Demonstrating relief carving techniques at a sign maker's trade fair - SignLink Live 2017

I've done many things as a woodcarver over the last twenty three years but one thing I've never tried is demonstrating at a trade fair. The chance to do so came in October with an invitation to carve at SignLink Live in Telford.

The stand was part of an area called 'Craftsman's Corner', where traditional skills related to sign making were demonstrated amongst all the vinyl cutting machines and other modern machinery associated with the trade. 

I used the opportunity to produce a charming commissioned piece that was requested just before the show began - a relief carving of a kitten in oak.

Apart from me, there were four other craftspeople showing their skills: Simon, of Nefarious Pinstriping, was doing pinstriping - a very exacting and skilful craft where precise lines and other designs are applied to surfaces. It is particularly associated with owners of motorbikes and hot rods.

Pete, of PKM signs, demonstrated gilding techniques. I couldn't resist buying a copy of Mctaggart's 'Practical Gilding' from him!

On the fourth stand, Neil of H signs and Tim of Merlin Signs demonstrated traditional sign painting techniques. It was very interesting talking to them about which paints they prefer to use. One useful tip that they mentioned was to undercoat with aluminium oxide as it lasts the longest.

It was great fun chatting with these folks, as well as interested people passing by. Quite a few visitors were keen to get pointers for their own hobby carving and I was happy to help! They also came along with their own tips and interesting ideas too, so it wasn't all one-way conversation by any means.

Many people also said how much they enjoyed having the contrast there between the modern advanced technology of sign making and the slower, precise ways of the older crafts. I hope to be able to participate in next year's planned 'Sign Show' in Birmingham. If you are in the sign trade, I may see you there!

Carving and painting a sign in Greek

This one was a first for me: creating an oak sign with the wording in Greek (not a language that I'm familiar with). It will be hung on a house in Greece and so I waited for the recipients to okay the lettering before starting work. 

In case you are wondering, the sign says 'House of Flowers'.

The edges of the sign were deliberately left with tool marks to seem more rustic and the white lettering will stand out even if the oak starts to age and 'silver' on exposure to the weather.

I really enjoyed painting the hibiscus flower. It's nice to lay down the carving tools and pick up a paintbrush now and again.

An inscription and emblem carved onto an unusual object

One of the more unusual things that I've carved an inscription onto! This commission involved carving a message onto the ash wood handle of a garden fork, together with the emblem of a local cricket club. The emblem was carved using traditional hand tools and was then painted by hand. The lettering was done with a Dremel.

What's been going on recently? Carved oak signs, teaching woodcarving in Bristol and secret jobs!

There's been a mix of different work keeping me busy recently. I've worked on a couple of commissions lettercutting in oak :

Here's another house plaque, carved in oak for someone who is very keen on the 'Star Wars' films. It was fun carving the ewok in relief!

There's also been a commission carving 'rope' for the skilled furniture maker Jim Sharples.  Jim is working on an oak stand for the ship's bell from HMS Cornwall and wanted some carved 'rope' wrapped around the top crosspiece, to give a suitably nautical look to the finished piece. Getting it all laid out correctly was a bit of a puzzle, but I'm happy with the results. This bell stand may well end up in the Maritime Museum, which is a nice thought.

A pleasant Friday was also spent teaching Matt relief carving in oak. He spent the afternoon at my studio and got to use my own woodcarving gouges and chisels, which is something that I can only really do when working with small numbers of people, as some of the tools (such as the hook skew) are very fragile. We covered using a handsaw, a block plane and a V tool, some relief carving techniques, sharpening tools effectively and laying out a design onto the wood from a paper copy. Matt carved a chinook helicopter and seemed to really enjoy learning some of the skills that are an important part of this craft.

I have also been working on a couple of jobs that I can't talk about! One was for a client in mainland Europe and I have undertaken not to discuss it online (for good reasons; it's nothing illegal either, I promise!). I will say that it was very interesting though. Another project has been one of the most interesting that I've worked on and that will be posted about in the near future, so watch this space.

Sometimes, I have a big project on and can't discuss it until the finished carvings are unveiled or given to the person that they are meant for. It doesn't seem right to spoil the surprise of a gift by posting about it here and sometimes commercial clients need to keep things under wraps until a grand unveiling or promotion is completed.

Occasionally, a client will also ask me not to write about a job on my blog, for various reasons. Perhaps they wish to keep it personal to them or they need it to be anonymous. Needless to say, I always honour such requests.

So if you see gaps in the blog, don't think that I've stopped carving or blogging. Just wait and see what the next few posts bring!

A visit from Amigo, carver of signs in limewood

Amigo came round for a visit to my studio today and brought a couple of his house signs with him:

He has been carving since 1989 and is entirely self-taught. Amigo's wood of choice is lime (a species of Tilia, also known as linden). It was a bit of a surprise to me as the timber isn't thought of as being durable outdoors, even though it is a classic wood for carving. He explained that to stop the signs weathering, he first treats them with preservative and then, once it has dried, a mixture of yacht varnish and mineral turpentine. The final coat is of yacht varnish. They apparently seem to last well in all weathers after the treatment.

I like the contrast between the bark, the toolmarked background and the smooth numbers as well as Amigo's fun, informal style of number design.  The acorn is his maker's symbol.

If you would like to contact him and have a chat about his work, you can phone on 0117 904 0907

Carved oak signs for the Olde Jack Inn, Calverhall, Shropshire. One shows a fabled drinking vessel, the other a spaniel and pheasant

These oak plaques were carved for the Olde Jack Inn at Calverhall in Shropshire. They were delivered last weekend and will be installed into recesses in the bar.

The Olde Jack gets it's name from a drinking vessel that the village was famous for, called a 'jacorra'. According to Wikipedia:

' (a) famed historical drinking vessel made of leather with a silver mounted enscripted band around the rim known as "the Jacorra" ("Corra" incidentally being an ancient name of the village). It was purported to be a challenge for any man to drink the full contents (just over a pint) of the Jacorra vessel in one go as quickly as possible but this wasn't as easy as it sounds due to the width of the vessels rim only allowing a thin trickle to pour from it. Unfortunately the whereabouts of the fabled Jacorra are no longer known, and is believed to have disappeared without trace some 120 years ago.

The village has a long hunting history, it now lies within the North Shropshire Hunt's country, though the Cheshire foxhounds notably hunted the Shavington estate and it once lay within Sir Watkin Williams Wynn's hunting country.'

The spaniel and pheasant image seems to go well with the hunting history of the area and the background to that plaque shows a local reserve called 'Browns Moss'.

The plaques were mostly hand-carved, with a Dremel hand drill being used to write the inscription on the jacorra's bands.

The people running the pub seemed very pleasant and it has a good reputation for food apparently, although we had a long way to travel so had to turn down their kind offer of something to eat. I hope to be able to see the plaques installed one day and try a meal there!

A few recent projects: A giant creepy-crawley to hand carved oak signs

There's been some very varied projects recently...

This giant Arthropleura (an ancestor of millipedes and centipedes from 300 million years ago) is the seat for a bench to be installed at Pucklechurch, near Bristol. The bench project has been in motion for a while now, but discussions with a local landowner have slowed things up a bit. I thought I'd get on with making the seat anyway, so it is ready for installation when things have been sorted out. It was mostly carved using power tools: chainsaws, Arbortech, Galahad and other angle grinder discs.

The seat is about 2.5 metres (approximately 8 feet) long and is carved from oak sleepers. The holes are where stainless steel threaded bar holds the sleepers together. They will be capped with wooden dowels when the bench is installed. The backrest has already been carved;
(see http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/tutoring-brisfest-and-giant-scorpion.html)
but I'm waiting to see where the bench will be situated before deciding on what kind of legs to fit to it.

Whilst working on the huge bug, I was also carving this charming gift for a commission. The quote: "A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature" was written by the American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. The plaque is about 30 cm (12") long and shows an oak leaf, which ties in nicely with the oak timber that was used for the plaque.

Continuing with the carved oak plaques, this much larger one is destined to be fitted at the entrance to a new housing development near Bristol. All of the lettering was cut by hand and the sign is 159 cm (about 63") long . I am particularly happy with the contrast of the white lettering against the dark oak. The large 'V' is the logo of the developer, NT Voisey and Co.

9th October 2013:

Martin of NT Voisey has just very kindly sent me some pictures of the sign installed in place. Here's one of them:

At the moment, I'm focussed on sorting things out for the exhibition at the end of this month: 'Inspired' at Ashton Court, Bristol. Here's a sneak preview of the sculpture in progress. It looks quite cat-like at the moment, but will eventually be a strange-looking creature that would have evolved to eat the semi-mechanical insects from the 'Metainsecta' series ( see the previous post for more details).

Speaking of which, I'd better finish posting and get on with some carving - not long now before the exhibition opens!

Visiting sign carver Rob Eyley, of Woodcott Signs

Today has been a day of oak signage. This morning, I finished painting in the lettering on a commissioned oak sign and now it is ready to be oiled with Tung oil (a kind of finishing oil that is extracted from a nut growing on a type of tree which originally came from China. It's not derived from anything to do with animal mouths, thank goodness!)

In the afternoon, it was time to drop in for a cup of tea with Rob, who specialises in carving oak signs. His workshop is tucked away in a reclamation yard and it's surrounded by tables and chairs etc. which are for sale. I liked the feel of having the furniture around the carving shop.

We chatted about Grinling Gibbons and carving tools (as woodcarvers do!) and he told me about how he had attended a lettercutting course run by Chris Pye, a carver whose work has always impressed me.

After leaving Rob's workshop, I went back to mine and carried on with an oak sign to be fitted in a pub in Shropshire. No pictures yet, as I'd like the clients to see the carvings before putting them online, but it's a nice project.

If you would like to see some carved signs that I've made previously, you could check out this page on my website:
http://www.carvings-with-stories.co.uk/lettercutting.html

You can visit Rob's website and see more of his work at http://www.woodcott.net