I am realizing that carving has phases for me. I start of really reluctant to dig in. It seems impossible that the large chunk of wood could ever be what I want it to, so I’d rather go play the fiddle thanks. After I’ve done some work, I move on to disgust. The initial wood removal is ugly and I want to mess with it even less. That’s basically the state I left the top at yesterday in that photo. Then something magical happens. There’s a moment when I can just faintly see the form begin to emerge, and then the tide turns. Instead of not wanting to look at the block of wood, I can’t stop thinking about it and how great it’s going to be to draw that shape out. I hit that moment today when one corner began to emerge.
And a closer view after I switched to the gouge
The sound of the roughing gouge cutting cross grain like that makes a mesmerizing sound. It’s something between a cat purring and a zipper slowly opening. But you don’t have puzzle that out because I recorded it for you: