A Carving for the "Carver"

"In the 1950’s my Mother took me to see “Fantasia.”

She went for the classical music, I went for the cartoon.

This carving brings to my mind the parallels of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice and my life.”

Dave

 

I've wondered for many months as to just what would I like to carve for myself. One carving that will remain with Pat and I as a "Signature" piece.

Pat has become fond of Disney paintings. She will search for one she likes, while I'm taking photos of the ones I would like to carve! Well, one painting caught my attention months ago. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."

We came very close to purchasing  the painting but something inside me was telling me not to purchase it but rather, carve it. This is the one. Part of my choice is due to my other hobby, amateur astronomy.  The artist caught the innocence, playfulness and tenacity of Mickey that drew me to it. I've seen many other "Sorcerer's Apprentices" but this one was different. This is the one I'll carve.

This one is for the "Carver" in all of us!

 

He started out as a 4"X4"X12" piece of Tupelo wood.

Mickey is to be just a bit larger than most of my carvings.

 

A little band saw work to shorten the rough out stage.

 Now for some "grunt" work.

 I'm getting a little better leaving enough wood for Mickey's muzzle.

 I have no idea what the back of his robe looks like so I thought I'd add a "hood."

 I like caricatures because they tend to be more "forgiving." i.e. your mistakes become "creative enhancements!"

Mickey's head is much larger than I sketched out. Consequently, that left less space between his jaw and his arms. I had a devil of a time getting my burrs between his jaw and his arms. However, the area is so tight that I had to forego smoothing that area as much as I would like to. (Ah, creative license!)

His folded arms became another troublesome feature. Hmmmm, how does his hands protrude through his sleeves? Oops, that led to another tiny dilemma. I was nearly ready to seal him for painting and I just had to restructure his right hand... but there again, the lack of space between his jaw and arms helps deceive the eye.

When carving, one major concern is always leaving enough wood for the features. In the case below I cut away too much of his front hat brim.(Grrrrrrr!) I formed a curved piece and glued it in place.

The added "brim" did the job... with a little help of wood filler!

 I like to secure the piece to its base by inlaying it into the base. Inlaying prevents the piece from being twisted on its base. On larger pieces I add a screw in addition to wood glue for longevity and strength.

 I'd say, Mickey is ready for sealing.

 This time I sealed the piece with MinWax #209 Natural Stain.

 

He stands 10" including the base.

 

Finally, a carving for the Carver!

"Take Her to Sea Mickey"

A fitting gift. "Take Her to Sea Mickey" is being given to a friend who just happens to enjoy Disney Cruises with his wife. Yes, he is a long time Disney Cast Member and most helpful to me as I work in my new Disney role.

 

The Tupelo wood worked up easy but for some reason this carving took much longer than I expected. There are three pieces that will make up this carving.

First the ship's wheel and pedestal.

The ship's wheel is easy to draw. A compass and ruler made a quick template. The pedestal too was an easy design. Cutting out the ship's wheel however, required some delicate sanding. I found out after I had the ship's wheel cut out and was well into positioning Mickey on the base that the ship's wheel was too large. So, another wheel had to be cut along with resizing the pedestal.

As the process was similar I didn't want to be too redundant and add the resizing photos.

 

 

 Sanding the spokes was simple. Cut a long strip of fine sandpaper, wrap it around the spoke and pull on the sides

 

 I had to wrestle with just how to fasten the wheel to the pedestal. I gave up on the screw idea and just went with gluing the center to the wheel.

Mickey is always a challenge to me. His muzzle and nose seem to be my nemesis. Drawing the template is easy but the fun begins as you cut away the pencil lines!

The band saw saves lots of time but you need to "think" ahead not to cut too much wood away.

There's continuous looking and checking your carving with the photos you work from.

 

Working the face is always frustrating. I find working the overall piece helps rather than working one specific area at a time. Sometimes as I work a piece, I can become hung up on one aspect, so I move to another area to reduce frustration. Eventually, you get to a point where the overall figure develops.

Once you can "see" the caricature you can work the details. 

This is the point where I realized the ship's wheel was too large. Mickey will be glued to the base by inlaying the wood under his feet. As you can see if I lower him another 1/2" the wheel will be in his muzzle!



 

The photo I used for the image placed Mickey between the wheel and the pedestal. You can do that in a two-dimensional photo but not in this case. Therefore, Mickey was going behind the wheel. That meant the pedestal will be in front of him and it needed to be reduced in size. And that made all the difference.

 

Mickey had plenty of wood under his feet for gluing but I had to add a piece to the pedestal.

 

 The Disney Cruise Line Logo on the pedestal was a last minute thought. (I prefer not to waste space.)

Besides, as they say, "the devil is in the details!"

 

Oh, remember I mentioned that Mickey's nose and muzzle always manage to frustrate me. Well, with Mickey all painted and ready for his clear top coat, I decided to remove his old nose and replace it with another. It was also positioned higher on his muzzle.

"Take Her to Sea Mickey!"

"Zoey & Abby"

"Zoey & Abby" are the love of a fellow worker who has provided me with a great deal of support and guidance during my new job transition. These (nearly identical) Schnauzers are the love of her live.

 

"Zoey & Abby" really tested my patience!

 

 Oh, their bodies worked up quickly.

 Nicely rounded bodies. Not too much detail, nice!

 But their heads, ears and facial hair took a toll on me.

Right from the "git-go" their ears just didn't seem to work up well for me.

I cut them off and started over.

 

 That didn't work. Let's try this again!

Yikes! That's enough wood for Abby's ears but Zoey's ears and muzzle were a different story.

 

OK, Abby's ears (on the right) were keepers. But Zoey's ears, eyes and muzzle hair was a fright!

"Off with her head!" (Too graphic to show this is a family blog!)

With her new head in place and plenty of wood to work with let's try this again.

Even though Zoey's ears were trimmed too narrow I knew when to give in.

 

"Zoey & Abby" are made of Tupelo wood and mounted on a piece of pine board.

The overall piece is 71/4" Wide, 7 1/8" Deep and 5" tall.

"Zoey & Abby" are each just over 6" long, just under 3" wide and under 4" tall.

 

Zoey and Abby were sealed and ready for paint!

 

Acrylic colors, clear Satin finish on everything but their eyes were painted with clear gloss.

 

Whew! "Zoey & Abby" required nearly double the time it takes me to complete a carving.

But it  was well worth the effort and I'm sure they will have a very good home.