Part I

their masters, the Flemings, taught their pupils. ^^- D FOURTH LESSON. CUTTING OUT A FLAT PANEL WITH A GROUND. ET the pupil take a panel and d raw- He on it a pattern, Fig. 37 a. is to cut this out in what is called flat carving, and sometimes " ribbon work." He begins by ontliiiing, which may be effected in different ways. I. By taking a small Jluter or veiner, or a tooling-gouge one- tenth of an inch in diameter, and cutting a groove all around the pattern just outside of it, but accu- rately close to it. If perfect in Lesson H. this will be very easy for him. n. He may do this also with V a or parting tool, but the gouge HL is better for a first attempt. The outline cutting may be effected by taking a firmer or carver's chisel, one-third of an inch broad, and placing it " up and down " close to the pattern, but sloping outwardly, give it a tap with the mallet Cutting Grounds. 35 30 as to sink it a very little way into the wood. Do not cut "straight up and down," but so as to make a sloping bank. IV. There is yet another way, which is mor-e difficult and seldom practised, yet which if mastered gives great skill in carving. Take the firmer or flat chisel, and holding it with great care run it along the edge, sloping outwards, so as to cut the line accu- rately. By means of this method the whole work may be very well outlined. It is not urged as absolutely necessary at a first lesson, but it is advisable to practise it sooner or latter. When the outlining is done, let the pupil take a flat gouge Fig. 37 a. (if he has cut the line with a small gouge), and very carefully shave away the wood from the ground. Let him cut at first very little at a time, for his object is now not to make some- thing to show, but to learn kozv to manage his tools. Do not finish all the cutting in one part at once, leaving the rest untouched, but go all over it gradually several times, until it is nearly perfect. Let every touch tell. Remove the wood at every cut, and leave no edges or splinters. To do this well you must also always watch and consider the grain of the wood at the particular spot you are operating upon ; it is easy enough to see whether you are cutting with, that is in the same direction, as the grain, 3< A Manual of Wood-Carving. or across the grain but it is something beyond this that has to ; be looked to. It is invariable that all wood, whether cut with the grain or partly across the grain, will be found to work better, smoother, and with less tendency to splinter either in the one or the other direction, that is to say, when cut from right to left, or the reverse, from left to right. The required direction in which Fig. 37 b. it will cut the smoothest is at once shown by the behaviour of the wood itself and the quality of the results ; hence, should the work or surface show a tendency to splinter, if possible cut it from the opposite direction, and turn the work round on the bench should that be necessary to enable you to do it, that is, if vou cannot use the tool in cither hand. Beware above all things Cutting Grounds. 37 of letting the hands work mechanically. Think of what you are about. By learning to cut clean and flat you are taking the first step towards the '' siveep-cut," which will come afterwards, and which requires both deliberation and dexterity. When all is cut out nicely and carefully, take an extra flat gouge and clean " the floor," removing every trace of unevenness, Then take a French round nail or bodkin, and with the mallet fill the ground with little holes so as to make a rough surface ; or you may use one of the stamps for this. This requires care, so that the shape of the stamp may not be apparent. It is advisable to trim with a very sharp small chisel, and with great care, the edge of the pattern. For this lesson it will be best not to cut away more than one-fourth of an inch to form the ground. If the outlining is done with a chisel and mallet, before cutting away the ground, go over the outline and cut at a little distance from the line already cut towards it, so as to remove the wood and form a V-shaped groove, as one digs with a spade. Teachers or pupils are begged to remember that the sole object of this lesson is to learn how to handle and manage the tools ; that is, to become familiar with them, and how to learn to ait a crround with skill and confidence. To do this there should be much occasional practice on bits of waste wood. There- fore it is earnestly urged that no beginner shall go further than the work described in this lesson until he or she can execute it with accuracy and ease. When this is gained all that remains to be done is easy. V The reason why the "parting" or tool is not specially recommended to beginners for outlining is, that it is the most difficult of all tools in ordinary use to sharpen. The small gouge answers every purpose for the work in