
Carving is the act of using
tool
A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...
s to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and yet soft enough for portions to be scraped away with available tools. Carving, as a means for making stone or wooden
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
, is distinct from methods using soft and malleable materials like
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
,
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
, and melted
glass
Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
, which may be shaped into the desired forms while soft and then harden into that form. Carving tends to require much more work than methods using malleable materials.
[Daniel Marcus Mendelowitz, ''Children Are Artists: An Introduction to Children's Art for Teachers and Parents'' (1953), p. 136.]
File:Bácsalmás székelykapu.JPG, A carved Székely gate
File:Sulykolo.jpg, Székely wood carving
Kinds of carving include:
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Bone carving
file:Alaska Grasendes Karibu c1910 Linden-Museum.jpg, Grazing caribou made in Alaska 1910 - Linden Museum
Bone carving is creating art, tools, and other goods by carving bone, animal bones, antlers, and horn (anatomy), horns. It can result in ...
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Chip carving
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Fruit carving
* Gourd carving or
gourd art
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Hobo nickel
The hobo nickel is a sculptural art form involving the creative modification of small-denomination coins, resulting in miniature bas reliefs. The United States nickel coin was favored because of its size, thickness, and softness; but the term ' ...
* Ice carving or
ice sculpture
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Ivory carving
Ivory carving is the carving of ivory, that is to say animal tooth or tusk, generally by using sharp cutting tools, either mechanically or manually. Objects carved in ivory are often called "ivories".
Humans have ornamentally carved ivory sinc ...
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Soap carving
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Stone carving
Stone carving is an activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, stone work has survived which was created during our prehistory or past time.
Work carried ...
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Petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
* Tree carving
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Arborglyph
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Vegetable carving
Vegetable carving is the art of carving vegetables into other objects, such as flowers and birds.
The origins of vegetable carving
The origins of vegetable carving are disputed: it may have begun in ancient Japan; in Sukothai, Thailand; or in t ...
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Thaeng yuak (Banana stalk carving)
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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, ...
See also
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Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...
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Sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
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Whittling
Whittling may refer either to the art of carving shapes out of raw wood using a knife or a time-occupying process of repeatedly shaving slivers from a piece of wood. It is used by many as a pastime, or as a way to make artistic creations.
Backgr ...
References
External links
The arts
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