More shape...

I have been able to establish more shape to my leaf and the next step will be sanding to ensure that the surface is ready to be polished.  As Trish, the carving judge mentioned, the finish is very important and ensuring that all the scratches are out will make polishing a lot easier and provide you with a lovely looking item at the end.  I just have to keep telling myself that it's all worth it.  I'm finding that I just want the project done and I think I might be rushing a little.

But... here it is so far...

Working the tagua nut

The tagua nut has been a lot harder to work that I originally thought.  Its a very difficult material to remove but more forgiving than the soap as it doesn't flake and crack like the problems I had with the bar of soap.

The techniques require more skill, careful tool placement and more time to work on the emphasis that I'm trying to achieve.  The soap was definitely a nice starting point and provided us with an almost immediate result which meant that we could move on and refine more techniques. 

Final Assessment - Tagua Nut

I started with a half tagua nut and had to research to find a leaf that I wanted to use for inspiration.

This is the one I liked the most...

I think I will use the basic shape as inspiration.  I need to consider the half piece of tagua nut that I received in my kit and think about making the most of the material also. 

Sunday Afternoon... a quite couple of hours

Sunday afternoon I felt like carving so I found a quite place on the verandah to sit with my bar of soap and my tools.

Thursday's effort

Today I started putting more shape into my leaf.  I got really worried that it wasn't looking like the photo but I just kept going and tried to make it look more realistic. 

It definitely makes a difference changing the tools you use and thinking about the techniques and angles you need to carve in order to gain the right look to it. 

The soap is carving away really easily however I'm finding that because its soap, its flaking and breaking where I don't want it to so I'm having to go a lot slower and more carefully so as not to take away too much in one particular spot. 

Week 3 - Carving - Mark out and start

Ooohhh... this is very daunting!

About to start my soap carving.  When I marked it out I was worried that the shape wasn't what I wanted and I was concerned that I wouldn't get the perspective right with the highs and lows in the image. 

I was reassured when we were told that our research was to be an inspiration and not meant as an item to replicate.  

Here is my start... 

Soap - not just for cleaning!

Hi all,

After receiving our kit this week I was surprised to see that we were given a bar of soap!

Apparently its very soft and we're able to carve it and practice our perspectives using leaves as our subject.  This is very exciting and I think it would be a cheap way to enhance my skills.

I've never worked with stone before and I imagine it would be much more difficult to work with.

We need to complete a photo diary and I'll be putting my progress on here as instructed.

Hi all,

Just thought I'd get going on this straight away... I have chosen this template because I love the rock Mookite and this background reminds me of it.  I've posted a photo to show you my favourite piece.

I'm really nervous about starting carving but excited to learn a new skill...

Happy Carving...

Cheers Tanya

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