hand. To recapitulate, first, we have the cutting away from 38 A Manual of Wood-Cai'-vin^. between the outlines of the pattern : If the panel be half an inch in thickness, it should not be more than a quarter of an' inch in depth. Cut over the whole very lightly at first, and then go over it again and again. Do not dig or cut out the whole quarter of an inch in one place at once, leaving the rest as yet untouched. Should you do this you will be led to cutting too deeply in some places. When the hard work is effectively executed, and nearly all the wood is roughly cut away, the work is said to be hosted or sketched, a word supposed to be derived from the French ebaiiche or the Italian abozzo, meaning the same thing. After cutting Fig 37 a, the pupil may proceed 'to 37 b, which is simply an amplification of the same. Simple ModcLling. 39 FIFTH LESSON. CUTTING SIMPLE LEAVES--CARVING WITH THE LEFT HANDMODELLING OR ROUNDING--SHADED PATTERNS AND MODELLING--PROGRESS TOWARDS RELIEF. T will be very much to the advantage of the pupil, so soon as he can cut con- fidently and correctly with the gouge or chisel, to practise with the left hand as well as the right. The younger he is the easier will it be to form this A habit. carving tool is sharpened from both sides because the edge, so made, enables the artist to cut from many positions without turn- ing the wood, and when he can use both hands he has the same advantage to a greater degree. Try, therefore, to acquire a perfect command of the tools, so as to cut with both hands, and in many directions and ways, the greatest care being always taken, however, that you do not turn the point towards yourself, lest an unwary slip should produce a wound. When you can ait with confidence, and do not rely under any circumstance on splitting, digging, prizing up, " wriggling," or rocking with the gouge to remove wood, then you can tell beforehand what you 40 A Manual of Wood-Cai'ving. are about to do. To attain this skill you must frequently practise cutting on waste wood, and not spend all your time on perfectly finished work. The pupil has been instructed in Lesson IV. how to cut out the ground from a flat panel, leaving the pattern in relief Very beautiful patterns may be executed with very little finish ; and a vast proportion of beautiful old Gothic wood-carving depended far more on outline than on modelling for its effect. Modelling is the rounding or shaping a pattern to give it form. Now leaves, in one shape or another, more or less natural, form a Fig. 38: great proportion of all decorative design. When they are sim- plified from the original type, and made merely ornamental, yet still preserving so much of the original shape that we can plamly see what that type was, they are said to be " conventionalized." It is, therefore, very important that the wood-carver should know how to carve leaves well. He has already learned how to make the simple outline or groove of one or many with a gouge, and how to remove the wood surrounding them. He may now go a step further and cut with great care the elemen- tary pattern. Fig. 38. Use a flat gouge for gradually rounding and carving the surface, beginning with the outer or lower edge, Fig. 38. Sijnple Modelling. 41 and working up to the stem. The pupil will do this as well again, and with far greater confidence and ease, should he begin Fig- 59- firstly by making a shaded copy of a leaf in pencil, then modelling it in clay, and then copying this in wood. The time thus 42 A Manual of Wood-Carving. spent will be gained in the end many times over by the skill and dexterity and eye-training acquired. The first step in rounding a leaf is effected simply by "wasting" or chipping away little by little by straightforward cutting. This is the same for convexities and hollows. Such rounding and undulation is performed by skilled artists with very few tools, including gouges, skew-chisels, rasps, files, and the double-bent gouge. The student may, in the beginning, round and scoop his leaves with any tools which seem fit, if he will only cut with the utmost caution, and keep the implements well sharpened. A very important and rather difficult part of this work is the cutting the ribs or stems which run through the leaf One implement for this purpose is the so-called " macaroni tool," but at present it is really very little used, owing to the great difficulty of keeping it sharp, and its liability to break. Nearly all veining can be executed with the fluter or large veiner, the V hollow gouge, the tool, or the flat gouge, according to circumstances. " The wood," as Eleanor Rowe remarks, " should be taken off in short, sharp touches, and not by deep and long cuts, and no attempt should be made to obtain a smooth surface until the form and general modelling of the leaf is done." The edge of the leaf may be a little under-cut to give relief; this effect V should be given by a tool or small veiner. When the leaf is correct in form, proceed with flat gouges to remove the tool marks, holding the tool very firmly, and inclining it to an angle of about 45". It is advisable for the beginner to cut several simple leaves with great care. Fig. 39, and, if possible, let him draw, shade care- fully, and model them all in clay before carving them. He will be astonished to find how much easier the latter process is, and with what confidence it can be carried out, after the two former Simple Modelling. 