Art has always been my passion. Carving the balsa wood reminds me of the time when I tried carving wax dinosaur years ago. It was basically a do-it-yourself technique.
Back then it was hard to find the perfect block of wax. And to buy a big (and expensive) candle to carve, I think Mom and Dad would have balked at the idea. So I improvised. I made a mold using cardboard and then melted regular house candles into it to have that perfect block. It was more important to have the correct size rather than the right color. Burnt wax ended up looking black. Oh well.
Then the mess began. It was exhilarating. I must say wax carving is so much easier because the substance is soft and easy to manipulate or shape. If a mistake is made, I could just melt some wax to patch the mistake and redo the area without problems, unlike wood when once carved away, you cannot undo.
I carved several Smurf characters because I had those little blue figurine collectibles and they were an easy reference to start off. It worked out well and I still have the wax figurines after all these years. Although the trio collectively has a missing ear, half a foot gone and two limbs broken off, they still look good. I should fix them though.
Now balsa wood is different for obvious reasons. Harder than wax yet soft to carve, you cannot use too much strength else you’d end up cutting out parts unintentionally. I carved a pig several years back and after that one time, I did not pursue further. I don’t know why. I think I went on to painting.
But now, here I am, carving again. What more, did a totem pole of owls and contemplating more little single figurines to work on. This is much more satisfying than painting owls on the whiskey bottles that I did a while back. That was just time consuming whereas this, thinking in 3-D and seeing what the mind sees in all angles come true to life is much more satisfying. And therapeutic.
So the sketch and the plan will continue.
Tags: balsa wood, carving, Smurf, Wax
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