthus Clock (Work in Progess)

2010-01-19T15:17:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone! I started my Acanthus clock for the San Gabriele benefit. This design is based on clock by Rolf Taraldset. I saw his preview video on youtube and was blown away by this piece. If you purchase the video it comes with a pattern for the clock and in the video Rolf shows you how to carve it. I’m broke (and cheap) so I didn’t buy the video or the pattern. I made my own freehand. I would really like to buy the video in the future just so I can see “The right way” or the most efficient way to carve this piece. I’ll post a link to the preview below or you can check out www.norwegian-woodcarving.com to see it there and for info on purchasing the video and pattern.

I’m using basswood for my clock and my deadline is February 17-18^th because the event is on the 20^th. I began by cutting the blank out on the band saw after I transferred my design. Now I’m chipping away at it. I hope you enjoy!

Here is the preview for the Norwegian Wood Carving DVD

2010-01-19T15:16:00.003-05:00

More WIP pictures

I love cherry!!!!!

2010-01-07T12:32:00.001-05:00

I am getting ready to begin working on an Acanthus style wall clock I was commisioned to do for the annual San Gabriele benefit in february. I was going to go ahead and use basswood as usual but my father in law suggested Maple. He had a scrap piece in the workshop and although it is beautiful, it was harder than hell. Becuase of the deadline I decided working with the maple would take too long so back to basswood.
"how about cherry?" my father in law suggested.
Now, cherry is not only gorgeous but also very expensive. He happened to have a scrap piece in the shop. I started carving through it and although it's hard, the cherry wasnt as hard as the maple. I fell in love. It carves beautifully and despite the hardness of it, i found it easy to work with and very forgiving. The beautiful grain makes it easy to carve the right direction. I kept slicing away at it and after a couple of hours, i made a relief flower. Ill post the acanthus clock soon. Because time is of the essence I will use basswood for this project and then later I'll make another with cherry!

Nursing a fever

2009-10-04T14:29:00.000-04:00

Due to a nasty cold i had some down time. I got real sick of being sick so I went out to the shop, sharpend my tools, and finally finished this piece for one of my girls. I used the SSW method to finish it (Sand Seal and Wax) I learned from Bill Judt. I was able to get it so smooth by starting with 100 grit and working down to 220 and finally hitting it with a piece of brown paper bag. You wont believe how polished the wood starts to look after you work it with the bag. I cleaned it up with a brush and then went over it with leather to get it even smoother. Two coats of wax finished it off.
I plan to make a matching one soon.

Sent from my HTC smartphone

2009-10-04T14:20:00.000-04:00

Sent from my HTC smartphone

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T01:05:00.001-04:00

It's quarter til one on sunday morning, father's day weekend. I'm at St. Joseph's in the Hills on my annual retreat with the six-three group of Men of Malvern. If you've never visited here before I suggest you do. It doesn't matter what race or creed you are this is strictly about spirituality. The second you pull into the property you get this overwhelming feeling of peace. Any stress or frustration you carry is left outside. You can't help but be inspired by the surroundings here. The last time I had a free minute to carve was one year ago...when I was here. I brought my tools with me again this year and started carving. I was thinking about maybe doing an angel and veered off into a little girl praying. Eleven hours later with a few smoke breaks and some walking around, here's what I have so far. I'm pretty rusty but it's starting to come back to me. It's not finished and it doesn't look like it's destined for greatness but I am so excited to be able to carve again. Hopefully I can finish this carving soon and as soon as I do I will post more pics. Happy Father's Day!
Joe

Thank You! I'm still here

2009-06-02T11:54:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to say thanks to all the comments and emails i've been getting. I do have some projects lined up and some I've started and will be back to posting soon so please stay tuned. We are in the process of moving and I will be setup in my new shop in August or September. Among some of the projects are St. Joseph the worker and an eastern dragon, two sides of the spectrum. I will take lots of in progress pictures and work on posting a more "how to" style. Keep checking back as I may be posting some smaller projects real soon.
Thanks Again!
Joe

What I did on my vacation

2009-01-05T10:28:00.001-05:00

So it’s been so long since my last post. A five month old and an almost three year old keep my wife and I really busy. I have started some new carving projects and will soon be back to posting so stay tuned. Our cutting board at home started breaking down. The cutting board we have has always been too small for me and now that it’s falling apart I decided we really needed a new one and I really needed to work on a project and get some sawdust in my system. I picked up some hard maple, black walnut and my father-in-law had some wenge laying around at his shop. I ripped the walnut and maple into 2” ,1.25” and .75” strips and glued them together. I then ripped across the piece into 1.25” strips and glued them together in an alternating layout with the end grain up. Then I attached the wenge around the whole piece and here is what I came up with. My wife says she doesn’t want to actually use it because it’s too nice. I just need to convince her that this board will last forever with an occasional mineral oil wipe down.

