Teaching woodcarving- Some thoughts about courses and tutorials in Bristol and beyond

About a month ago I was reading one of Chris Pye's interesting e-bulletins (you can go to his website by clicking on this link). He made some thought-provoking comments about woodcarving tutorial videos on Youtube:

"This arguably doesn't need saying but it's important: just because you see something filmed doesn't mean it's something worth watching; or that the techniques you see are worth emulating. Observe carefully. Test things out.
It's very easy to upload video clips to Youtube and, while there's a lot of good stuff to be seen, you need discretion in what you watch or, rather, what you take on board as a technique."

It reminded me of something that I've been thinking about for a while - how can you tell in advance whether a woodcarving tutor (or, indeed, a tutor in any other craft) is any good?

A few months ago, I dropped in on an open workshop being conducted by someone who had set themselves up as a woodcarving tutor. They run courses for paying customers at their studio as well as running workshops elsewhere, including in the town centre. They seemed like a nice person and all was fine until they held up a 'V' tool and told me that they had no idea what it was or what it was for. 

For anyone else who doesn't know, this is a 'V' tool (sometimes also called a parting tool). They also come with a 90 degree or 45 degree angle and get their name from the 'V' shaped cross section of the blade:

Image from http://www.ashleyilestoolstore.co.uk/carving-tools/carving-gouges-chisels/v-tool

'V' tools are used for many different things in woodcarving, but some of the principal ones are in some styles of lettercutting, carving fur or hair and when roughing out the design of a relief carving. They are pretty fundamental pieces of kit and seeing this person say this was a bit like a professional car mechanic holding up an adjustable wrench and asking me what it was for! They then told me that at that time they were giving students what they knew to be poorly-seasoned oak to carve. Such timber would be quite likely to split if kept in a centrally-heated room.

At first what I'd heard didn't bother me - well done to the tutor for getting workshops running - but as time went on, it bothered me more and more. The tutor seemed to be teaching people who were paying them to learn woodcarving, when they didn't seem to know that much about it either. 

There is obviously no certification scheme to show that someone running a carving course has the experience and skill to make a good teacher. With the range of disciplines that woodcarving covers, everything from ecclesiastical restoration work to fine art sculpture to whittled caricature carvings, perhaps this something that is unlikely to change!

Chipping away at a piece of wood is a wonderful and (sometimes!) relaxing thing as any carver knows. Giving people the chance to try it is great, without them having to buy the expensive kit only to perhaps find out that carving isn't for them. Everyone has to start somewhere! But it's also potentially dangerous and accidents can happen very fast. If a carving tutor has little experience, there must be an obvious concern that students could get injured.

There are well respected courses about, such as the City and Guilds courses in woodcarving taught in London. However, a good woodcarver isn't necessarily a good teacher. I've met some fantastic carvers who just didn't have the disposition to take on students (or the inclination for that matter).

Word-of-mouth could be a good guide, but if the person telling you that a carving course is good has no experience of anything else, how can you trust that they actually learnt anything worth learning? As the proverb says; 'In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king'. 

But then why should technique be worth taking the time to learn? The highly skilled carver Guy Reid has said something that makes sense to me:

"The ability to master technique enables one to be free to express something beyond just technical skill. From this basis of technical mastership comes the freedom of self-expression."

It should be said that even two experienced and well-respected woodcarvers and teachers can differ completely in their opinions and teachings. One example that comes to mind is in the use of metal stonecarver's 'dummy' mallets to carve wood:

A Dummy Mallet
(Image from www.johnnealbooks.com) 

 Ian Norbury has written (in 'Fundamentals of Figure Carving'):

"The mallet I now use is in fact a stone mason's mallet made from an alloy of lead and zinc... Its advantages are the conveniently small size to weight ratio and its density. There is very little bounce back when it strikes the gouge, thus it does not waste energy rebounding up through your arm, which is injurious to the joints. The metal does not damage the handles any more than a hardwood mallet, indeed the chisel handles dent the metal."

Michael Painter, however, writes in 'Woodcarving' magazine (Jan/Feb 2013):

"One of my tallest soap boxes arises at the use of metal mallets!...why would you want to hit the wooden handle of a chisel with a piece of unforgiving metal? These mallets, also called dummies, derive from the stone carving profession and haven't any place in a woodworking environment."

Both very experienced and well-respected carvers and teachers. (For what it's worth, I sometimes use a dummy mallet in woodcarving and find it very useful. I wouldn't use it exclusively though, wooden mallets give a softer and more delicate blow to the gouge which suits some cuts better in my experience).

No one could honestly be able to claim that they have the definitive knowledge of a subject as complex, internationally practised and ancient as woodcarving. Would anyone want to? A great and wonderful part of woodcarving for me is the knowledge that there is always more to learn.

