Untitled
Non-Representational Wood
Sculpture with Steel Base
Final project for Carving & Construction,
Spring 2024
This final project for my carving class was a new endeavor for me in many ways. I started the project knowing that I wanted to do an intuitive wood carving with an open middle and a welded steel base, but I did no other pre-planning. I had not done much abstract or non-representational work before, so I wanted to push myself artistically in this area. I began by choosing a bark-less log chunk that I liked the form of, and started slowly grinding away at it with angle and die grinders. This was the intuitive part of the process, where I found shapes and curves within the wood and further emphasized them as I carved. I knew I wanted to have an open center in the form, so I carved as deeply as I could with grinders and eventually had to switch to a large power drill in order to break through the hard heartwood. I also decided to add another opening through the branch of the log into the larger center opening. During the carving process I would frequently stop and examine the form, turning it to examine from every angle and considering any changes I wanted to make. I sanded the form and coated it with a natural Watco oil wood finish, in order to show the natural grain of the wood and the color difference of the heartwood but also give the form a finished look.
I learned to weld as part of this project, and constructed a 12”x12”x4” steel box as a base for the carving. This involved the tedious processes of using a plasma cutter to cut rectangles of steel, tack welding the rectangles together, and going over the seams with longer, fuller welds. I then would grind the welds down to a nice corner, edge, or flat surface and fill in any holes with tack welds and more grinding. Finally I spray painted the base a dark, solid gray to complement (but not distract from) the beautiful grain and coloration of the wood carving.