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wood carving
Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculpture, ...
relief carving is a type in which figures or patterns are carved in a flat panel of wood; the same term is also used for carving in stone,
ivory carving and various other materials. The figures project only slightly from the background rather than standing freely. Depending on the degree of projection,
relief
Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
s may also be classified as high or medium relief.
Relief carving can be described as "carving pictures in wood". The process of relief carving involves removing wood from a flat wood panel in such a way that an object appears to rise out of the wood. Relief carving begins with a design idea, usually put to paper in the form of a master pattern which is then transferred to the wood surface. Most relief carving is done with hand tools,
chisel
A chisel is a hand tool with a characteristic Wedge, wedge-shaped cutting edge on the end of its blade. A chisel is useful for carving or cutting a hard material such as woodworking, wood, lapidary, stone, or metalworking, metal.
Using a chi ...
s and
gouges, which often require a
mallet
A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head.
General overview
The term is descriptive of the ...
to drive them through the wood.
As wood is removed from the panel around the objects traced onto it from the pattern, the objects themselves stand up from the background wood. Modelling of the objects can take place as soon as enough background has been removed and the object edges are trimmed to the pattern lines.
In order to secure the wood panel, a workbench with fixtures like bench-dogs, carver's screws or clamps, is necessary. Carving tools come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, some aimed strictly at the hobbyist, but others directed at professional carvers. Some carving tools are held with one hand while the carving is held in the other. But most relief carving requires that the wood panel be secured so that both hands may be on the carving tool.
Much of the skill required for relief carving lies in learning to grip and manipulate tools to get the desired effect. Tool sharpening is also a necessary skill to learn, and dull tools are a severe obstacle to effective carving.
Stages of relief carving
# Create a pattern, drawn on paper.
# Prepare a wood panel for carving. This may be a single piece of wood or a laminated panel.
# Transfer the pattern to the panel, using carbon paper as the transfer medium.
# Remove wood around the objects that comprise the pattern.
# Model the objects
# Detail the objects
# Tidy the background behind the objects
# Apply a suitable finish to the panel
Styles of relief carving
*1. High relief, usually between 1/2" and 2" in depth.
*2. Bas relief, or Low relief usually under 1/2" in depth.
*3. Deep relief, usually over 2" in depth.
*4. Pierced relief, where holes are carved clear through the wood.
Some carvers prefer to finish their carving with a clear finish. But others incorporate color and
pyrography into their relief carvings.
Image:DragonflyRelief.jpg, 1. A low relief carving of a Dragonfly
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...
Image:CityGpCrestRelief.jpg, 2. Bas relief: A close-up of the crest for City of Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie is a city in Northern Alberta, northwestern Alberta, Canada, within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Alberta Highway 43, Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) ...
, Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, Canada
Image:PaschalCandleStand.jpg, 3. Deep relief: Top of a paschal candle stand, 4" x 4" x 48", in red oak
Image:EagleBanner.jpg, 4. Pierced relief: Eagle Banner by Pat Donat, commemorating 9-11
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
See also
*
Chip carving
*
Carving
References
{{Woodworking
Woodcarving