I enrolled in a woodcarving class. I previously tried experimenting on my own after reading books but I did not feel confident. We were each given a chunk of poplar and asked to come up with a design on the spot so we could begin carving that night. I made this simple design that I thought would be enough of a challenge so I could learn but easy enough to finish in the duration of the class. This is the result of about 2 hours of carving.
First, we drew the design on paper. The design was then transferred to the wood using carbon paper. The first tool used on the wood was a parting tool (a V shaped gouge); this tool was used to outline the design. Next we started carving deeper with a gouge. A shallow gouge will be used to refine. At some point I will be familiar enough with these tools to call them by their proper names, sorry I haven't been more specific now.