43 have been executed. Having for several years had under my supervision large classes in wood-carving, both with and without modelling in clay, I speak from experience on this subject. It is to be observed that, as leaves and sprays involve every possible curve, he who can design, model, and carve them well, will find no difficulty in executing birds, animals, or the human face or figure. In their simplest forms, or in flat work, these are all extremely easy. Then they may be a little rounded, or modelled, and so going on, step by step, the carver may come to full relief. Oak leaves are, perhaps, the most graceful of all objects, and lend themselves to as many forms as the acanthus, but they are also very difficult in their more advanced developments. Therefore they form an admirable subject for study. 44 A Manual of Wood-Carving. SIXTH LESSON. -- -- CUTTING WITH THE GRAIN TURNING THE TOOL THE -- -- DRILL BOLD CARVING AND LARGE WORK. N both large and small carving there is one common difficulty, the fre- quent resistance of the grain of the wood and defects incidental to it. This question has already been touched upon in the Fourth Lesson, where the pupil has been told that he will usually find the wood cut |, more readily from the one side towards the other. To this may be added, that as he progresses and carves in higher relief he will not only find the same thing in working leaves and other ornament, but he will also find that some portions about these will always cut better, more smoothly, and without splintering, when the tool cuts downwards, that is, from the surface towards the background, but with other and quite adjacent portions when the tool is made to cut the reverse way or upwards. As a first rule, therefore, so soon as there is the smallest sign of splintering, try the cut from an opposite direction to remove it, and it should cease. Further, if the edge of the gouge or firmer cut in certain directions against the grain of the wood, it will " catch," or tear, or splinter. As another precaution against this, the carver may shift the position of the wood by unscrewing it, if it is held by a clamp or holdfast. This is more easily effected if he have, in Fig. 40. 46 A Manual of Wood- Carving. the French fashion, only three or four nails driven into the table, in which case he has only to pick his work up and put it into a different position ; or he may shift his own position. But it is Fig. 41- best of all to be able to carve with both hands, a feat which, after all, is not difficult to acquire, and which comes very soon with a little practice ; and to master the art of Uirning the tool about and Cutting with the Grain. 47 cutting tJi any position, which also comes with practice to an incredible extent. He who can do this, can manage to cut with the grain in most cases without shifting the block. Wood should never be torn or ripped ; everything should be done by clean, smooth cutting. To make sure of this you must first of all keep every tool as sharp as a razor all the time, and always cut with the grain. Cutting diagonally, or partly across, is still cutting with the grain, and is easier and surer than going parallel with it. Mark out the pattern, Figs. 40 or 41, and outline it. The Greek and Roman workmen, and very often those of later but early times, with a gimlet, or drill, or centre-bit, bored out holes here and there, both in wood-carving and in stone, and worked up to, or around these. They formed beginnings, as it were, to guide the gouge or chisel. These were often of great practical utility wherever a small round cavity occurred, but their chief use in wood was to aid and direct the tool in certain places where there were difficulties of grain to contend with, or sharp points or corners of ornaments likely to be broken off. I was once puzzled to know why the drill was so much more used in ancient than in modern carving, but reflection convinced me that where decorative work must be done expeditiously or cheaply, and a little coarseness of execution did not signify, it was a very great aid. In the pattern. Fig. 38, the leaf is easy to cut; that is to say, one single leaf. Cutting it once more, or repeating it, is only doing the same work over again ; yet if this same leaf, or another not a bit more difficult, be repeated