I finished a few projects. A rooted man and a great expression in basswood. Our Carving group did the Christmas trees. They turned out great. We had an online auction to help the refugees escaping the war in Ukraine. We raised $450. I have a unique Greenman I am working on right now. This year I have committed to carving expressions in wood and work on some portraits and full busts.
I hope you are creating and enjoying some great time with your passion and art. Nate
I have a lot of favorite carvings. These all have a story. Here are a few of some creations over the last years that I loved doing and loved how they turned out.
The man who got me into carving, my good friend, Marty Eddinger carved half of this and mailed it to me to carve the right side. I did not do it, until after his death. In honor I carved it and this piece is in my office in his honor. Thank Marty for the gift of carving!
A beautiful sunflower that brings me joy, like my daughter who received this on Christmas morning.
A popular woodcarving genre in faces is the carving of Green men. Green men were in many cathedrals in Europe before the 15th century. Historians are not sure why churches had them carved or sculpted there. Maybe a sign of new life in Christ? No one is completely sure. This one has 31 leaves. They are fun to carve as you can be very creative and the layout reveals itself to me as I go. I will enter this in an art show for competition in November if they still have it. Then it will be for sale.
I put 3 carvings in the art show this year. I dropped them off today. I have been working on them on and off for the last few months, the last several months for the chief. The piece I call “Four Face” was carved out of cottonwood bark gifted to me from the great carver Alec Lacasse . He has been a great help to me, as teacher, coach, and friend. I’ll let you know if a nab a ribbon or not.
I’m not quite done with this guy. I have been avoiding him because I have not detailed ears much. A carver messaged me on instagram encouraging me to do ears. I did them and now I know I can do full busts with ears. They are tricky and I have more practice to go to perfect them. Butternut is a trick wood, as the grain chips. I love the look. I’ll be finishing this and will post the final pics.
I tried to carve from a picture as I am learning. It was a challenge, but turned out pretty good. My guy appears younger than the pic.
My brother Mark was over and he is retired from the United States Coast Guard. My Sailor carving was perfect for him. They both have a beard and all, had it been winter, the hats would have matched too! Great spending some time together. He loved it and that bring me joy when the gift bring joy!!
After a little of no carving through Christmas. I spent some time in the shop. I finished like a couple gifts for Christmas. Here are a few of the pieces I finished.
The carving on the left was one of my better faces especially the nose and below the mouth. He is a pretty stern looking dude.
My next project I tried to carve from picture of this actor. I have had the pic awhile and always looked at it. I finally decided to give it a try. My son says I should do it like 5 times and see the improvement and the observations I would gain. I may. I see many things I missed as I study it.  But it was still an enjoyable project nonetheless. I am getting low on bark so need to put an order in for the winter carving. I may have more time as no yard work and I won’t be able to walk or ride mountain bike. Carving on .
I am not sure if I will put this on my Etsy store. Here is a link to that. Click here
Seems little, but I am working on turning the head some like Alec Lacasse and I worked on during my last class with him. It adds some life. It is better than the straight ahead stare. It has been a little hot in the shop, but I am carving in the morn or evening. I have more pics on my instagram @natewoodsculpting.
Nate Elarton Wood Sculpting 