1-15-2012-click on images to display larger-bear carving -3

    well right now it is jan. 14 th, and it is middle of winter, and of course you are asking what significance that would make as it would be easier to take pics as i was actually carving a bear out. it is to damn cold. could have done this story last week when weather was nice. but looking through my pics figure this will do for tonights discussion. 

    the tree this carving is out of has considerable history. it was at one time a christmas tree i hauled into the house in a large washtub , ball and all , and we used it for christmas one year and then took the tree out and planted it . it did good for several years, then suddenly it died before it ever reached maturity.

    i also run heavy equipment and was running a large excavator digging a pond here on the farm as well as cleaning up some old trees taken down by a tornado that ravaged  the farm and provided me with a lot carving material. this tree was one i was taking down and i just plucked it out roots and all and drug it out to field and just about cut it up for firewood but decided to take the log out of it . and so it lay around a lot longer. times were ok but mom's birthday caught me by surprise again no real present of any worth. one thing about being a carver,  it is good for giving presents . at least better than being a mortician . at least when i bring a hunk of wood back to life it looks like something. a mortician has a zombie at best and a corpse usually. so there are advantages to being a carver. it is nice to give handmade gifts as these. 

     so i decided to carve her a welcome bear and place it our y in our lane , where it splits us from where we used to have neighbors. it was about half way back our lane. 

    for tonight i will describe what i was doing as i carved this bear. 1st pic is a pic of my old dog bud and babe sitting on my bench. she is sitting there because she wouldn't leave me alone and i was trying to teach her to stay. well it worked long enough to get the pic. normally i start at where i want the head. i locate the head so that the nose is in line with the longest side of log round. here i had to pick the crotch and decide which way i wanted to face the face. i already had in mind using the branches for arms so i had to have most bulging part sticking out. a few minutes thinking of how you ae going to proceed cutting at this point can save a lot misery. think of proportions and how long each part should be as best you can. i mentally cut it in my mind before actually laying a chainsaw to the log. this makes me confident in knowing how i'm going to proceed. and if your mind isn't wrapped around a vision , some people draw lines on the wood. maybe shave the bark off outside and then take a magic marker and mark where the mouth is eyes etc.. and at first you are going to block the carving out. 

    blocking you are getting the cheekbones , the snout and he neck carved in not going to deep. always keeping in mind you can take it off but you can put it on . it is one place where a little goes a long way. but at same time you will have areas of excess wood. between the legs, at the top of the shoulders. learn to take some blocks off in these places . so i get the head pretty well roughed out . then i just start cutting out the arms in this case normally with a regular bear i would work down the bear cutting and roughing out the general out line. 

    once i have cut most of the excess out . i grab the carving saw with the smaller tip as it is called a dime tip. meaning it is the size of a dime at the end . it is a hardened bar w/ a 1/4 inch chainsaw chain allowing smooth pointy cuts offering great detail. i then carve out eye sockets . and it is just balance of cuts from there. you do one thing to one side , go to other side and do the same thing. stepping back take a break and straighten your back. look at your carving. one side needs to look like other. smiles can be crooked , and eyes not set equally  will give it character. this isn't to bad unless eye is where belly is supposed to be. you might have a problem. and this is like the warning i gave you on last blocking out procedure . take small cuts till you learn . take your time and learn to look. don't get discouraged and see it through to the end. no matter how bad. your first is usually glorified firewood. but it is one under your belt. next is always easier. and you are always learning.

     so again you do this balance thing all the way down yenging and yanging your way down to the base. it is always nice to leave a base on your first couple of bears as it is hard to get them to stand . well normally my bears look like it would be a pleasure to be ate buy them . i mean who couldn't resist a smiling bear welcoming you into his den. come here little kiddie step inside , lets have something to eat. they are not real bears and accuracy isn't important unless you are really into that. most people would rather believe in yogi bear anyhow.you will have plenty of time to be perfect later. at this point you need practice and and have some support. contact online forums like the united chainsaw guild forum and at anytime you have a question feel free to ask or leave a comment.  i will get back to you as soon as i can. and if you think you want to try this as a vocation or as a hobby, then contact me or a carver in your area. watch them if they let you ,or you can come watch me. i will rent you the equipment if you would like to try. this is an alternative to dropping 500 dollars and finding out this may not be what you want to do. if you were to rent the equipment off me then , i would include safety training and have you signing a waiver . sorry would have to. not really into renting my equipment out but realize how much it costs to get started and it is quite expensive to just try. and i have the equipment to take it from start to finish and can instruct you as you go along. after you try it you can buy your own equipment. 1out of 10 people who try carving are going to be able to do it. and 1 out of 100 will be really good.

    enough for today will get into finishing techniques tomorrow.