Toshibea
I did this carving for a friend at work. Gina asked if I would make a carving for her sister Toshieba for Christmas. The carving Gina wanted was something that I hadn’t done before but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle, and new can be fun. She wanted a name plaque to set on her sisters desk at work. I designed this name plaque with carvings on both sides so it would have a pleasant look no matter which end you were looking at. I designed the back after the front was finished. Doing this let me use shapes already there to help design the back, turning the vine heart on the front into a flower on the back and using some of the flowers on the front to make hearts on the back. The shapes were there so I used them, doing this makes the carving look more natural.
And now a message from Gina:
To my Sister,
A Gift that is as unique as you are. Merry Christmas. Love, Gina.
6 Pictures.
Serpent's Song
Sometimes you get an idea in your head that you just can't get rid of, till you do something about it. I came up with a rough draft for this carving while at work. I sketched out the idea on scrap paper and put it away. I took this idea with me on my last trip to Argentina. I worked out a final draft using my original idea and started the carving while on my vacation. I had fun doing this carving. Most of the work was done in Argentina. I had a bunch of observers (my Nieces, Nephews, and their friends) watching me carve. The picture of me by the water was in San Luis, Argentina, it was beautiful there. I enjoyed sitting by the stream and working on this project as my little friends dropped by off and on to check my progress. Well kids it is finished, How do you like it? (let me know) I included a couple of views. 7 ¼ x 1 ¾ inches.
5 Pictures.
Work Flower
I Designed and started this carving at work. I didn't get too far in the carving progress because all I had to work with was a box cutter and they aren't much good for anything but cutting boxes. The piece of wood I found while sweeping up, was destined to be tossed in the trash, but I saved it for a higher purpose. The basic shape of the piece is the same I just added the flower, with the stem forming an up-side-down heart. I finished this carving in Linseed Oil. 1.5 x 5 inches
1 Picture.
Seahorse Hoofs
I thought this time I would add front legs to this Seahorse, I like to make them different each time. On the back of this carving I put a magnet. I liked adding detail to both the creature and the background. Around 1 ½ x 2 ½ inches
1 Picture.
Noble Seahorse
I did this carving after Sleepy..., it is the smallest Sea Horse I have made. I like the way the head turned out. ¾ x 1 ¾ inches
1 Picture.
Sleepy Seahorse
I did this carving (and Noble Seahorse and Seahorse Hoofs) a few years ago but recently put a finish on them. I like the way this little fellow looks, kind of peaceful with its eyes closed. ¾ x 2.5 inches
1 Picture.
Menchi Tree
This was my first Family Tree carving. I made this for my brother-in-law’s family. I enjoyed making this carving. This time the size of my wood is different. My parents picked me up some cedar when they went to Branson on vacation. This wood is a lot thicker and wider than I usually use and gave me more freedom to work. This was the first time that I carved names into wood, rather than raised up on to the surface like I usually do. I think it turned out nice. My two sister-in-laws now want me to carve a Family Tree Carving for them. While I was in Argentina on vacation I started one of these carvings and did a blue print for the other. On the back of this carving I added a Family Tree outline of Parents, Children and Grandparents along with birthdays.
3 Pictures.
Raul Bueno
This is another carving that I did for a friend at work who wanted a name carving for a friend of hers. Maria asked me to add an airplane to my design. I thought for this carving I would use an idea that I did for my “Fadhili” carving. This is the first time that I carved both the first and last name together.
1 Picture.
Deana
I guess it is not surprising that after doing my “James,” and “Anessa” carvings I would start on a carving for their mom “Deana.” I was glad when Deana decided that she wanted a name carving as well. I came up with two ideas for her carving. She chose my first draft. I had fun making this carving. I like doing flowers because I can make the stems go where ever I want, this time I made the stems form a heart in two places. I am thankful for Deana's support of my work, she is a good friend.
2 Pictures.
Anessa
This is another carving I did for Deana, a friend from work. This time it was for her daughter, Anessa. I had fun making this carving and I think it turned out well with the name encircled with flowers.
1 Picture.
James
I did this carving for a friend of mine at work. She wanted me to make a name carving for her boy James, he likes sports, so it was decided that I would carve a football helmet next to his name. It was my first time doing a helmet.
