I recently completed a wood sculpture, “Interlude”, carved in basswood, 26″ high. The piece took about 100 hours to do. Viewers may be interested in the process, so I am including a series of photos showing different aspects.

This shows the laminated block of wood, a small half-sized clay sketch, and full size drawings. The drawings were very important as all the critical dimensions were included there.

Most of the early stages of the carving were done with a large, slightly curved gouge and a wooden mallet.

A sawzall was also used to remove as much extra wood as possible.

The front profile has been nearly completed.

A surform tool, much like a cheese grater, is frequently used to clarify the surface and to remove gouge marks.

The area around the legs and feet has been roughed out.

Further work on the legs. I draw on the wood frequently with a marker to remind myself what needs to be removed.

The right arm has been partially roughed out. The size of the wood chips on the table indicate about how much is being removed with each cut. This kind of sculpture is a “subtractive” art, and one has to be careful not to take away too much, as it can’t be put back!

The arm and hand further refined. A small gouge is used a lot at this stage of the carving.

It helps to drill holes in an areas where wood needs to be removed to create openings in the arms and legs.

The dress has been further developed.

Lots of holes help in removing wood under the edge of the dress, so it has the illusion of being fabric.. The edge is later thinned to about 1/8″ thick.

Probably 20% of my time is spent sanding the wood, starting with 80 grit, then 150, 220, and finally 320. The wood is very pale at this point, but when a clear lacquer finish is applied, the warmth and color really appear. The figure has a birthmark on her chest–small knots often show up in a finished piece, nature’s contibution to the artwork.

The finished sculpture.