Wood Spirit Fence Post Carving

 

The addition of one small board, a bird house, and a copper wire fence changes a classic wood spirit into a fence post sculpture.  Move your wood spirit off that walking stick and onto the mantel as a small, fun decoration.

The links to my free, online, step-by-step project on how to carve the wood spirit face are posted below.

Posted on my wood carving, pyrography pattern website, ArtDesignsStudio.com, is an in-depth, step-by-step, free project on how to carve the wood spirit face.

The wood spirit face is a favorite wood carving theme.  His wild, flowing hair, his long twisted beard, and his exaggerated nose make him an excellent beginner’s carving project. It may be hard to conceive that the human face is a beginner’s level project, but as we work through the simple steps to create the planes of the face, you will discover how simple and adaptable this style of wood carving is.

I am working my wood spirit face as a cane or walking stick topper, as shown in the sample stick to your right.  The wood spirit face is carved using a basswood practice stick – 1 3/4″ x 1 3/4″ x 6″ – then attached to the staff of the stick using a hardwood dowel or all-thread pipe.

Discover the carving tools, bench knives, sanding supplies, and other items you will want in your Beginner’s Wood Carving Tool Kit

This step-by-step free wood carving project is a practice piece.  Do not work this project as a ‘finished project’ tutorial, it is meant as a learning, experimenting, and exploring endeavor so that you come away being able to carve any type of Wood Spirit face. Approach this project with the idea of learning the planes of the face, learning how to establish the facial features, and learning how you can adjust this wood carving technique to create your own unique Wood Spirits.

 

Wood Spirit Carving,
Free Project by Lora Irish
1 Introduction and Supply List
4 Planes of the Human Face
5 Carve The Human Face
6 Shaping the Facial Features
7 Sloping the Sides of the Face
8 Rough Cutting the Features
9 Carving the Eyes
10 Detailing the Eyes
11 Shaping the Features
12 Defining the Cheek and Nose
13 Working the Facial Hair
14 Refining the Face Shape
15 Carving the Wrinkles
16 Trimming the Beard
17 Review of the Techniques