Practice Makes...A Little Bit Better

I'm still trying to figure out carving in the round. This is a practice piece for one of the items on my bucket list. It doesn't resemble the original very much, but I'm learning a lot in the process:

1) Keep the center pencil line until you're finished. It helps with symmetry.

2) Sharpen your knife all the way to the tip. I used the very end of my knife more than I ever thought I would.

3) It might help to sketch the project first. I was using a photo, but I think it would have helped to draw the project in profile and straight on.

4) Eyes are hard.

Another thing I've found with carving—maybe the best thing—is that even if you have only 5 minutes at hand, you can sit down and work on your piece.

Imagine the time you waste waiting for your spouse to get all gussied up to go out to dinner. That's time that can be spent working on your project.

You may discover that you enjoy it so much, you'll find yourself saying to him/her, "Why not wear that red sweater instead? You know, the one you packed away last year. In the upstairs closet. Under the boxes of books. That's right, behind the entertainment center. No, no, I don't mind waiting."