Normally, I prefer not to carve a character twice. However, this "Winnie the Pooh" is going to be a gift from a friend of mine to a special person who just loves "Winnie the Pooh." The easiest way to avoid making the same character twice is to simply put it into another position. Seeing as how this person is very special to my friend I think I found a most appropriate position for "Winnie"
Let's start at the beginning...
First, the sketch and then we remove the bulk of the piece on the band saw.
Once the piece is "marked up" with the basic shape I can begin to "rough cut" the basic contours of the piece.
This is where you begin to "gamble" on just how much wood you think you should remove.
This "Winnie" left me with one very particularly perplexing problem; his muzzle!
I removed his muzzle to the eyes and cheeks. I glued a piece of wood to it and began remaking his muzzle.
Above, you can see the glue joint between his eyes and muzzle. However, I still had to reduce his nose and muzzle several more times before I was satisfied. (Of course, after he was painted I can see where I could have made it even better.)
Instead of mounting him on a cloud (as in the photo), he would be relaxing on a "grassy" surface.
After all, doesn't "Winnie" live in the woods!
Time for wood sealer and some color.
I'm sure "Winnie" will put a smile on his new owner's face!