twenty-five or thirty times in a wreath, it will seem to be a very difficult piece of work. Now, it is a matter of importance to understand that if you can do a very small, simple piece of wood-carving really well, you can also by mere patience and repetition execute a piece of work which would seem to be very remarkable, or quite beyond your 48 A Manual of Wood-Carving. power. The illustration to this lesson, Fig. 40, shows what I mean. Almost any one with care could cut out a leaf, and he who has done one can repeat it in any other arrangement. Now a vast proportion of all decorative patterns in flat or ribbon-work, and even in higher relief, are formed on this principle of repetition, or of so-called " lobes," so that he who can carve even a little neatly may be confident almost from the beginning of being able to execute even valuable work. Such a panel as Fig. 41, when once carved, may serve for the lid or sides of a box, the cover of an album, or any object with a smooth, flat surface. But I cannot repeat too often this injunction, to constantly practise cutting on waste wood, so as to acquire facility of hand, before attempting anything which is to be shown or sold. It is unfortunately true that, left to himself or herself, there is not a pupil in a thousand who would not devote all the time or work to producing show-pieces, even at the first cutting, instead of practising so as to learn how to pro- duce them. When pupils have teachers who are practical and workman- like, it is probable that as soon as they can handle the tools they will be set at bold, large ivork. This is fortunate for them, since it is the greatest advantage one can have, be it in Design, Modelling, Wood-carving, or any other art of the kind, to be made familiar with free-hand, large, and vigorous execution. ^ Highly Finished Studies of Foliage. P 48. � "7^-- SEVENTH LESSON. -- THE SWEEP-CUT OR FREE-HAND CARVING CUTTING -- NOTCHES IN LEAVES THE ROUND-CUT, OLDNESS in cutting is a matter of very great importance, since no one can carve really well till he gets beyond chipping or " wasting." To carve boldy we must use the sweepcut. It may be observed that in modelling in clay there are certain methods of shaping the material, which are quite peculiar ; as, for in- stance, when we press the modelling tool down or up, and at the same time turn it to the left or right. This makes an inclination upwards or a depression downwards, yet sloping to one side or the other. It is made by two movements in one ; so in cutting with a sword or long knife, if we chop, yet at the same instant draw the blade, the result is a much deeper inci- E ; 50 A Manual of Wood-Carving. sion. This is called the draw-cut, and by means of it a man may cut a sheep in two, or sever a handkerchief or lace veil thrown into the air. Very much like this is the double motion of the hand in the sweep-aU, which must be acquired by all who would learn to carve leaves well. It is not quite true that all work must go through the three stages of blocking out, bost- ing, and finishing; for when leaves are carved with the sweep-cut they are gene- rally finished at one opera- tion. With this cut, which is usually performed with a flat gouge, the wood- is removed so as to give a -- peculiar form or curve as when a leaf slopes down -- and sideways by a single but compound movement that is, we must, while press- ing the edge, also move it or give it a slight lateral motion. This sweep or side- cut is developed more fully Fig. 4: in sloping larger and espe- cially rounded surfaces, like whole leaves, which rise and fall, or undulate. Figs. 41, 42. This cut, by means of which one can carve with confidence the most brittle and difficult wood, requires a tool of very good quality, which must be kept scrupulously sharp. It must be practised on waste wood till the pupil is a master of it, but when it is Free-hand Carvins. 5^ once acquired, wood-carving, as regards all large and effective work, may be said to really have no further difficulties. With some it seems to come all at once, by inspiration. The simplest or first form of the sv^^eep-cut occurs in making leaves. Every one who has tried this knows that the cutting the notches or making lobes in the wood, but especially the shaping the points, is a difficult matter, for if we simply shove or press the edge of the cutter, as in ordinary ox plane work, the leaf will probably break, especially if the wood be "splitty," uneven, or brittle. Having marked out a circle to include the lobes of the leaf, we cut a notch half way between the proposed points, and by shaving first from one side and then the other, bring the lea'f or its lobes into shape. Fig. 43. Of course, in doing this we cut from the point to the corners. For the present it will suffice to apply it in its simplest and easiest form to cutting groups of leaves. In the previous