My first wood carving clinic! Might be considered pic heavy.

[Arya]

I was lucky enough to be able to join a wood carving clinic that lasted a whole week!
The subject was "Dragestil" or "Dragon style" as you might call it in English. It was a dream come true
I am a new beginner but I really got my moneys worth in this clinic, and returned home with my head filled with tons of new information!
I was the youngest in the class, but the people were really nice and including, so no problems there. Most of the others had carved a lot from before, except from me and an other guy, but the everyone got individual instructions.
The clinic was held at Raulandsakademiet, in Telemark (Norway) and the teacher was Rune Hjelen.
Nice people, nice location and nice... well, let´s just say that everything was nice. Except from my gained weight from the awesome food and my empty wallet

A few photo´s from the clinic:

Rauland1 by Lykketrollet, on Flickr
Telemarkstunet.

Rauland14 by Lykketrollet, on Flickr
My cutest tool!

Rauland13 by Lykketrollet, on Flickr

Rauland10 by Lykketrollet, on Flickr

Rauland8 by Lykketrollet, on Flickr

Rauland3 by Lykketrollet, on Flickr
Dragon, only roughly carved at this stage.

Rauland5 by Lykketrollet, on Flickr
Some light reading material

Rauland9 by Lykketrollet, on Flickr

Rauland2 by Lykketrollet, on Flickr
Beautiful wood carvings on old buildings on the site.

And eventually, the result of my struggles:
Wooden dragon by Lykketrollet, on Flickr

Now my plan is to carve parts of my stable! Hahaha, I´m probably finished in about ten years or so...

 

[Robson Valley]

Congratulations. My start was 4 days = 2 weekends. Then did nothing for at least 2 years.
Refresher lesson on sharpening and honing. Maybe 15 years ago now.

Your stable. Carve pieces which can be attached. They might be attractive enough to sell.
I like the idea of carving all sorts of dragons. Are they figures of protection?

 

[baggins]

Looks like some great work going on there. Can't wait to see some more work from you.

 

[Herbalist1]

Are you sure you're a beginner Arya? That Dragon is very impressive - I'd be more than happy if I could carve something like that. Love to see your further work.

 

[Mesquite]

Very nice work indeed, I'll look forward to seeing what you produce in the future

 

[Leshy]

Wow! The result of your struggles is very impressive!
By no means a begginers piece...

Look forward to seeing more...

Thank you for sharing

 

[John Fenna]

That looks great!

 

[Arya]

Congratulations. My start was 4 days = 2 weekends. Then did nothing for at least 2 years.
Refresher lesson on sharpening and honing. Maybe 15 years ago now.

Your stable. Carve pieces which can be attached. They might be attractive enough to sell.
I like the idea of carving all sorts of dragons. Are they figures of protection?

It was almost the same for me I had an acquaintance that was kind enough to to just show me very basic stuff for one day, maybe three years ago.
But I was caught up with life at that point and didn´t get the time to continue at home. And when I finally bought my own tools (second hand) I was afraid to ruin them by sharpening and honing them wrongly, and learning myself bad habits that would have to be unlearned, so I decided to wait for the opportunity to get thorough lessons. And so I did

The carvings in the stable will be on the top 2 by 6 " on every box, so they are easily removed if I should need to, and they have iron bars on top so the horses can´t chew on them

 

[Arya]

Are you sure you're a beginner Arya? That Dragon is very impressive - I'd be more than happy if I could carve something like that. Love to see your further work.

Thank you, all of you!
I have no idea what´s normal for a beginner, but this is my first real attempt on carving, and I loved it! It is so much fun!
The teacher was really good at explaining everything, and very thorough.
I have only tried carving one time before in my life, but never got the time to finish it then.

 

[Muddypaws]

Superb dragon carving! I would be very proud to have carved a piece like that. I look forward to seeing more of your work on here, as and when you complete it.

 

[SoldierPalmer]

Wow for a beginner that is excellent that course must be worth its weight in gold

 

[titanius anglesmith]

Hello everyone,
that dragon is great. Did you copy the shape from a book or drawing, or did you freehand draw it onto the wood before starting to carve it. Which ever way you did it, it is realy nice. Thanks for taking the time to show us it.
Regards Chris.

 

[Dean]

Beautiful bit of carving, it looks like it was a week worth spent and like everyone has said I can not wait to see your next piece.

 

[Arya]

Hello everyone,
that dragon is great. Did you copy the shape from a book or drawing, or did you freehand draw it onto the wood before starting to carve it. Which ever way you did it, it is realy nice. Thanks for taking the time to show us it.
Regards Chris.

The shape was pre determined by the teacher, and is his design. We were given the choice between a few designs, intended for beginners, and the selected image was printed and then glued (or traced) on the wood.
I draw and paint a lot and will be drawing my own designs in the future The ornament in the stable will probably be influenced by ornaments from stave churches or viking ships, but simplified.
I would like to finish before I´m 70

I just want to thank everyone for the supportive comments! I am so happy you liked it!

 

[Janne]

Your first work looks awesome. I think you are born with the skill!
You should consider doing panels on commission, designs from the stave churches.

 

[crosslandkelly]

That's a stunning first piece.

 

[milius2]

fantastic school indeed! with great results too

 

[humdrum_hostage]

That is a very nice piece of work. It also looks like you might be good at photography too! Is there anything your not good at???

 

[Arya]

Thank you for all encouraging feedback!

The last sentence above made me laugh! There are many things I know how to do, but many things I am completely crappy at, with little hope of improvement....ever

I think "Jack of all trades, master of none" is quite fitting.