1 Picture.
Flower Heart Magnet
I made this carving for Gladis, a Team Leader where I work. When I heard Gladis was leaving and going back home I knew I couldn't let her go without making her something to say "Thank You," for all the good work she did. This was a fun carving to make, I didn't have all that much time to make it, so I took an Idea that I used before, changed it some and came up with something new. The original project was just the inner heart and the flower. Even though that carving was smaller, it would have taken longer to do so I added the outer heart, this made the flower flat. I also added sun rays to enable the inner heart and the flower to be more noticeable. On the back to the carving I added a Magnet, embeded into the wood and a hole for hanging if desired. I enjoyed giving Gladis the carving and am happy she liked it. I get the most satisfaction out of the work I do for others. Best wishes Gladis.
1 Picture.
Nahuel
Nahuel is the son of Gabriela, my wife Maria's cousin and long time friend. This carving is another first for me of sorts. I added a pattern behind the name that is rougher than I usualy do, I think it adds a lot to the carving making it stick out. I also used a wood burner to scorch the wood around each letter and to add to the Tigers overall appearence.
1 Picture.
Bianca
Bianca is Mili's younger sister. She is cute like her older sister and fun to be around. I decided to add a flower to her name carving and use the same pattern behind the name as I used in the carving for Mili. The flower has leaves around it forming a kind of circle.
1 Picture.
Mili
Mili is short for Milagros which means "Miracle," in Spanish. She is a cute young lady, sister of Elias. I am fond of her and her brother and sisters, they seem to be such nice kids. I wanted to do a nice carving for her and think I did so. I decided to do something that I have never done before. What I came up with is a butterfly. I added a small circle pattern behind the name and butterfly to help both stick out better.
1 Picture.
Elias
This was a fun carving to make. After making Gaby, Thomas, and Valen carving I wanted to do something very different. Elias is the son of Beto Menchi, the brother of my wife and I wanted to make something special for him. I decided to add to this name carving a mythological water dragon. What makes this carving different from all the rest of the carvings I did for my nieces and nephews, is that I put the name "Elias," in front of the dragon instead of carving it off to the side. This type of carving takes a little more time because you have more than two layers. I added scales to the beast so that the name would stick out better and not blend in with the dragon.
1 Picture.
Valen
Valentino is the is Gaby's younger brother. I made this carving after Thomas and made it so that the word took up all of the wood with little border. I try to do something different with each of my carvings
1 Picture.
Tomas
Tomas is the oldest of my Nephews, brother of Gabriel and Valentino. This was the first of my nieces and nephews carvings that I did back home in the USA. I liked the way this carving turned out.
1 Picture.
Gaby
Gaby is short for Gabriel he is one of my nephews. This is the frist of the carvings I made for my nieces and nephews. I was in Argentina when I started this for him. I only had a small piece of wood with me but I think I turned out nice. Gaby is a nice boy and I enjoyed the time we had together in 2006.
1 Picture.
Cris
This carving was made in 2006. I was in Argentina visiting my wife Maris's family. Cris, my wifes sister wanted to carve so I gave her a piece of wood and helped her out. I ended up finishing the carving for her when I got back home. I am now returning (November 2008) to Argentina and taking this carving with me along with seven other carvings I have made for my nieces and nephews.
1 Picture.
Valentine Heart and Flower
I did this carving for my wife on the last Valentine Day (2008). I added a magnet to the back, it is now stuck on the fridge.
1 Picture.
Jada
Jada is the daughter of Tiffiny, one of my best friends. Although I haven't met this little angel yet I know she must be very special, so I wanted to make something for her. I decided on carving her name on a piece of cedar, along with flowers and leaves. Jada was born under the sign of Taurus, the bull, so I added that symbol to the carving, located under the J&A. Jada is my second carving for a young child, my first was Lindsay. I decided to show the stages of this carving. First off you see the blueprint, my design. Next the design has been transferred to the wood. Next the basic shape is cut from the wood, after that I cut away the deepest parts of the carving first and work my way up the next level, so as to not cut away my pattern. After that I start shaping the flowers and leaves and finely I add detail. This carving is approximately 8.5 x 3.25. I have done carvings for Tiffiny in the past, they are contained else where on my website.