lesson the pupil has been told how to cut out a single plain leaf in relief by simply " wasting " or chipping away the wood little by little with Fig. 43- a fiat gouge. In like manner it might be filed, or rasped, or scraped like metal, into shape. Let the pupil now sketch Fig. 43, and then bost it out, by cutting round and clearing away as already described. The dotted lines indicate the original shape or circles in which the leaves are cut. When it is " all done but the finish- ing," or bosted, then cut the notches backwards in the manner already described. And, as I have said, if the pupil has practised the sweep-cut, and keeps his fiat gouge perfectly sharp, he may cut the finest notches in the smallest leaves in the splittiest wood without once breaking away a piece. 52 A Manual of Wood-Carving. The sweep-cut gives perfect confidence, and he who has acquired it, and knows how to apply it so as to make any curve or boss or involution which he pleases, may be said to have passed from the amateur stage to that of the artist, or at least of the clever workman. By means of it one can model the most refractory wood into any shape, and to any one who is expert at it oak is as easy to carve as pine. Therefore the pupil should spare no pains to acquire it ; and it will come sooner perhaps than he expects if he first of all takes all pains to understand what it really is, and secondly to practise it for a few hours on waste wood. There are, however, many carvers who pass months or years in " wasting " away wood by simple straight cutting or chipping before they get any idea of what a -- sweep-cut is if indeed they ever learn it. But if the pupil has previously acquired skill, that is to say, ease and confidence in running gouge lines and hollow cutting and shaping simple leaves by straight cutting, he will without doubt find that the free-hand sweep-cut comes as by inspiration. EIGHTH LESSON. FURTHER APPLICATION OF THE SWEEP-CUT TO HIGHER RELIEF. HEN a leaf is in its ordinary atural condition it is eene- rally flat, but while growing or fading it often curls and twists into remarkable and graceful shapes, which are extensively em- ployed in decoration. Before going further I would impress it on the intelligent student that the mere literal imita- tion of any kind of leaf, so that it would look exactly like a real leaf if it were only coloured, should seldom or never enter within the province of wood-carving as a general decorative art. What the pupil should do in copying leaves and flowers, etc., or Im modelling them for carving, is to observe their characteristic shape and contour, to follow all their graceful lines and bends, depressions and swellings, and give the general expression and spirit of these without striving too accurately to make a mere leaf. He should not make it so thin that it would break with a A sligl>t blow. great deal of the most admired work of the present day is of this kind, which will hardly bear dusting. 54 A Manual of Wood-Carving. A leaf may always be cut, as ue see it done in classical and in ancient work, so solidly and firmly as to resist the wear and tear of centuries. As nobody is expected to believe that it is a real leaf when it is palpably cut out of wood or stone, we may as well conventionalize it (that is, keep only a general likeness to a leaf), and make it attractive by grace and skilful combination. And this can be done if we only cut out the leaf in its general form and leave a strong base for it to rest on, so that it may be Fig. 44. safely dusted or rubbed against. The student should trj' to understand this, for it will enable him to make all effects necessary in decorative work, and save him much needless petty labour. If the pupil has practised the sweep-cut, and can with confidence work in any direction, with both hands, he may now attempt oak-leaves in which there are varied slopes, cavities, and swellings, Figs. 44 and 45. These seem to have been the favourite subjects of the old modellers and carvers. Perhaps the Higher Relief. OD best designing of the kind in existence is that by Adam Kraft, in Nuremberg. I repeat here, that the more difficult and varied a leaf is the more necessity is there for the pupil to model it in clay, or at least to draw and shade it carefully, before beginning The reason is this, that, having its principal points in the memory, it is much easier to reproduce them when cuttino- in wood ; we know then when and where to turn the hand or the tool. And it is well to bear in mind that this practical and necessarily accurate, though often hasty, sketching and shading of the workshop grows very rapidly on the pupil, so that, being driven to it, he learns to do such drawing more promptly and vigorously than he would in a school or class. In making the sweep-cut it is necessary to get the bend or movement, which is directing the gouge