rustic Archives - Woodcarving Illustrated

Carve & Burn Bird Ornaments

kelly — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 13:01:00 +0000

Add life to a tree or window with these bright avian adornments

By Michele Parsons

I love to give inspirational gifts around the holidays, as days grow shorter and people start to pine after warmth and sunlight—and what better to deliver inspiration than a few friendly birds? These ornaments can be carved, burned, and finished quickly; they’re also fun and satisfying to make.

I used slices of wood with natural bark edges that you can find at most craft stores for a rustic feel. You could also cut circles from thin basswood or any other wood you prefer. For a different look, enlarge the pattern and make a wall hanging. Before diving in, learn how to keep your woodburner clean in our exclusive article.

Prepping and Carving

Size the pattern to fit your wood. Use graphite paper to transfer the bird-and-branches pattern to the blank. Make stop cuts around all of the lines, and then carve the background down around them with a micromotor with an assortment of small bits or a set of small hand gouges. Then sand around the birds and branches. Focus on making the background smooth for the lettering. Use graphite paper to transfer the lettering to the background. Burn the letters using a small writing nib and, if desired, outline them with a skew nib. Burn the details on the birds and branches. Erase any remaining graphite.

Painting and Finishing

I add color using slightly thinned acrylic paint. Avoid painting over the burned areas because the pigment in the paint covers the burned texture. Finish with a few coats of semi-gloss spray lacquer.

MATERIALS

• Wood, such as basswood or birch ornament rounds

• Graphite transfer paper

• White rubber eraser

• Acrylic paints: assorted

•Finish, such as spray lacquer: semi-gloss

TOOLS

• Micromotor with small bits or small hand gouges

• Woodburner with nibs: small writer, skew

About the Author

Michele Parsons lives in N.C. near the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she draws inspiration. She earned a fine arts degree from Western Carolina University and spent her professional life as a graphic designer, art director, and executive director in the creation of educational materials. Michele is a frequent contributor to Pyrography magazine and has taught pyrography for nearly 20 years. She is also a regular instructor at the International Woodcarving Congress, Southeastern Woodcarving School, and John C. Campbell Folk School. To see more of her work, visit parsonswoodartistry.com.

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House and Barn Pyrography

kelly — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 14:18:25 +0000

Woodburn an additional rustic scene from this Connecticut farm

By Carol Wallace

One of the rural places I have been captivated by is Hunt Hill Farm in Connecticut. In addition to the barn and silo pyrography project featured in the summer issue (#95), I decided to create an additional pyrography pattern of a barn and house to capture more of the farm’s beauty.

About Hunt Hill Farm

The legacy of orchestra conductor and composer Skitch Henderson, and his wife, Ruth, is being revived at the late couple’s former property in New Milford, Connecticut. Alessandro Piovezahn and his wife, Daniele, purchased Hunt Hill Farm, which dates back to 1707 and encompasses three farms. In addition to continuing the former owners’ vision, they created The Henderson Center for Excellence for Youth Empowerment in 2020. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this destination is often referred to as Silo Country.

TIPS

Tree Lines

To make the pattern a little easier, try transferring just the leaf clump outlines rather than each individual leaf.

Leave Space

When outlining the silo sign boards, leave the right-side lines unburned until you finish burning the sign letters. Then, if the letters need extra room, you can adjust the sign’s width accordingly.

About the Author

Connecticut artist Carol Wallace’s interest in painting and drawing barns began during her early years. She was born and raised in Bucks County, Pa., an area known for its idyllic rural landscape, rustic barns, stone houses, covered bridges, and quiet back roads. Her scenes of Americana are crafted out of a passion for preserving American history and culture. See more of her work at carolwallace.com.

The post House and Barn Pyrography appeared first on Woodcarving Illustrated.

