Update 2.5.1

I had not been careful enough and now have to start the diamond over again. This is a fairly large set back but I am still making progress. Here is what I have done yesterday to try to get back on track, using a small saw.

Oops.

Also here is the saw I am using for those who want to see it...

 (it does not make cutting wood like butter)

Update #2.5

Change of Plans

This is kind of late, because as of the time that this is being posted, I have already begun working on my new plans. As I planned in the first post, I originally intended to begin with an easy object, then move on to a intermediate and complicated object of my own design.
Upon consideration of Noah's comment on my second blog, I have changed these arrangements. Instead of creating an intermediate object, I have been working on creating the 3 other card suits. I will create a diamond, club and heart. I am hesitant to paint them, because I still do not know how it may look, or if the coats turn out uneven, possibly throwing away these weeks' work.. I will make an advanced object as my final piece, but it will be a stand for the four other creations to rest on. It will hopefully turn out as well as I imagined, with indentations to have the bases of the suits to rest in, with other designs around it. Either way, this is just supposed to keep some of you guys up to date on what I am up to.

Here is a quick glimpse for what's to come:

by the way, thanks to Noah for giving me these ideas.

Blog Post #2

I have begun and finished my first project. I made a card spade. You can tell that the final object does not exactly line up with the drawing that I made, but I think it turned out well regardless. I think that I was trying harder to keep my finger than trying to finish. The following images show steps I have gone through to complete the project.

Here is the piece of basswood I had sawed off before beginning to work on my project. I imagined the shape of the spade in my mind by created a shape of a heart with a cone from the bottom and I visualized the amount of basswood I would need. For this piece, I sawed the material by hand, a tedious and time consuming project, even for basswood that is known as a softer wood. I now know that it would be much easier to use an electric saw to do this step for further projects.

I drew my imagined spade on both sides of the wood block, using a pencil and ruler to make sure the object is symmetrical. You can see that I designed the spade to have the top portion meet at a point with two arch outwards, but in the final product it arches inward. This was a result of me not realizing the direction of the grain, moving horizontally, making it very difficult. It would have been much easier if the wood’s grain was vertical, instead, but I am pleased with the outcome either way.

I got as close to the outlined shape as well as I could, and it is visible that I am having difficulty having the wood arch inwards towards the point. This was also the beginning I used the knife on basswood and I noticed it was difficult to find a good place to hold the object, without having my index finger in front of the knife. I assume it will be easier on a larger object, but I will find out soon in my next project.

I made the decision that I could not arch the spade’s sides inward enough, so I began whittling the front and back of the piece, while making the decision to create a circular base instead of an ovular or rectangular one. I and on occasion accidentally forget the direction of the grain, accidentally going against it.

I finished cutting out the spade and made sure the spade is round from all sides, including from the bottom. I also decided to create a stand for the spade instead of the cone reaching the bottom of its base. The shape is there, but all of the edges need to be smoothed out.

Here is the finished spade after smoothing out corners with the knife and sandpaper. And for my first project I think it turned out fairly well. It is a bit rough around the edges and has a couple spots here and there, but the knowledge I have gathered from this project was invaluable, especially knowing the direction of the wood’s grain before beginning a project.

Weekly Comments:
Dani Grafton
Fred Sorg-Taylor
Ruby Lee

Update #1.5

I have obtained the Materials required to begin the project and have begun. The knife set I now have, has a variety of blades and handles, with a small saw, sanding block, and a variety of other tools. The knives are very sharp and most of the blades are not longer that an inch. I have received the knives before the wood, allowing me to try to work with extra wood planks my dad has, and it is quite difficult.


After finishing my first attempt with the wood planks, I believe these wood planks are made to be too hard durable for whittling. I have also come to the decision that my bedroom is the most convenient place to whittle, more so than my basement or outside. Outside is far too cold to be whittling on the porch. And my basement is inconvenient, for the reason that it is chilly, dirty, far from anyone else and lacks internet. It does not help that I have been traumatized by a mini Reese's Peanut-Butter Cup from my basement, that held a number of small white larvae or bugs in the wrapper. I feared my basement and mini Reese's  Peanut-Butter Cup ever since.

Either way, my room is most convenient for the reason that it is open, fairly-well organized, I am often there and I know how to use a vacuum.

The basswood blocks I have arrived in the mail, which includes multiple 2x4x12 blocks and a single 2x3x12. I will begin my main projects now.

Blog Post #1

Last update 2/23/2015 (moved to 2/19/2015 to align chronologically)

I'd Like to Start this Blog with an Anecdote...

My love for art began with my love to create. Throughout my life, this love led me to drawing and origami, and began when I was little. When I was in elementary school always had ideas that would leave as fast as they would come.  This lead to me drawing... all the time. But a problem, that frustrated me beyond belief, was that I could not draw with the detail that was fabricated with my mind. For a period of my life, I was obsessed with constantly drawing on and folding post-it notes, to the point where my desk, pencil box and backpack had been littered with post-it notes. I am sure I burned through more than 3 or 4 packs of just doodling and folding. And now I only recently am able to draw with the proficiency I have always desired, but was a product of many years of practice and determination.

I know that this passion lead me to my skills in drawing and origami, and I am very satisfied at the level that I am at now, but I want to see where else this passion can lead me.

The Decision

I had three primary activities I wanted to “master,” which were painting, whittling and chiseling. And as you can see, I have chosen whittling because I believed it was the most convenient in terms of materials. Also for the reason that I knew chiseling is a skill that takes many, many years to become good at, while painting is something that I believed was too close to what I am already doing with drawing. My goal for these next few weeks was not to master whittling, but master another way to make my ideas into reality.

The materials I need to obtain include a knife, basswood, sandpaper and possibly a mineral oil (used for preservation). I have already obtained minimal information on whittling such as cutting away from myself (instead of towards) and always going with the grain, ,or else the wood will splinter. My three large goals for the following weeks are going to be projects that ramp up in difficulty. Each project will have a number of steps, which include obtaining an idea, drafting (sketching out the image on the wood), creating the major shape, adding dimension and more details and smoothing out the piece with sandpaper.

Progress

I will measure and document each projects’ progress with photos. The first projects will be a fairly simple shape, without any textures on the surface. It is very likely that it will be a spade, formed by an upside down heart and a cone that arches inward. It is only designed to get me being comfortable using a knife, I will probably try not to accidentally cut myself more than trying to finish the shape. The second objects will have a more complicated shape such as a bird or other animal. The purpose for this object is to get a firm grasp on how to whittle more complicated shapes. The final project will be a replica of an item from a show or an object of my own creation. If it does become an object that I designed, then it will require the extra step of sketching, creating a solid idea through multiple drawing of the object from different views.  The purpose of this final project is to show my progress on whittling, by comparing the result with the intended object.

Weekly Comments:
Joshua Chu
Matt Autieri
David Weiss