THE CRAFTS 
WOOD CARVING AND PYROGRAPHY. LEATHER AND METAL. BASKETRY, ETC. 
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Crafts are to be sent to the above address, but will be answered in the magazine under this head. 
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MODELED CARVING— FINISHING 
Mrs. Olaf Saugstad. 
EVEN a beginner without particular training, artistic 
or technical, may produce very pleasing and creditable 
work in flat carving if he will be content with broad 
and simple designs and treatment; but the moment the 
least modeling of the forms is attempted the problem is 
greatly complicated, and is quite another matter, requiring 
special training and genuine artistic feeling for the produc- 
tion of really good work. 
I am constantly impressed in the study of old carvings 
how often the earlier, more primitive work is so right 
and satisfying, all the limitations helping to that sim- 
plicity and directness that are so essential to good carving ; 
and how often they are not, as technical skill increased 
and the craftsman forced his material beyond its proper 
use in the delight of his prowess, with which his artistic 
development had not kept pace. 
It has been my experience, almost without exception, 
that the modern, adult beginner, being more sophisticated 
than the primitive one, wants to start where the skilled 
technician left off, and his usual ambition is to make a lit- 
eral representation of natural forms in the highest relief 
possible. 
Now, though the Japanese, for instance, constantly 
use natural forms in carving they are never literal, and 
every bud and twig on the most simple and artless looking 
branch is there because it helps in spacing, balancing of 
masses, contrast of forms and harmony of lines. It is the 
subtlest and most difficult form of design, requiring con- 
summate art and skill, though to the untrained eyes it has 
the appearance of such ease and freedom. Neither is the 
execution ever literal, but is impressionistic in the best 
sense. Nature is used for ornament — not for botanical 
or zoological details. 
In modeled carving the eye should be able to seize at 
once the broad harmonies — the big plan of the design — 
and then should be held and charmed by the beauty of de- 
tail and appropriateness of finish; but detail must ever be 
secondary, and can in no wise compensate for lack of the 
first. 
The design should have continuity, rhythm, one sur- 
face playing into another as the theme is carried in music, 
the play of light and shade on the varying planes giving 
accent and depth, and all should be considered and planned 
for from the beginning. 
So, while it is not difficult — unfortunately — to make 
something showy and "effective," it can readily be seen 
that it takes adequate training and practice to design for 
and carve wood as it should be treated, and no sincere crafts- 
man could be satisfied with less, once he realized the ideal. 
People have a great love for carved wood and every 
piece, good, bad and indifferent, is cherished from genera- 
tion to generation — a thought that might make" the super- 
ficial hesitate and be a great incentive to the sincereVorker. 
As the stepsTtowards'modeled vcarving"^can 'not be 
taught by writing, I can only point the way and the quali- 
fications that seem to me necessary for the production of 
work of real quality. A course in design in connection 
with some simple clay modehng to give the realization of 
solid form that is so essential, with a natural love of wood 
and respect for its limitations; constant practice, and sharp, 
oh, very sharp tools! Simplicity, Directness, Restraint, 
are words that a carver might well cut deep in the face of 
his bench. 
Illustration No. 1. 
The carver should work with method. The tools in 
perfect condition, should be laid in front of him in regular 
order so that he can, without fumbling or distraction, pick- 
up mechanically the one he wants. The first steps are ex- 
actly as outlined in the chapter on flat carving — the design 
traced on and then outlined with the V tool and the back- 
ground taken out to the desired depth. Then the forms 
are blocked out in a large way with no attempt whatever 
at detail until the effect of the masses is obtained. This 
can be done with the rather flat gauges (always using the 
largest tools possible). The concave side is used for con- 
vex forms and the convex for hollowing" out. The work 
should be finished all over, step by step, to preserve the 
harmony of the whole, and it should be frequently exam- 
ined from a little distance to get the effect of light and 
shade. 
There should be a definite idea to work towards, else 
the result may be confused and over-worked, losing all 
crispness and freshness. Some teachers recommend the 
use of a carefully finished clay model, and others object to 
Illustration No. 2. 