Hand-Hewn Wooden Cup

kelly — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 14:29:07 +0000

Rustic cup is traditional, functional, and sensible

By Rick Wiebe

I carved my first wooden cup (called a kuksa in Finland and a kasa in Sweden) 30 years ago on a backpacking trip in the northern Canadian Rockies. The cup, which I made for a friend who had lost a plastic one, was pretty crude, but it was steeped in history. French Canadian canoe men who made their living in the fur trade during the 1600s and 1700s were called “voyageurs.” They carved their own cups from birch burls, and one cup lasted a lifetime for them. There are advantages to wooden cups. Recent scientific studies indicate that wood has antibacterial properties, which makes it more hygienic than plastic. Also, you will have a hard time burning your lips on a wooden mug. If you wish to carve your wooden cup outside, try building a carver’s frame to be able to carve any project in your own backyard!

Getting Started

While a birch burl can be difficult to carve, it would be the most durable and crack-resistant material for a cup. Because burls are hard to find, I carve my cups from regular birch. Softer varieties of maple, as well as alder, willow, or even tulip poplar, will also work. Make sure that the piece you choose is from one side of the center of a log. Do not have any pith (the very center of the tree) in the blank, or the cup will crack. Orient the blank so the bottom of the cup is toward the center of the log. I usually use green wood for this and keep the blank in a plastic bag between carving sessions to keep it from drying out until I finish carving. Then, I keep the cup in a paper bag to allow it to dry slowly. Using this technique, I have never had a cup crack.

Trace the pattern onto the blank and rough out the cup. I roughed out this blank on a band saw, but I have also roughed out several with an axe and bush saw. Then, draw a centerline on the blank. Sketch the inside hollow of the cup. Note that this project can be carved with a pocketknife, but using additional tools (if available) makes it easier.

	Roughing Out The Shape Step 1 Hollow the inside of the cup. You can use a variety of tools to hollow the inside of the cup. While a pocketknife will work, a bent knife is easier. To speed up the hollowing, use a drill with a Forstner bit or use a variety of straight and bent gouges.
	Step 2 Shape the outside of the cup. Sketch the shape onto the outside and remove the excess wood with a knife or gouge. I turn the cup over and carve down against a firm solid surface (not your leg).
	Refining the Project Step 3 Refine the cup. Smooth the inside of the rim with a knife to make it comfortable for your lips. Then, smooth and flatten the bottom to make sure the cup doesn’t tip when you set it down.
	Step 4 Rough out the handle. Sketch the handle shape onto the blank. Then, rough it out with a knife.
	Step 5 Refine the handle. Carve a small groove on the top of the handle for your thumb. Test the grip to make sure it’s comfortable as you hold it, and adjust it as needed.
	Step 6 Finish carving the rim. Smooth the underside of the lip, and angle it slightly to create a comfortable surface for your lower lip. Then, round the top to make it comfortable for your top lip.
	Step 7 Add the details. I carved a small groove around the bottom to dress up the cup a bit. I also drilled a hole in the handle for a hanging cord. But you could also let the wood dry thoroughly (as described above), and then make it an ongoing project to decorate the cup on the trail. Just be sure to sign and date it!

Finishing the Wooden Cup

I’ve finished several wooden utensils and cups by boiling them in beeswax (outside on a camp stove). None of the objects I have treated this way have ever cracked, even when used with extremely hot fluids. You could also saturate the cup with flax seed oil, mineral oil, or walnut oil, which are all food-grade oils and will not turn rancid like many vegetable oils.
For decorative cups, use your choice of finish.

MATERIALS

• Birch, 2 1/2″ (64mm) thick: 3 1/2″ x 6″ (8.9cm x 15.2cm)

• Finish, such as beeswax, flax seed oil, mineral oil, or walnut oil

TOOLS

• Band saw or axe and bush saw

• Drill with Forstner bit (optional)

• Knives: carving, hooked

• Gouges (optional): assorted deep and shallow, short bent

• Camp stove (optional)

About the Author

Rick Wiebe lives in Westbank, B.C., Canada, with his wife of 45 years. He spends the colder months in the warmer parts of the U.S. He has been carving for 60 years and has spread his enthusiasm to children and adults in classes and demonstrations in many venues. He is the author of Adventures in Fan Carving and Whittling Flutes and Whistles, as well as several magazine articles.

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