in the proper route. In ordinary cutting we only push the blade forward ; in the sweep-cut there is a " draw " or side movement as well as a push. But the Inmd or direction constitutes, so to speak, a third movement, and this is the most difficult to determine. To get a certain symmetrical turn or curve we cut icitJiont seeing, whereas in ordinary cutting or "wasting" we see clearly just what we are going to slice off, and take it away with confidence. But with a little practice on waste wood, the sweep or draw-cut will become so familiar that one can execute the most difficult curves, not by chipping away, but by a bold sweep. Amateurs who have taught themselves can generally cut or chip only straightforward s ; they cannot turn or curve a leaf with a sweep The combined movement given to the tool in making the sweep-cut may be thus analyzed, and if the three distinct forces applied to the tool be first understood and then kept in mind in making such cuts, success will soon and easily result. Suppose we are engaged upon the surface of a leaf which slopes generally downwards and off to one side, but also has a rise or mound somewhere in the course of the slope, and most leaves 56 A Manual of Wood-Carving. have one or more such undulations. With the gouge, straight or bent, grasped firmly in the right hand, and the two fingers of the left hand pressed on the surface and side of the blade about -- an inch from the cutting edge the position already described : the tool is pushed straight forward for the entire length of the cut by the right hand ; at the same time the blade is pushed to the right or pulled to the left by the two fingers of the left hand to the extent, and as the slope may travel to the right or the left ; and thirdly, the right wrist is raised or lowered to cause the tool to travel over the intended mounds or undulations on the leaf Now these three distinct movements or forces exerted on the tool merge into one another, and may be said to be used simultaneously, and are really one continuous movement, which gives the sweep-cut ; but the extent to which any one preponderates of course depends upon the particular shape of the leaf or scroll being carved, and is soon found out by but little practice upon different forms. In commencing or bosting out this pattern, Fig. 44, and all others in high relief, the pupil will do well to observe that he should select a gouge whose sweep will fit the curve of the leaf in the part it is intended to begin upon, and placing the edge of the gouge outside, but quite close to the line, and holding the tool at a slope so as to cut away from it outwards, give it a moderate blow with the mallet. Take care not to drive the gouge in too deeply. This is the blocking out of the leaf, or outlining in the solid. And in doing this, begin by making or cutting the general outline only. Leave the second-sized interstices or hollows for a second cutting, and the smaller notches of the leaves and fine corners for a final finishing. In this pattern, Fig. 44, also Figs. 42 and 45, the leaves should be of the natural size, or from three to five inches in length. Most beginners cut too closely under the leaf, so as to get at once to relief, which looks like finish. As a rule it is better, Fig. 45- Circular Panel in Higher Relief. Higher Relief. 57 whatever the pattern be, in flat ribbon-work or high relief, to ahvays rather slant outwards. For in the first place, when we come to finish in ribbon-work, the pupil may find it necessary to cut so much away to bevel or round or undercut the pattern, that (especially when it is in narrow lines) the thinning away will quite destroy their proportions. But it is well on yet another account to be very sparing of this paring away and undercutting. There are far too many wood-carvers who cut away under in order to make leaves thin and natural, till they are like paper, and much more fragile. This is greatly admired as indicating "skill," and it certainly demands skill of a common order to effect. But it requires a much higher and nobler kind of art and will to make the leaves strong and firm, -- even if we conventionalize them so that their curves are really beautiful. And this may be done, and at the same time all the most beautiful and characteristic features of leaves be preserved. In ribbon or flat carving, a strong shadow or relief may be got as follows. In cutting, slant the chisel or gouge outwards at an angle of 45", thus /. When the grounding is finished, cut under the slope, half way up. The outline will then be like a <. This sharp edge may be cut away a very little, such as C, or even into a rounded C , in which case there will be a marked line of shadow all round the edge. Having blocked out the whole quasi-perpendicularly, that is, in one direction or on one side, proceed to cut away the most apparent hollows or depressions. With