I always liked this little nick knack that my wife had and thought that some day it would make a nice carving. Every carving has several phases and becomes a problem solving feast that I tend to enjoy.
A nice oak tree by the cabin had the top blown out of it a few years ago and now it seemed like the time and weather were right for doing a carving. Having a nice 3D model is always helpful for carving and getting the proportions correct. The trick is to determine the ratio of the model to the actual size of the tree trunk you have to work with, about a 20 inch diameter in this case. Making a 2D drawing on 1/4 inch graph paper and doing the math it came out to about 8 to 1
After setting up a good work surface to stand a cut from I placed a full sized flower pot on the center lines for the carving and determined the height for the carving. This cut is always nerve wracking because it is a major cut and if it is wrong there is trouble.
The "what did I get into phase" comes next. There always seems to be a point in the carving process that even I question myself and wonder if I will have to fall back on plan B and turn it into a carving of a morel mushroom.
But then you carve some more and what looked like a mad mess starts to take shape and look like the something you wanted.
The little Dufuss on the flower pot is coming along nicely.
So far so good. Some work on the flower pot, detailing and sanding and then I will post some pictures of the finished carving.