Someone accepting money to teach using sharp and specialised woodcarving tools does seem to me to need a certain level of knowledge and responsibility however. What should that level be and how can it be demonstrated? 

Looking at their previous work online or elsewhere is an obvious starting point; I'd look for someone who is making and showing work regularly that you would like to be able to make yourself. If someone isn't making their own work that often or showing much of it online then they might be worth treating with some caution, although if you are reading this blog then I probably don't need to point these things out to you! 

I don't have many quick answers I'm afraid. It just feels like some carving tuition I'm seeing around doesn't come from particularly experienced carvers...

Perhaps it's worth searching for good tutorials in books - not the same as actually doing some carving, but a good lead into this great pastime. I'd recommend those by Chris Pye and Dick Onians myself. 

For those wishing to learn about woodcarving in Bristol, you could do worse than contacting the West Country Woodcarvers. They meet in Downend and are a group of carving enthusiasts with some very skilled members. Their website can be found at http://www.andyjh.dsl.pipex.com/westcountrywoodcarvers/index.htm

Right, time to pack the soapbox away and get on with some carving!

Bristol Festival of Stone, 31st May to the 9th June 2013

I will be doing some carving in Bath limestone at this festival of stonecarving, which is to be held on the harbourside in Bristol.

Although I'm more often covered in wood chippings, I've always enjoyed stone carving and love having the opportunity to get the stoneworking tools out. It was great to have the chance recently as part of Triodos bank's 'Cornerstone' project
(for more info, click on this link:
 http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/triodos-banks-cornerstone-project.html)

There will be 49 other stone carvers in a carving competition, as well as guest carvers and music. I'm entered in the 4 day carve, from the 5th to the 8th of June. It'll  be great seeing a few old friends and having a look at the other work being produced! Now I just need to work out what to produce...

If you'd like to find out more about the Festival of Stone, there's a website at http://festivalofstone.com

Baddesley Clinton, a moated manor house in Warwickshire with decorative woodcarving from the 16th century to the 19th century

Baddesley Clinton manor probably dates back to the 13th century, when the Forest of Arden was being cleared for farmland. 

In 1438, John Brome, who was the English Under-Treasurer, acquired the house and it later passed to his son Nicholas. Nicholas built the entrance way that you can see above, complete with gunports around the doorway for defence.

Nicholas' daughter married the High Sheriff of Warwickshire, Edward Ferrers, in 1500. When Nicholas died, the house went into the Ferrers family and remained with them until 1940, when it went to a relative. His son sold Baddesley Clinton to the National Trust in 1980 and they now look after it.

As you might expect from a house that has been occupied for so long many features, even whole parts of the building, have been moved about and altered over time right up until the 1940's. The impressive 16th century fireplace in the main hall was even moved at some point from the upstairs parlour - quite a feat!

The fireplace

The Main Hall

The Parlour

It has to be said that the continuous occupation means that the house does feel like it has been a real home, unlike some of the grand National Trust properties (such as Attingham Park in Shropshire) that were just displays of power and wealth. The way that the house now looks was heavily influenced by two particular owners:

 Henry Ferrers lived there from 1549 until 1633 and a lot of decorative carvings and building layout still exist from this time (including the fireplace shown above). The second group of residents to leave a particular mark were 'The Quartet' in the 19th century. They were Rebecca Orpen and her husband Marmion Edward Ferrers, who lived at Baddesley Clinton with her aunt Lady Chatterton and her husband, Edward Dering. They were completely absorbed in art, history and their Roman Catholic faith. 

Image copyright The National Trust

Long before the Quartet's occupation, the house was a refuge for Roman Catholic Jesuit priests during the reign of Elizabeth the First. Despite being raided in 1591, no priests were ever found there. Lucky for the Ferrers, as they would all have been executed for treason if they had been caught! There are at least three 'priest holes', designed by Nicholas Owen, still to be seen in the house. They were carefully-hidden hideaways for priests in the event of a raid.

It's interesting seeing how the styles of the furniture and carved decoration changes over the years and how individual pieces would be adapted by later owners to suit their needs or the latest fashion.

This oak 'court cupboard' dates to the reign of Charles the First in the 17th century. The carving at the top is original, but that below apparently dates to the 19th century and was presumably added to a plain base to make it look 'better'. The later carving is noticeably crisper and more defined, but a bit more lifeless in comparison to my eye. The older carving's slightly wonky designs and less refined

carving technique give it its own charm.

 In the 17th century, most carving tools were made by the carvers themselves or by a blacksmith, whereas in the 19th century specialist companies offered diverse and sophisticated carving tool ranges. Many specialised carving tools made in the 19th century can still be found in carving tool sets in use today.