care and measurement even the beginner will soon find his leaves beginning to assume shape. If he has not learned as yet to cut and sweep boldly, he may finish the whole by simply wasting the wood away with straight cutting, aided by the file, riffler, or rasp. In fact, for many beginners, and especially for those who are slow to learn, this straight cutting and rasping is really advisable, because it at least makes them familiar with handling tools, and teaches 58 A Alanual of Wooa-Carving. them how to model and hollow out. Beginners always experience great dread or hesitation as regards hollowing and curving " in the round," but when they perceive that an object is beginning to assume shape they take heart, and when they have succeeded with one or two by easy, certain work, even with the help of rasps, they will carve with more confidence. Ornament from the Uuomo, Ft.orence. NINTH LESSOxX. -- CARVING SIMPLE FIGURES OR ANIMAL FORMS FIGURINI -- FOR CABINETS SIMPLE ROUNDED EDGES AND APPROACH TO MODELLING. carved in wood, and imitate it. EN the pupil has had some practice in carving leaves and similar ornaments in relief, he soon learns to deepen or to cut them higher and higher, and then to model them in- to form. He may now, if he chooses, attempt some simple animal A forms. bird, a duck, or a hare hanging up, will present no special difficulty to him, firstly, if he will obtain one of Swiss work, already There are few towns where 6o A Manual of Wood-Carving. he cannot obtain something of the kind. It is true that much Swiss wood-carving is not at all to be recommended as regards style or finish, but it will do very well for a beginning. The best method would of course be to model a hare in clay after a dead one. In any case he can make a beginning by buying some toy animals, carved in wood and not painted. These are made by being sawn or turned out of wood into the profile section. This is then sliced into many pieces and each of these carved, sometimes fairly well, into an animal. The wool or hair is imitated in the very V small gouges or tools, and sometimes scraped with a rasp, comb, or other tool. After the blocking out such work presents no peculiar difficulty. The process is quite as easy as regards the ordinary or grotesque animals in Gothic carving. Draw such an animal. Fig. 46 or 48 a or /;, and having fairly bosted it out, proceed to very gradually Fig. 46. round away the edges. If it be, for instance, a serpent, which is everywhere round, this process is very simple, especially if after the cutting we smooth it with files and glass-paper. It will shape itself. Now the limbs of animals, and even of human beings in low relief, may be rounded in this manner to approximate correctness ; or to correctness enough for initial ornamental processes. As the pupil proceeds, and improves in modelling -- and advances to copying let us say excellent patterns of Re-- naissance and classic work he will go far beyond such beginning. But there is in itself absolutely no reason why, if he only draws Simple Figure Carving. 6i his outlines correctly, he should not begin by this simple Gothic work. Whatever a pupil can draw from life or a block, that he can shadow and whatever he can draw and shadow he can model ; (or vice versa) ; and whatever he can model, he can execute in wood nor would the working it out in sheet brass or leather ; Fig. 47- trouble him at all. This is the best way to work, so much the best that, under all circumstances, and in spite of all drawbacks, every wood-carver should strive with all his heart to learn to draw and model ; for in so doing he will learn a great deal more than all three of these cuts put together, for he will most assuredly have acquired a faculty which will help him in any- thing which he may undertake. Having learned to sketch out, bost, and round simple figures, 62 A Manual of Wood-Carving. I advise the pupil to execute a number of them, with or without leaves and ornaments. He may thus sketch and cut fishes, animals of all kinds, human figures in outline, until he feels a certain confidence and ease as regards their execution. What the pupil must do, therefore, in this lesson, is to draw, bost out, and round easy animal forms. At this stage let him pay more attention to the few points which constitute general correctness in a sketch than to minor details. I refer to the Fig. 48 a. Fig. 48 b. general distances of the eyes, joints, outlines of legs and back in a horse, deer, hog, etc. Simple figures may be executed in flat or ribbon-work, or in the lowest relief, as well as in any other work. The Italian carvers, for cabinet making, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, made great use oi figiirini. Fig. 49, also the ornament on page 60. These were little statues, generally of human beings, from three to five inches in length. They were, in