Wood carvings by Maura
Ancient Arts Alive in the 21st Century
If you like what you see on this site please sign my guestbook
The Paradise Door pt.5
I often say that the hardest part of carving is knowing when to stop. When nearing the completion of a carving I usually take a full day where my chisel is laid down and I work on other projects that I have going on. I leave the carving somewhere that I can see it easily and all throughout the day, I observe it. I find that often times some area of a carving will catch my eye and after thinking on it, I will find something to fix or some way to make the carving just a bit better in my judgment. To me this is one of the most important aspects of a carving. It can take an okay carving and make it good. It can take a good carving and make it wonderful. It is the final detailing that brings any carving to life.
I wanted to make the bloom of the flower a bit more of the focal point and did some fine separating of the petals, which when finished with a satin varnish will add a bit of realism to the bloom.
The petals were then given a bit of texturing, most of which will be sanded away, leaving just a subtle impression.
After finally declaring these carvings complete, I began the final cleanup. The trick with the detailing is to keep to the feel of a piece. It is something that really can't be explained but a feeling one gets knowing that the carving is done. Any more attempts at detailing at this point may begin to take away from the intended elegant style of the design.
The sanding begins to tone the carving.
The tooling marks of the background will give a nice texture when finished.
It will also allow the smoother texture of the bloom to stand out.
The depth of the carving will give some nice perspective and shadowing to the carving.
I have wet the carving down before the final sanding to accomplish 2 things, it will raise the grain of the wood to make sanding it down easier and give a smoother finish and wetting it also gives a better idea of how it will look after varnishing.
The Carvings are now delivered to the carpenter and are placed in a mock up of the doors.
Each Panel is 2 ft sq. you can now begin to appreciate the true door size. There will also be other trim panels surrounding the frame.
The stained glass panels have been finished and are awaiting being encased in a clear glass casing.
The project is now in the hands of the Carpenter, Peter Brenner.
The Doors are now constructed and awaiting final finishing and installment.
The information on the pages of this website is geared toward the beginning carver. I have tried to speak in plain English and in a manner as to be easily understood. As carving carries the inherent danger of using razor sharp tools, power machinery and solvents, the carver (that, being you) must accept full liability for any injuries incurred and is strongly encouraged to be safe in all carving related activities. It is further strongly recommended that the carver seek out many different resources and become educated on the proper use of their tools and the safety involved in using them. The owner of this site (that, being me, Maura Macaluso) bears no liability for your injuries, or for any misprints, missing or incorrect information. It is rumored that a carving doesn't have a soul until there is blood spilled on it. Please don't let the fear of injury deter you in the creative carving process. No guts, no glory,- no pain, no gain,-be safe, not sorry.
Maura Macaluso
Staten Island, NY
917-494-0008