Some of the furniture in the house, which was made during the 17th century, has the date of its manufacture incorporated into its design:

This bed was apparently made from pieces of 16th and 17th century carved ornament, pieced together in the 19th century with a few other bits added to join it all together:

Opposite the bed stands a cupboard made during the reign of William and Mary in the late 17th century. The contrast to earlier furniture and decorative carving from the 16th and 17th century in the house is noticeable. It's much simpler and less ornate:

In the adjacent bedroom is a bed which is reputed to have been made from pieces of wrecked Spanish Armada ships. It is known as, funnily enough, the 'Armada Bed'.

The fireplaces in these bedrooms have carved wooden overmantles from the 16th century, which were given a lick of paint in the 19th century. No one knows if the later retouching followed the original colour scheme faithfully or not...

Near the 19th century extension for the servant's quarters, I noticed this waney-edged oak beam in a wall which was presumably built during 16th century if not before. I like the way that the builders didn't bother hewing it square all round - "that'll do, stick it in there!" 

The constant remodelling of the house over the centuries throws up a lot of interesting questions about how it all came to its current layout. The little room shown below is a very good example. There are three small, asymmetrical windows at the far end. It is known to have had a partition wall running along the centre of it from the windows, which was removed relatively recently. A trapdoor below the windows leads into the room below.

The ceiling is continued in the larger room to its right, converted in the 19th century into a chapel, from which it is separated by an oak panelled partition wall.

The wall shown on the left of the photo has sturdy oak beams and looks to be an old exterior wall, but the door leads through into bedrooms that Henry Ferrers had built in the 16th century when he remodelled much of the first floor. The doorway in the wall has been cut into one of the biggest oak beams in the wall, so weakening it. 

The little room may have been a sacristy (priest's robing room) for the chapel in the 19th century, but why and when was the doorway cut into the beam? Why are the windows laid out in the strange way that they are? Why was the removed partition wall originally put in, to make two very narrow rooms? What was the trapdoor for? 

With the often-undocumented changes that the house has gone through over the centuries, I doubt that we will ever know the answers to all of the questions about Baddesley Clinton.

Rainbows and a roundhouse roof

I've been working on the roundhouse today and got the last piece of waterproofing plastic on. Before the next stage, I just need to stick it down, fix the skylights on again properly and put on the plastic strips to protect the seams (see Simon fitting it on a seam below-I'm using sikaflex and strips of the old damp proof membrane, as the jointing tape I bought is useless).

I admit that this post is really just an excuse to show the photo of the roundhouse with a rainbow.

Work on display at Triodos bank's UK headquarters and in 'Cornucopia' at the Grant Bradley Gallery

Last week I was invited to a couple of openings to do with art events that I've been involved in.

On Thursday, I visited Triodos bank's headquarters in Bristol, to see the completion of the 'Cornerstone' project that I've contributed to. We were shown around part of the building, which uses a lot of recycled materials and has a nice atmosphere to it - it's an interesting and well designed space. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming too. Triodos specialise in ethically sound banking, so don't invest in ethically questionable companies. You can see more about the project here;
http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/triodos-banks-cornerstone-project.html

...and here:

http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/triodos-bank-cornerstone-project.html

Then on Friday, it was the busy private view for the 'Cornucopia' exhibition at the Grant Bradley gallery in Bristol.

I was really impressed by a lot of the other work on show- most of it was of a very high standard. There are thirty people exhibiting and all go to one or other of the life drawing groups organised by Will Stevens in Bristol. Quite a few are professional artists or are closely involved in the art world in Bristol in some way.

There's more info on the show in this post;
http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/cornucopia-at-grant-bradley-gallery-in.html

and you can see more about the self portrait which is one of the exhibited pieces in this post;
http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/carving-self-portrait-in-wood-for.html

A bit more Bristol street art...around St Werburghs

Here's some more street art seen on my wanderings in Bristol. These pieces come from around an area called St Werburghs:

The piece below looks like it's by Cheo, who has quite a lot of commissioned work on walls around Bristol. The bee is one of his 'trademark' designs:

I really like the one above, it's been up for a while and has collected a couple of crappy tags, but it's a great piece.

Some closer shots of the Grinling Gibbons Overmantle in Bristol Library

I dropped into the library yesterday to do some more research on the figurehead for the 'Matthew' and took the opportunity to get a couple of photos of the Gibbons overmantle in the Bristol Room.

To see my previous post about this apparently little-known oak carving by probably the greatest woodcarver ever to work in Britain, click on this link: http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/grinling-gibbons-in-bristol-hidden.html

It seems incredibly hard to find any recent images of the overmantle online, so here's some. They're a bit dark, as the room is shaded to stop light damage and I didn't want to use flash photography for the same reason. Even so, there's not that many other pictures of them about it seems, so I hope you like these ones!