Techniques
of Creative Woodcarving
by Ian Norbury
Softcover
220 x 245mm
160pp
Published by Stobart Davies, Hertford, UK
R.R.P.$53.90
ISBN 1-85442-050-9
Torso
Stingray
Toad
Portrait Head
Horse's Head
Harlequin
As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 45
Even those who have never held a chisel in their hands, let alone struck it with a woodcarver's mallet, are likely to gasp in admiration at the sight of lan Norbury's work. But for those who have actually tried to carve, admiration is likely to be mixed with amazement. It just doesn't seem possible that wood can be made to take such shapes and forms not merely to describe, but to express the most subtle emotion.
The least one can say about LAN Norbury is that if he isn't the one of the best woodcarvers in the world, the work of his betters must be largely unknown. This alone would not, of course, make him a successful writer of books on the subject. Fortunately, however, he is as analytical as he is prolific and his ability to analyse woodcarving techniques and to discuss them in some detail, makes his Techniques of Creative Woodcarving helpful and instructive, even for the beginner.
The first 35 pages of the book contain chapters on design, wood, equipment, tool sharpening and the polishing and mounting of finished pieces. The remainder is devoted to projects including a human torso, sting-ray, falcon, horse and bull. The methods of preparing the blank, then executing the carving are carefully explained with specific attention being given to areas in which problems are likely to arise.
Although the standard of the projects is high, the book is nevertheless clearly aimed at the tyro woodcarver.
Photos: Black & White
Contents
Approach to Design
Wood
Equipment
Sharpening
Polishing and Mounting
Projects
Torso
Stingray
Toad
Portrait Head
Horse's Head
Harlequin
Still Life
Black Bull
Greenland Gyr Falcon
The Caterpillar
Horse
Falstaff
Bibliography
Index
Still Life
Black Bull
Falcon
The Caterpillar
Horse
Falstaff