A New Addition

2008-10-07T09:41:00.002-04:00

It has been quite some time since I posted and I haven’t really worked on anything new lately. It’s not because I’m lazy or because I’m giving up carving or I just forgot. It’s because on August 19^th 2008 I became a new Papa…AGAIN! Lia Rose Muscella has been taking up all my time and I love it! She is such a good baby and our 2 year old, Angelina, is such a big helper. I now have two new carvers in the family! I will be getting back to work in the next couple of weeks. Talk to you then.

Madonna of the Streets

2008-06-25T13:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I’m almost finished with my Madonna of the Streets relief. At this point I think I’m just going to clean up some spots mainly baby Jesus’ face. I just need to be careful as I’m running out of wood and am almost about to put a hole in it. I love using this basswood slice; the grain is all over the place but is teaching me so much about being aware of the direction. I hope you enjoy it!

Joe

She's all done

2008-06-13T17:17:00.005-04:00

I finally finished my Virgin Mary woodcarving. I used sanding sealer and paste wax to finish the piece off. The five roses represent the five mysteries of the rosary. I'm getting ready to head out to my retreat...I hope everyone likes it! You can click the link to see the woodcarvingillustrated message board and check out some really beautiful works from great artists.

http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/forum/f61/carving-mary-progress-17715/

Starting over

2008-06-05T13:07:00.000-04:00

I'm starting my Virgin Mary carving over from scratch. The original panel didn't have the cleanest joints and there were many gaps at the joints. I also decided that a full figure of Mary would be too small and did not allow for too much detail. I decided to change the pattern to a portrait style and I am much happier with how it's turning out. These pics are in the rough out stage and a lot of work needs to be done. I will use the original background design with the oval frame and roses.

Sharpening part one

2008-05-14T23:46:00.000-04:00

To a beginner woodcarver like myself, the reason you want to get into woodcarving is to get right into a piece of wood and start chipping and carving away to create your own work of art. You want to be able to reveal what's hiding inside that block of wood. You start by removing the background and surrounding wood and eventualy you get to the fun part, carving out the details. You can get lost for hours on one project and sometimes if it wasn't for my wife yelling down to tell me to go to bed, I would carve until the next morning. Nothing can ruin this expierience more than dull tools. In order to be able to carve the wood into what you want your tools need to be razor sharp no if's and's or but's. I think of sharpening as a necessary evil. It's not fun, but you have to do it and you have to learn how to keep your tools sharp.
So how often do you have to sharpen? How do you know when it's time to sharpen? Well, what i've picked up so far is that a good rule of thumb is, every couple of hours of carving per tool you need to do some sharpening. If you can't shave the hairs off your forearm, you need to sharpen. No problem right? The best answer I heard is "you will just know when it's time to sharpen your tools". It's like the difference between shaving with a brand new razor vs. Using one that's over a week old. When I first got my Swiss Made tools I couldn't believe how easily the tools were gliding through the wood. I can actually say it was like a hot knife through butter. The only time the tools caught on the wood was if I was carving in the wrong direction. The tool left crisp clean cuts and the wood almost looked wet with a nice sheen left behind. With every stroke I could hear this beautiful sound like paper ripping or a zipping noise. Inevidably, this didn't last too long. I could see and feel that my tools were starting to loose their razor sharp polished edge. Those beautiful shiny cut marks started to look like fur and I felt myself pushing harder to get through the wood no matter in which direction I was going. OK, it's time to sharpen...sigh.
Much like the overwhelming feeling you get when you try to decide which tools to buy for the first time, sharpening is no different. There are slipstones, strops, compounds, oil stones, water stones, diamond, soft stones, hard stones, ceramic, power sharpeners (long deep breath in) just to name a few options. There are also hundreds of books, DVD's and how to's on the internet available covering this subject. Improper sharpening can ruin those expensive tools so what I did was read up on the subject and practiced on some cheap tools and knives before attempting to sharpen my good tools. It was a good thing I started out on the cheap tools because the first couple if tries I destroyed them and they will need to be reshaped and honed. But I didn't consider it a total failure because I learned something from it. Most books I've read assumes you're starting with a severely damaged or dull tool and guide you through step 1 through 1 million (ok there aren't one million steps to sharpening but it can seem that way) and fail to explain that with regular care, you may never need to use a stone. Sharpening is a progression. With a damaged tool or one that has no edge or bevel, you start with a soft stone with honing oil or water (whichever you decide to use, water or oil, you will continue to use for the life of the stone. The liquid is used to keep the metal particles from getting impacted in the stone therefore ruining the stone) or a low grit diamond sharpener. Keep the tool at about a 25 degree angle and push it away from you over and over until you form a burr along the edge then strop the burr off and move up to the next highest gritt or harder stone repeat and keep going and eventually you'll be ready for polishing. If you start with a razor sharp tool and every couple of hours of use or when you notice you're having to use more force to cut through the wood, simply polish the tool, you can maintain that razor sharp edge for as long as you don't get lazy and over work the tool. Occasionaly you will need to use a couple of strokes on and extra hard stone or high grit sharpener and you can keep the soft stones on reserve in case you drop your tools or hit a staple in the wood.
Stay tuned for part two and I will explain polishing and sharpening in more detail and show you an easy way to keep all your gouges an v tools razor sharp.