ordinary' work, rather sketched out than elaborately carved, but the effect was good ; sometimes a hundred of them would Simple Figure Cai^ving. be worked into a single cabinet. These, figuriiii were also very freely used in later Roman and Roman Byzantine stone and ivory work, generally as rows of saints or scriptural personages, every one filling a niche under a round arch. These latter were often as rudely and simply shaped as it is possible to conceive, yet, owing to their " making up " or disposition, as subordinate parts they were in good taste. Any carver with a little practice can produce them. Rows of figurini in niches were frequently used for borders, or to surround caskets. Hanging Box for a Corner. TENTH LESSON. FINISHING OFF--IMITATION OF OLD AND WORN WORK- WHERE POLISHING IS REQUIRED. HE f] finishingolTof wood- carving depends on what the work in hand may be. If it is a piece of carefully executed foliage, or leaves (and leaves, like crocJiets in decorative art, is a term widely applied to all shooting out or grow- ing ornaments), it is of course the best plan to finish only with the gouge or chisel, so that the skill of the artist in clean cutting may be evident. But it has become the fashion for writers on wood- carving to insist on it, as a law without exception, that all wood- carving must be finished by cutting ; that glass-paper and files Finishing. 65 should on no account be used, and that a carver should not seekto smooth over the surface of his carving, as if to conceal how his work has been executed. In wood-carving, as in everything Fig. 49. else, a true artist does not go by mere rule. He uses what tools he pleases, and finishes as he pleases. He does not confine his work to a single kind, and declare that everything should be limited to that in which he or certain experts excel. An examma- F 66 A Manual of Wood-Carving. tion of the beautiful and curious wood-carving in the great hall in Venice will convince any one that other things as well as leaves may be carved in wood ; and that when these represent, for in- stance, old books with metal clasps, or household utensils, or arms, imitation may be legitimately carried so far as to polish the surface. Again, it may very often occur to the artist to imitate old and worn objects, such as a pilgrim's bottle, a casket or horn, for age in this way often gives very beautiful and curious effects of light and shadow, polish or roughness, differing very much and very advantageously from the stereo- typed uniformity of style of too many schools. All of this requires a wide departure from the no-polish theory. The truth is that the beginner should indeed learn to cut clean and well, and to do all his work with an edge, without files or glass-paper, but there is no law why he should go no A further. great deal of the beauty of many old objects comes from a certain worn look, by which they have lost some crude We defects. will now consider how such polish may be given. Draw on a panel half an inch thick, more or less. Fig. 49. Having bosted it out, very slightly undercut the figure, not completely, but by rounding the edge a little. Do this firstly with the chisel, as neatly as possible ; then take files. For many places in your work, especially for smoothing grounds where the work is difficult and the curved tool not available, a bent file is most useful, and these may be had of every shape and curve. For rough finishing you may use rasps and large rififiers, for finer work small files. Having brought your work into shape, you may scrape the ground flat with pieces of broken glass or a tool made for the purpose, or a chisel. Then take glass or glass-paper, the former being greatly preferable, and with care finish still more. It may now be advisable to oil all the carving, if oil is to be applied. Lay the oil on with a broad flat brush, but if there are any places which it will not reach, use a smaller FinisJiing. 67 paint or camel's hair pencil. Let the oil soak i^i for a few days in a warm room. Then with a piece of very soft pine wood, rub with great care. The harder you rub the better the polish will be, but also the greater the risk of bending or indenting the surface of the carving ; therefore great care is necessary. The longer this polishing is continued the better the effect will be. Workmen often spend as much time in polishing a piece of work intended to be handled as it took to carve it. It may be observed that in using the glass-paper it is often very difficult to get into certain holes or cavities. These are reached either by making a bit of the paper into a roll, or by folding or rolling it around the end of a stick cut for the purpose. But the most effective way of all is to take a stick, say of the size of a lead pencil, or according to the cavity, round the end with a gouge and glass-paper, dip the end into glue, and,