Fish Netsuke – a little update
March 22, 2012
Fish Netsuke in Walnut, front view
Fish Netsuke in Walnut, tail view
The Fish Netsuke is moving along quite nicely. I think that it is starting to look a lot more like a fish than a lump of wood, although I don’t know whether thats just because I know what I’m supposed to be making it look like.
I’ve put two pictures in this post so that you will, hopefully, be able to see the fish emerging though I think this one is harder to see at this stage than the Dormouse Netsuke ever was.
The biggest problem that I pointed out in the last post was that the whole Netsuke was sitting at the wrong angle, I have solved this and I’m a lot happier with how it sits now. It took quite a while to sort out especially getting the piece to balance and now I have to remember not to carved away the bits the whole carving is resting on. I’ve also now got a very good idea where the Himotoshi (holes that the cord go through) will go, which is great.
At this stage I’m still setting in the major elements and shape and making sure that it looks right and all works together from all angles as Netsuke are supposed to be viewed all the way round not just from one side. Once I’m happy with that I can start to bring in the detail, if the detail is carved in too soon it could compromise another part of the carving.
Any undercutting is being left until as late as possible just in case I change my mind about anything as its not really something you can come back from. Although you can’t really do large amounts of undercutting in a Netsuke as by its very nature undercutting weakens the piece as it removes quite a lot of wood and can leave very thin edges. The whole point of a Netsuke is that it is there to be used not just looked at so thin edges would most probably break off when it was used or may even snag on the fabric it is worn against, both of which would be considered major disasters.
So put me out of my misery, can you see the fish or not? Please let me know in the comments, I’d really appreciate it.
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Comments (0) | Tags: Fish Netsuke, Himotoshi, Netsuke, sculpture, Stiller Designs, Walnut, wood carving, wood sculpture
Fish Netsuke update
March 10, 2012
Fish Netsuke in Walnut and plasticene maquette
The Fish Netsuke I started before Christmas is going well, so far. I have been working on it off and on inbetween other things and this first update is long overdue.
The photo you see here shows the Netsuke fairly early on, the shape has been roughed out and cut from the original piece of wood.
I chose this image as it shows the Netsuke next to the maquette as otherwise it is quite hard to tell what is what, the maquette gives some clues though it is still not easy. The Netsuke is not sitting at quite the right angle compared to the maquette, something I have since rectified.
The walnut wood is proving to be very nice to carve and I am enjoying working on the piece, deciding where to go with each cut is what is taking the time. Once a decision has been made and the cuts done it is more or less undoable on something this small.
I am now a lot further on with the Netsuke so I will make sure that the next update is not so long in coming, which reminds me I must go and take some photos before I go any further.
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Comments (0) | Tags: carving, Fish Netsuke, Netsuke, sculpture, Stiller Designs, Walnut, wood carving, wood sculpture, woodcarving
A carved frame that took all my concentration.
March 8, 2012
French Carved Frame in Jelutong
I have been somewhat quiet online since the beginning of this year. One of the reasons for this is the carved frame in the image on the left – a French Carved Frame (it may well have a different name but this is what I know it as).
As often happens I had never made this frame before I was asked to for this job and it took all of my concentration, focus and energy. So my apologies if you thought I had disappeared off the face of the planet.
I love a challenge, which is handy really when you consider that a lot of what I’m asked to do I’ve never done before! It also means that I am lucky to have such variety in my work.
I really thoroughly enjoyed making and carving this frame even though the deadline was very tight and there were various problems to be overcome.
My client was very happy with the frame and as far as I’ve heard their client is too. I do have a picture of this frame gilded up in all its finery. I will see if I can get permission to show it to you.
Further images, including some closer detail shots can be found here.
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