Those of you who know me will say, "Jeremy, you aren’t Maori," it's true, I'm not. I learned the art of bone carving from a friend who learned how to carve from a Maori. So I can at least trace my roots.... No, that’s not what I am really referring to. I have been carving since 1991. I have always wanted to draw or sketch, but despite what most artists say, I really can’t draw, not well anyways. I can carve though. My first piece was so bad, and I was so frustrated I almost quit--, but fortunately, the guy who taught me looked at it and said, "you're trying too hard, carving too much, you can't force the bone to be what it isn't, you have to know when to stop", or something like that…. Obviously, I didn't stop carving. I carve all the time. I’m good at it, and I find I’m getting better all the time. The main thing is I enjoy it, and I feel really good when a piece is done.
Initially, everything I carved was out of bone, but it became too difficult to acquire. I started carving coconut shell as a happy accident. It's easier to carve in many ways; it's softer, smells better to carve, and it's fairly easy to acquire. There are some disadvantages with carving coconut shell; it's hard to find one thick enough to be carved, it's usually quite curved, and there are a lot of flaws in every coconut shell. Bone once you can get some is wonderful to work with, minus the smell, and the hardness.... It can hold a great deal of detail, and is very durable. Anyway, it has been many years since I have done a carving out of bone, and it was an enjoyable experience (minus the smell, and the hardness).
No comments:
Post a Comment