This carving is a continuation, or rather a development of an earlier piece carved called a Council Of Sphearoblasts; which for some reason has disappeared from the blog so I'm struggling to link to it so the first picture is of the original piece carved in 2010.
If you have been wondering why I've not posted recently hopefully you can see why!
This piece is a 360 degree collection of Sphearoblasts carved and joined together to form a larger carving. The largest one being no bigger than a £2 coin; the majority being smaller than a £1 coin.
The smallest carving is the size of a pea.
Each carving takes between 2 and 4 hours.
A good friend commented, after seeing the carvings in the flesh that many are very Medieval looking. I have to agree and I love the look.
These macro photos don't show these carvings in context or clearly show their size.
However the following do.
29 carvings in the whole piece this piece took in excess of 80 hours !
Quite a few cuts with accompanying blood! Each is 'hand carved' even the pea! Plenty of swearing and one or two surprise faces.
All my carvings are unplanned. I don't draw them first they just appear and I'm as surprised sometimes as you at the final piece.
Half way through I was harvesting new Sphearoblasts to make sure I was able to finish it.
Each carving is in itself it's own piece but together they create a wonderful and unique, albeit small carving
The following pictures takes you on a tour around the whole piece.
I've learnt a lot about carving, faces and how long a carving can take while doing this piece.
I've used this as a carving doodle too. Just allowing the process to develop my skills, particularly in micro carving.
I'm a big big Netsuke fan :)
The overall size of the carving is:
4" long
3.5" wide
2 3/4" tall
Finished in the usual Danish oil and wood stain.
It's not a perfect dome as the shape and sizes of the Sphearoblasts didn't cater for that, I guess that's nature for you!
Could I, or rather, should I, sell this piece?
I think I would happily consider a price tag in excess of £100 otherwise it will become a show piece and heir loom. Even at £100 in reality I would earn just over £1 per hour not including the time harvesting.
The unsalable carving, but so satisfying and well worth the effort.
Your comments are sought and welcome
Regards
~Dave~
6 comments:
Amazing.... and they do feel rather Medieval. I'm also seeing them as close cousins to Japanese Netsuke carvings of a certain type.
Hi Valerianna thank you. I may use Sphearoblasts in the future for Netsuke style carvings.
So amazing! Your talent just keeps developing. I can definitely see the link to netsuke but I'm so glad your medium is wood and not ivory! Thanks for sharing - maybe someday we'll get to see some of your carvings in person.
Yes I can see the medieval and netsuke influence. A spectacular piece! I have kicked myself for selling favourite pieces and never learn my lesson. My reasoning has been if I put a high price on it and it sells I can always make another but I never do.
Truly an amazing work.
Don't sell it. However, if you decide to sell - do it for over 200 euros.
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