A Little Background

2008-04-23T15:03:00.000-04:00

I haven't had a lot of time lately to work on my carving I’ve been pretty sick but getting better. I did begin to add an oval border to the background which will later be filled with 5 roses and vines representing the 5 decades of the rosary and later I'll be adding 4 lily’s to the 4 corners of the board representing the 4 mysteries of the rosary. Roses and lily’s are symbolic of the Virgin Mary so there is kind of a double meaning for the symbols. I've also thinned out the face trying to bring out the cheek bones and sink in the eye sockets a bit. As far as the face goes I think I'll only be doing some smoothing out and deburring. I hope to get a lot of the background completed tonight and tomorrow.

Signs

2008-04-18T10:13:00.002-04:00

Here’s a Sign I lettered with my Father-in-Law also for Malvern Retreat House. He was redoing a shrine for St. Joseph the Worker and asked me to design a sign and do the lettering.
He made the panel and I got to hand cut each letter, these are some pictures of the sign in the shop and mounted on top of the shrine. I also included a picture of the Workbench/Alter we made for the inside of the shrine (I know it’s not a woodcarving but it is some really nice woodwork!). We are very proud of it and I’ll have to find some pictures of the inside of the shrine that was totally redone by my Father-in-Law.

Grapes are done

2008-04-15T09:20:00.001-04:00

Here is the finished grape bas-relief carving. I experimented a bit with texturing the background using a Dremel tool with a detailing bit. I’m working on making some stamping tools. The instructions for making these tools are on Bill Judt’s website http://wwwoodcarver.com and more detailed instructions are in his book Relief Carving: Revelations. I don’t plan on using the Dremel method in future projects. I used sanding sealer and wax to finish the grapes, the “SSW method” also from Bill’s website.

Virgin Mary Woodcarving in progress

2008-04-14T10:29:00.002-04:00

So I’m still working on the Virgin Mary carving for the Men of Malvern podium and it’s still going a little slow. I’m concentrating too much on one area and then finding myself having to remove more material than I was planning on. I keep on trying to shape the eyes, cheeks and mouth and then the veil sticks out too far so I have to shave that down as well, now the torso is too far out…UGH! I’m trying to achieve a look where she is looking downward so the top of her head is out further than her chin and I’m working out the proportions. The close up photo shows this a little better but once you look at the full picture you can see the chin is too wide and it doesn’t create the desired effect. I’m confident I can get it right, I think I’ll start working on the border and background and then return to the face a little refreshed. Until next time. P.S. I will soon be using a high quality camera rather than my cell phone camera.

