A few words about cutting
A few words about cutting
Flashback Friday – from June of 2019 – One Of A Kind Eagle
There are always variations on old standards. Some are even improvements.
Paper and Scissors
I found the wood sitting in the shorts at my favorite hardwood dealer. It was very dark, heavy, and dense. It was mahogany but so dark and heavy that I felt it was a wayward piece of Dominican, not Honduran. It was just what I wanted.
Forgotten Tools
Every craft has a few tools that seem so insignificant and ordinary that we pass over them when discussing how we work.
Commissions
The new commission was a little banner for a sloop. It would be divided into two. One part gets placed to the port of the rudder, and the other to the starboard side. Unfortunately, it didn't quite balance at seven letters - Sea Lion - with Sea to port and Lion to starboard.
Apprentice Piece
I picked up this letter opener in the '90s probably at the big antique center in Newburyport, MA. I doubt that I paid more than two dollars for it, and felt that I had procured a lovely little piece very cheaply. I was attracted to it for a variety of reasons. The professionally trained carver had selected European walnut for the article; I've always favored European over American walnut for delicate pieces because of its color and tight grain.
Easy Pieces
I admit that the sort of non complex carving that happens when I carve a small bowl is pretty alluring. No antsy detail. No pattern that needs to be followed. Just follow the will of the wood.
The Fugitive Nature Of Art
Success is not a permanent achievement. We have to continually work at maintaining it.
Cycles
Working in wood offers the opportunity for lots of contrast and continuity.
The Golden Zapf Chancery M ©
For about six years, I made an annual pilgrimage from Massachusetts to Maine to teach marine carving at the WoodenBoat School.
Louis N. Carreras, Woodcarver 
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