7 Pictures.
My Valentine
This carving was fun to make. I have a love for Celtic music, art and culture, so much of what I do has that flavor to it. What says Happy Valentines Day more then a heart with an arrow through it. I took this idea and let the arrow take a few detours before coming out the opposite end. I made this Celtic Heart carving for my wife, Maria for the Lovers holiday. I also added a message on the back, but that is for our eyes only. This carving is roughly 2 x 2.5 inches.
1 Picture.
Candy Machine
It has been a while since I made something, with carvings on it, that served a purpose. The last time was when I made an incense burner for a friend. This time I went off on a different direction and made a candy machine. I got the idea from my friend Eric who showed me one his mother had. I changed the design here and there and added relief carvings along two of the sides. Although I usually carve cedar this time I used regular pine lumber. I wasn’t quite sure until the completion if I would like it or not. Little by little I added details and the levers along with the polyurethane, and the candy machine came alive. I found some nice 8 ounces Mason type jars to use to hold the candy. The candy machine works great. Regular M&M candies are shown in some if my pictures, but this machine can also hold peanut M&M’s, other candy of like size or even nuts. I hope to make more of these in the near future. This item along others like it in the future will be for sale, for anyone who is interested.
5 Pictures.
Flower Heart-Vine
I made this small carving for my wife, Maria, as one of her Christmas presents. I think it turned out well. I like giving shape to the vine of the flower in this case the shape of a heart. The leaves help give strength to the design but at the same time the carving looks delicate. This carving is 1.125 x 3 inches.
1 Picture.
Cedar Tube
I carved this small tube for Gerry, a friend who I worked with, for what seems like a long time. Gerry has seen plenty of real tubes in his days at Pfizer, so I thought I would make this Cedar tube for his birthday. I was pleased that he liked it. This carving is a little over 2 inches long. Happy Birthday Gerry.
2 Pictures.
Fadhili
Fadhili is a friend of mine from work. When I found out about his birthday I decided that I couldn't let the occasion pass without making something for him in my workshop. I decided to carve his name, I also wanted to do something different than I've done before, so I made a kind of saw-tooth pattern with lines at about 45 angle across the carving. I was worried at first on how it would turn out, but upon finishing it, I found myself pleased with its outcome. This carving is 8.1 X 3.6 inches. Fadhili is a talented artist and is working on putting together his own website in the near future, stay tuned to my WCN. page for updates on when it will be up and runninig. Happy Birthday Fadhili.
1 Picture.
Nellie Flower
I made this flower on short notice for a friend where I work. I had fun carving this piece. I tried out some ideas I had thought about doing on my next flowers. I added a pattern on the flowers inner circle and some small lines extending outward from the center. At first I was going to carve the flower as it was without the rectangle it sets upon. This would have required more time than I had and would have made the piece weaker. This carving is 1 7/8 X 4 1/8 inches. On the back I added a hole that would enable it to be hung on the wall. I also added magnets imbedded into the wood so that it could be hung elsewhere. Happy Birthday Nellie.
1 Picture.
My Button
My wife Maria thought I was nuts when after a button broke on a pair of cargo pants of mine I decided to go to my shop to make another. "We have buttons," Maria said, but I was determined to do things the hard way. Actually I had thought about making buttons for a while, so when an opportunity came up I jumped for it. I made this button out of walnut for strength, it is 13/16 of an inch in diameter with three holes in a triangle pattern in the center.
3 Pictures.
Dragon Spore
This was an experiment carving. I wanted to see how cedar would respond to linseed oil. It took a long time to get the finish the way I wanted it, most of the time I use polyurethane. Linseed oil seems to work better for me on softer woods. This little fellow dimension is 2.5 inches nose to tail and about an inch high (fin to fin). One other thing I did new on this carving was to use my wood burning tools to add eyes to the creature’s small face. This was the finishing touch to bring the carving to life.
3 Pictures.
Betty Boop
I did this carving for a friend at work. Shirley, is a BIG Betty Boop fan. My love for this animated character grew bigger as I took on the challenge of bringing her image out of the wood. I decided to use Bass Wood to do this carving. This marks the first time that I used wood burning tools to enhance the carving it is also the first time I carved an animated character. I used these tools to color Betty’s hair and to outline the body which helped the body to stand out from the background. With the success I had with this carving I will probably do more projects of this kind in the future.
1 Picture.