What should trees mean to us, to you and me? Are they organic life forms reaching for the sky with ability to balance the wind? Or are trees just useful timber to cut down in their prime? The ancients saw them as symbols of growth, death, and rebirth. And they expressed this through wood spirit carving that became an art form.
Many religions still speak of trees of knowledge giving forth fruit in due time. Sacred groves of trees became places of worship for Druid monks. To them, it seemed logical trees had Celtic wood spirits suitable for carving. Consider this image of a female wood spirit carving, dating from 1875.
Would You Like To Carve A Wood Spirit?
Wood face carving was popular as far back as time remembers, because it is easier than working in stone and marble. However, the tradition largely died out when automated methods appeared over a century ago.
But this is changing now, as hobbyists rediscover wood carving and wood spirits using elegant hand tools. Best Wood Carving Tools is spearheading this exciting development. It takes a little time and trouble, but this video shows how to get it started.
Why We Like This Video
The person patiently lets the knotty wood influence the final product. We guess that’s maybe how the ancients got started. Do you think it is possible they saw natural markings on tree trunks, and figured they were wood spirits calling out to them?
You can do wood spirit carving with a dremel hand tool too! However, fine relief wood carving is perhaps best done with a knife, and an assortment of whittling wood carving tools until you are up to speed. But if you want something quick and primitive like the tree in that park, you may prefer faster chainsaw power carving. But P.S. best check with the warden first!
Begin With Free Wood Spirit Carving Patterns
The person in the video coming shortly makes wood spirit carving seem like walks through parks. She sets her work out on a tree trunk with a marker pen, and starts chip-chipping right away. We can see she has a wood spirit carving template in her mind and we just loved it!
What’s Special About This Video
We appreciated the video because it illustrates the freedom wood spirit carving brings, when you have a mission to coax new life from wood. We would not be at all surprised to hear she used free wood spirit carving patterns in the early stages though. When she was setting out on her life’s wood carving journey.
Use A Free Wood Carving Pattern For A Woodland Spirit – Wooden Face Carving
Start your wood spirit carving project by selecting the right piece of soft wood. This should be free of knots. However, if it has a nicely flowing grain you might be able to use this to your advantage.
- Note the proportions of the wood spirit carving template. This example is 8 squares wide by 3 squares deep, by 20 high if I did my sums right.
- Choose a piece of wood that matches those proportions. For example, one 3 centimeters deep could be 20 long and 8 wide,
Now watch this video to see how to get your wood spirit started with minimum fuss! In this instance we’ll be doing wood spirit carving with a dremel tool but you could also work by hand.
More Power Carving With A Dremel Rotary Tool
Fair enough, we appreciate the next carving pattern is a flower, not a tree. Besides we figure it is a legit, because trees have flowers too if you look carefully. So relax, pull up a chair and watch this fantastic example of transferring pattern to flat wood using a dremel power tool.
We Liked This Video Because …
We like this video because they fast forward action. So we can see results flow without guessing what comes next. That’s my ‘mission in a wood chip’ at Best Wood Carving Tools. Provide great value and entertainment, and if you shop here that would make my day.
And Finally, Check Out The Wooden Faces below …
Sphinxes are ancient Egyptian mystical creatures from millennia past. This wood spirit carving, which is a type of relief carving, genius brings their details to perfection. They have human heads, lion’s bodies, and wings of falcons like the real thing. Decent wood carving tools and right wood have amazing possibilities. Catch up with you next time with more free advice and videos.
This final one is a particularly unique piece where a sun spirit face is carved into a tree root. Isn’t the craftsmanship just amazing?
