I wonder if there’s much market for something like this. It all started when my brother bought me a book on carving Green Men. He jokingly suggested that I carve myself as a Green Man. Well, I needed no more encouragement.
Have a look at all three pictures, in sequence of course (1, 2, 3). The carving took me about 30 hours and is done in butternut. I then wire-brushed it and finished it with wax. It was fun, and I’ll probably some more. Faces are hard!
Chris @ www.flairwoodworks.com
and www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
– Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. – Albert Schweitzer
Replies
As a non-carver I am appropriately in awe. Very cool. Niche-wise . . . let's see, you'd have to get a high price for all that time (that's the problem with carving as I understand it), but the whole personalization of it, painting someone's portriat in wood, maybe that would be worth quite a lot to some people. Looks like it should be displayed in a garden, how would butternut do outside?
Brian
Brian,I think I'm safe to say that this is one of the most personal projects I've done so far. The only thing keeping me from trying to take this to the next level (offering such a product) is my unsureness of if I can make the person recognizable consistantly. I suppose I could add a line in the contract saying that obviously it is not supposed to look EXACTLY like the same as the person and perhaps if they are not satisfied, I keep the work and they keep their $$$. Needs some thought.I don't think that butternut is especially well suited to the outdoors, though you will find this type of carving carved directly into a standing tree. Hey - how about custom fence posts? Kinda like Mt Rushmore...Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
That's really cool! Tell us more about this book.... The post and pictures remind me of an artist who was interviewed several weeks ago on our local radio station. He custom-carves sayings (quotes from famous people, books, etc.) into benches or whatever a customer wants. Municipalities, private people, clubs, etc., commission him. You could combine green men with their famous sayings? Too weird, maybe.
Anyway, love the carving! I ramble, sorry.
Jamie,Here's a link to a review of the book:
http://carverscompanion.com/Ezine/Vol9Issue2/Bloomquist/MBloomquist2.htmlWhen doing the drawing, I thumbed through the gallery and picked bits and pieces from the patterns that I liked. I have gotten quite good at drawing acanthus and do it freehand. It's a lot of fun carving it, making the leaves go over and under each other.Does this "quote carver" make the furniture too, or does he simply embellish it? I'd imagine that he makes pretty good money if he just carved the lettering. While it certainly requires skill, it requires comparatively little time (versus making furniture from square one) and fewer tools and not even a shop! When people say they don't have enough room to do woodwork, I say phooey - how much room do you need to carve?Green men and sayings... the first thing that came to mind is a speech bubble. But I think that that might ruin the effect. Hmmm. On second thought, maybe the words should be carved below the green man...Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
"On second thought, maybe the words should be carved below the green man..." That's what I was thinking. Thanks for the link to the book. I'd be hopeless at carving, but hubbie probably has a knack for it.
IIRC, he made the furniture and carved it. I'll try a couple of searches, see if I can find him.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
"I'd be hopeless at carving..."Oh, come on! What's so hard about carving? You just have to remove what doesn't belong, and you're done! But seriously, I don't think it's that hard to carve - just mind the grain. The tough part is to make it look realistic.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris,
Although I think you meant this post to be lighthearted, you might be surprised to find that there actually is a market for this type of work.
In the past, I've been asked to make bases for bronze busts that clients have had created of themselves. Really. Is that at the very end of the list of things I'd spend money on? Probably. But for some it's something they want and are willing to pay for it.
So, you might be surprised at the response you get as you show this piece around. Good luck with your new enterprise. Perhaps you have moved up the scale a notch - from "craftsman" to "Artist" - with the subsequent pay bump..
Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Zolton,I am a little skeptical about the existance of such a market. It's quirky. But definitely neat and unique to no end. I will continue to carve more as inspiration strikes me and see if I can't get some accepted into galleries.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
So, Chris, are you thinking of forming a Green Man Group and go on the road? ;-)
Chris,
I was at the shore all week. I only had an IPhone so answering messages was a problem. I really wanted to answer yours. I just love your "Green Chris". Nice drawing, nice execution. You have come up with something unique "portrait green persons".
Whenever someone else comes up with something creative (which is not easy), I try to come up with a creative application (which is not easy). Somehow I wondered what a chest of drawers would look like with your "Green Chris" as a full sized front, covering all of the drawers. Think of a six drawer chest with your carving covering the entire surface of all of the drawers.
I will try to come up with something more useful. Meanwhile, you are on a roll. Congrats.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,I find that I really do enjoy drawing. I spend a lot of time just drawing ideas and designs with pen and paper. I file all these ideas away and sometimes refer back to them, but I find that if I take the time to draw it, I remember it quite well.Somehow, I think that a green man carved over the front of a chest of drawers would be a bit much. A little too whimsical. Maybe on an inset panel or as an accent, like a shell carving. Of course, there is an "ideal" scale. Much smaller than this one (~8" wide) makes getting into the corners tough. Larger is okay, but much larger would take more effort to fully relieve the background.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris,
I don't understand the term "a bit much". :-)
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
In different context:That Mel can be "a bit much".How's that... he said with a grin.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris,
I was watching the Food Network channel the other week and there is a guy who collects cheese and macaroni boxes from all over the world. He has a FAN BASE!!!!.... there is a niche for everything.
http://www.mvflaim.com
Chris:
What a neat carving. If you have a gate it would look great on it. Looking forward to your next carving.
Jim
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled