Teaching wood carving lessons in Bristol and Nailsea, to individuals and schools

I've been teaching carving regularly for about nine years and really enjoy sharing the craft that I love with people who would like to learn the skills to make their own wood carvings. 

It isn't necessarily a one-way process either; it's always interesting to experience things through the eyes of someone who is new to carving. Often 'learners'  will come up with great ideas that I might not normally think of. Even after over twenty-one years of carving, new ways of imagining designs are always good to see.

In the last month, I've run two very different teaching sessions. The first was a session of individual tuition at my studio. One particularly enjoyable thing about individual tuition is that it means that the learner can practise with my own full set of professional carving tools, which wouldn't really be appropriate to use with larger groups of inexperienced carvers. I always use good quality, sharp tools when teaching anybody but with individuals, I can first make sure that they have the knowledge to safely use some of the particularly delicate tools in that set. The person attending can also have the entire session completely tailored around the particular information or skills that they want to learn more about.

I had worked with Rich before when he brought groups of disengaged young people to Boiling Wells, where I used to work part-time. He's been getting more and more interested in woodworking since then and wanted a few pointers about things that aren't necessarily taught in conventional carpentry or joinery courses, such as the uses of different kinds of native timbers.

Another subject that especially interested him was sharpening techniques. It strikes me that this is really best learned by actually being shown it, by some one who knows how to sharpen, and then practising it regularly. We covered everything from using different kinds of bench grinders to making an effective strop to hone blades until they are razor-sharp. By the end of the session, Rich not only knew how to sharpen using various types of sharpening device but also had his chisels and an axe honed again, to take back with him and use.

Later in November, I travelled over to Nailsea school to teach carving at the D.E.N. project. The school uses this area in its grounds to run forest school sessions and they are very interested in teaching students practical skills.

Throughout the afternoon, groups of up to five pupils came out to the small shelter in the D.E.N. area and carved oak plaques to take home with them. 

They could carve pretty much whatever they liked and it was fascinating seeing what designs were produced. I was particularly interested by how many chose themes to do with computers, such as items from Minecraft, which they reproduced using the very traditional techniques of wood carving. It was also interesting seeing the journey that some people had during the session, from initially being very frustrated with new, unfamiliar skills to finding more confidence and eventually making pieces that were nicely done and that they could feel happy with.

Miss Hollingdale, who invited me to run the session, really got into the carving too and I anticipate that it's going to be a regular feature at D.E.N. sessions from now on!

Fishes for St Monica

The St Monica Trust run retirement homes and specialist care for older people. They have a large site on Cote Lane, by the Downs in Bristol.

I've worked with the Trust before and did some presentations about carving there earlier this year. It was great to be asked recently by one of the residents if I could help with a project.

St Monica Trust was originally founded to cater particularly for people who followed the doctrine of the Church of England (although they now accept people of other faiths, or none) and that Church is still very important to many residents. The chapel at Cote Lane is an impressive sight.

Peter is a retired architect, a resident at Cote Lane and a keen woodworker. He was interested in making two collection plates, using their fine on-site wood workshop, to donate to the chapel. 

Collection (or Offertory) plates are passed around at services and those attending can donate money to go towards the upkeep of the church, or various good causes.

Peter planned to turn the plates from spalted beech wood and to then insert discs turned from rosewood into the bases of them. The beechwood plates were pretty much finished when he came around and looked very nice indeed. 

The part that I could help with was carving identical designs into both of the rosewood discs, which were about 100mm (4") in diameter. The carved areas would later be filled with a mixture of resin and metal dust to form a striking finish. I had some previous experience with this technique (which has been used by other makers, including the late Tim Stead), and this meant that Peter and I could discuss how to go about it. I also mentioned to him about the hazards of breathing in the fine metal powder and the fumes given off by some resins when curing, which can both be very harmful.

The elegant design shows three interlocking fishes and was originally created by David Saxon, a retired architect who is also a resident at St Monica Trust.

Fish are a symbol that Christians have used since the early days of their religion to identify it and themselves. You may wonder why:

ΙΧΘΥΣ (Ichthys) is an acrostic (a word made up of the first letters of several words) that is made up from the first letters of the Greek words "Ίησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ". These translate into English as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour". In Greek, Ichthys means 'fish'. 

There is also a miracle mentioned in the Bible where Jesus feeds large numbers of people with a small number of loaves and fishes. Some of the first disciples of Jesus to be mentioned were also fishermen.

Carving the discs

To get two identical designs carved by hand onto each disc, I first printed out the design and glued it onto the surfaces with spray mount, then cut straight through into the wood. 



The discs had round blocks underneath, to fix them into the dishes. These could be held in a clamp made up of a bench hook holding two pieces of thick plywood with semi-circles cut out of them and a strip of rubber inserted to give more traction.


I needed to make the fine lines wider, to prevent them breaking. The eyes also broke off a couple of times during carving, so circular plugs were cut out of the round blocks (which would be cut down and then hidden when glued into the plates) to carefully replace them. The grain of the wood made it almost impossible to completely avoid some breakage of the very fine and fragile details during carving but this was easily worked around with some thought.

Once the discs had been carved using traditional hand tools, a Dremel rotary tool was used to clean up recesses and to put some texture onto the floor of the head areas. This looks pleasingly like scales, but will be covered with the metal and resin mix and provide a key.


When Peter saw them, he was very pleased but requested lines to be cut that also clearly defined the backs of the fishes. I was happy to do the carving there and then, so gave him a cup of tea while he waited. These lines also suggested carving the head area to run into them, which both us very agreed looked very nice too and made the carved designs appear more lively.

A few weeks later, the completed plates were on show at St Monica Trust, together with other work made by the residents, as part of an Open Day. I went up to see them.

This image shows the display in the wood workshop watched over by David Saxon, who created the fish design originally. I thought that Peter had done a great job of the plates and I'm very happy to have been able to contribute to the project. 

Image courtesy of Peter Caird

Running a workshop making nestboxes and insect hotels, for LinkAge in Shirehampton

I've run a few workshops for LinkAge before and they are always great fun. The organisation brings together younger and older people to work together on projects, giving a chance for communication that is often difficult in society. They also run activities more specifically for older people to get involved with, giving a chance for meeting new people and doing new things.

Previously, we have built benches and produced carved wooden plaques. This time, the theme was building nest boxes and insect hotels. In case you are wondering, an insect hotel is an object or area specifically designed for insects to be able to hide in and hibernate. They are often made particularly to help bees (such as bumble and solitary bees), which have been dropping dramatically in numbers recently.

It was nice to catch up with a few familiar faces again and also to meet some new folks. Some of the new participants were very, very nervous about using tools such as saws and hammers for the first time and were also surprised by how much noise such tools made. However, by the end of the session everyone was cutting and joining the wood without any assistance and produced some great boxes and hotels to take home!

It was great seeing people who were afraid to even pick up a saw at the start of the session cutting parts for their projects neatly, safely and efficiently by the end of it. I hope that they will now feel more confident to tackle similar practical tasks themselves in the future.

Some recently carved wooden signs and lettering, for clients including a cider maker and a well-known DJ (together with a sign featuring a portrait of a cat)

I've had a few interesting commissions lately, some of which I'll show on the blog when they are closer to being completed. Some of the recent commissions involving carved lettering have been quite unusual too...

This seat for a swing was carved from locally-sourced oak, which originally grew on the Quantock Hills in Somerset. It was shaped using modern and traditional techniques, including knives and drawknives, then carved with the name of the girl who will receive it. 

The wood was originally destined to become part of a ship's figurehead in memorial of a friend. After that project fell through, it's nice to know that this timber is going to be enjoyed by children playing and having fun.

This sign was carved for clients who wanted one of their Devon Rex cats to be shown on it. It's a bit nerve-wracking carving a portrait of a pet for someone, as they will always know the animal far better than I can from a photograph. 

Happily, they were very pleased with the outcome. It was quite a relief when a visitor to my studio saw the almost-completed carving and said (with no prompting) that it looked like a Devon Rex!

The next sign was carved for the Lenches Cider Company. I was particularly pleased with the lettering on this sign, as the squared shapes of the font used were not that easy to carve by hand and they came out very well. The oak was also a very nicely figured piece.

This project involved carving an inscription on a chopping board for a client, who had commissioned me to carve a similar project before. As you might imagine, it always feels satisfying when someone asks for another carving to be done for them because they are happy with the previous one.

An unusual next project, as the lettering had to be carved onto a sphere. I wondered at the time whether a computer-controlled routing machine would be able to do this kind of work?

I was also asked recently to correct someone else's letter cutting! The client had bought a rustic oak bench but wasn't happy with the inscription on it. It did look like it had been cut by someone with a blunt router blade who was in a bit of a hurry.

What a great afternoon, re-cutting the letters in their beautiful garden!

Everyone agreed that the lettering looked better once re-cut too:

 I received a lovely email afterwards saying ;

'Dear Alistair, Just to thank you once again fro the splendid job you did on my garden bench for me yesterday. I have to say also that it was a genuine pleasure to meet you and 'do business' with you! I wish you every success in the future'.

Finally, this sign was carved for a DJ and music producer. I'm reluctant to name him on the blog, as I'd rather respect his privacy (sorry!). I will say that he was a big part in the early drum and bass scene and is still playing to big crowds now. The sign was carved from oak and then stained.

If you'd like to see more of my previous letter cutting work, have a look at some by clicking on this link to the page on my website.

Giving a talk about the new Downs bench to the Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society in Bristol

Last Tuesday, The Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society (CHIS) met for their Annual General Meeting. I was invited along to talk about the bench that they commissioned and which was installed on Clifton Down earlier this year.

After the society business was concluded, the chairman Brian introduced me and I spoke for a while about the different subjects carved on the bench and the stories around researching them. There was a slideshow of images to illustrate it.

As well as talking about these subjects, I gave a very brief demonstration of relief carving techniques and answered questions. 

It seemed to go very well and several people came up afterwards and chatted about their different experiences of carving. I learnt a few interesting things too! Thank you to CHIS for commissioning me to make the bench and for inviting me to talk at their AGM. Thanks also to M. Shapland, who took the photos on this post.

Two beautiful handmade knives given to me by friends

Recently, I was given two very different and very beautiful knives by friends. I know that some people reading this are fascinated by well-made blades, just as I am. Perhaps you might be interested to see these ones.

My friends Timo (on the left) and Nat (on the right) are currently travelling as journeymen. Timo is a blacksmith and Nat a woodworker. Timo created the blade at a forge he worked with whilst travelling and also made the stand. He found the antler at a place that he stopped for one night in Berlin and has fitted it to the blade. Even though the handle has the spikes of the antler left intact, it is incredibly comfortable to hold.

The blade is also stamped with marks. The three interlocking circles are Timo's own mark. The eye shaped motifs are traditional markings inspired by the Sami knifesmiths in Scandinavia, which are supposed to protect against bad luck. The knife's shape is also inspired by traditional Sami knives.

Nat worked the piece of copper that covers the end of the handle next to the blade. It is beautifully shaped to fit. When it was presented the blade was deliberately left blunt, as it is traditionally unlucky to give a sharp knife in case the blade cuts the friendship. 

Timo's own knife (which he also made) is similar but less ornate. It is also incredibly comfortable to use.

This was the very special moment when the knife was presented by our friends the journeymen.

Image copyright and courtesy of Ibolya Feher

The next knife is quite different, but also very beautiful. It was made by my friend Patrick Small and uses a high quality bought blade fitted to a wooden handle that he has made. 

The handle is superbly comfortable to hold and the small blade is designed for the fine shaping of small, handheld wooden sculptures. The small wooden sheath protects the blade when the knife is not in use.

I'm sure that you will agree that these knives are both stunning objects. Thank you to my friends Timo, Nat and Patrick.

Pendant carving workshops at Wildfest 2015 on the Northern Slopes in Knowle West, Bristol

I've run these workshops at the two previous Wildfests on this site and they always go down really well. One of the great things about these events is the view here, from the Northern Slopes away across Bristol. 

I had brought along plenty of uncarved pendants made from locally sourced timbers such as sweet chestnut and oak. Visitors could draw on their own designs, carve them and then take them away for free.

It was certainly busy! There was a queue of people for most of the festival, waiting to try carving. I'm sure that most of them were giving it a go for the first time too. Children were especially keen, but there were also a few parents ready to give it a whirl:

One highlight for me occurred when a young pendant carver came up to the bench. I asked her what she would like to carve on her pendant. She looked at me and said "I'd like to carve a sculpture."

Fair enough!