My first commision in progress

2008-04-08T22:09:00.002-04:00

I am a proud member of the Six-Three group of the Men of Malvern. Every year on Father's Day weekend, I make a retreat at the beautiful Saint Joseph's in the Hills retreat house located in Malvern, PA. My Father-in-Law has done a lot of work for the retreat house and is now working on a new podium for Our Lady's Chapel which he will donate and has asked me to do a relief carving of the Virgin Mary for the face of the podium! The laminated panel is made of basswood and is convex. The design will consist of Our lady with a rosary surrounding her and a decorative border of roses and vines. I am hoping to have the piece done by the end of may or early june just in time for my retreat. So far I have about 20 hours into the piece because I'm trying to get as much detail in as possible. I'm having some trouble with the eye's and there are many linenfolds I am trying to perfect. I know this may seem like a huge undertaking for a beginner, but I have been drawing and painting all my life and like W.F. Judt says in his book Relief Carving:Revelations "If you can draw it, you can carve it".
If you would like more information on Men of Malvern please visit

http://www.malvernretreat.com

My wife and daughter

2008-03-18T09:32:00.004-04:00

This is a portrait done in relief of my wife and daughter. It's done on a piece of basswood that came with a woodcarving kit my brother Gabe got me for christmas (thanks bro) he also got me a woodburning kit that I used to highlight the hair and background. I used my swiss made tools and the detail tools that also came in the kit.

Latest work in progress

2008-03-14T13:29:00.001-04:00

Here is my latest work in progress a classic design of grapes. I was just messing around and I had this nice piece of White Pine laying around and I wanted to test my new set of pfeil swiss made tools courtesy of my father-in-law (Thanks Dad!). I love these tools, they glide right through the wood like "budda" I suggest anyone interested in carving pick up a set of these or even just a couple gouges and v tools. They come razor sharp and polished right out of the box so as I did you can get started right away. They won't help you figure out which direction to cut the wood. I'm having a hell of a time remembering to only cut with the grain or across but not against it. You will notice a hole in the middle of the grapes, there was a grape there but I accidentily sliced it off because I was going against the grain;( I still have so much to learn but I'm having a great time doing it.

First official post!

2008-03-13T09:51:00.003-04:00

So I guess I should start at the beginning. I've always been interested in sculptures and handmade crafts. I've been drawing since I can remember and even paint. I've never used art as a means of making a living before but have always dreamed of it. I work in the Information Technology field and I am currently employed by the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, an excellent institution if you're looking for a great school to get into.
How did I get into carving? Like I said, working with wood is something I always loved. I'm fortunate that my Father-in-Law is a cabinet maker and from time to time I get to hang out at his shop and play with power tools and learn how to build stuff. I love watching "Woodworks" on DIY with David Marks (He is the man!) It wasn't until one day in November of 2007 I was driving around in my neighborhood and saw signs for a woodcarving show coming to Penn State DELCO, I grabbed my not quite two year old daughter, the diaper bag and a stroller and went to the show. I got to see up close and personal beautiful works of art. I was blown away! There were also vendor booths setup selling all kinds of books, tools, grab bags of basswood and anything else that has to do with woodcarving. I decided I was going to buy some tools and get started. I saw the price of chisles and gouges and was immediately depressed. The prices were not what I was expecting. I was only looking to spend 20 bucks or so and that wasn't even going to get me one gouge! I started looking around some more for beginners sets but I became increasingly frustrated and overwhelmed. Should I buy knives? Should I buy chisels? Finally I got to one booth and found a Warren Cuttlerey set for $18.00. It has interchangable blades of various sizes. I also picked up a grab bag of basswood and the salesman suggested a strop and compound for polishing and a leather thumb guard. I spent about $35 and I couldn't wait to get home.
When I walked in the house I barely said hello to my wife, pulled out my tools and a piece of wood and started whittling away. I made a Santa head that turned out really nice. I also cut the hell out of my fingers and almost four months later have not regained feeling in my left middle fingertip (that finger is only good for flipping the bird anyway). I was hooked and I still am.

Here is the finished Santa Head painted in acrylic.

Welsh Lovespoon

2008-03-13T08:50:00.003-04:00

Here is one of my first Welsh Lovespoons I made for my in-laws as a Christmas gift.
It took me about a weekend to do and I used my Warren cutlurey set to carve it out.