Phil Bishop is a full-time caricature carver from Elk City, Oklahoma. He can design some of the most amusing group carvings of any figure. Here are the some of the many lovely caricatures Phil has created.

Starting with a block of wood, he whittles the piece into something that looks edible. Earl Martzfuses the abstract shapes found in wood with creature-like forms. Paul Kaptein used jelutong to create his sculpture called and in the endless sounds there came a pause.

Kulap are carved from chalk limestone native to the region, and they are often painted; they are expressly produced by artisans from the Rossel Mountains. Tatanua masks, carved from wood and elaborately painted and decorated, are often worn by ceremonial dancers during malagan rituals. Many rituals involved the bisj poles, including dancing, masquerading, singing, and headhunting —all performed by men. Bisj poles often had a receptacle at the base that was meant to hold the heads of enemies taken on headhunting missions. Canoe prow symbols represented a metaphorical boat that would take the deceased spirits away to the afterlife; the human figures would represent deceased ancestors. Although the practice of headhunting ended in the Asmat region in the 1970s, the poles are still used in rituals today.

This woman, or Pocahontas, as female Indian figures were sometimes called, was made by a particularly capable artisan. The pose of the statue reflects classical or Egyptian inspiration. The figure is elegantly fashioned; the stance seems natural, the costume has been simplified, and the colors are harmonious. I have consulted with experienced carvers for new techniques in carving, painting and finishing.

Whether you’re planning a big project, or just looking into designing a gift, we will show you how to carve designs into wood. Carousel sculpture was another type of woodcarving important to circuses and to amusement parks. Carousels became regular attractions at fairs and carnivals as well as at circuses. Their numbers increased greatly during the last years of the nineteenth century.

Carving In The Round Projects

A much-admired shop sign was this sheaf of wheat, carved in relief by Clark Noble about 1900 for a bakery building. Heads and stems are carefully differentiated, while the http://instservis.ru/5-pumpkin-carving-painting-ideas/ simplicity of the sheaf’s contour contributes to the total effect. The stern of the ship was usually decorated with a sternboard or sternpiece, such as the one shown here.

Chip Carving Designs

Some carvers of shop figures and signs were drawn from among the makers of ship decorations. The shift in emphasis was increasingly felt in the late nineteenth century, when figurehead carvers were being forced out of business with the demise of the clipper ship era. These craftsmen gradually turned to the full-time production of wooden Indians and other signs. The Indian, as the first American to cultivate tobacco, became the traditional symbol for cigar stores. The production of wooden Indians flourished from about 1840 to the end of the century. In the 1890s, city ordinances required that figures be confined to the interiors of shops, and gradually the statues went out of use.

Amazing Wooden Sculptures You Should See

Few circus carvings remain, however; not only were the wooden figures perishable, but they were not taken seriously in their own time and usually were not considered worthy of preservation. This circus wagon, of about 1875, is named “United States.” Elaborately gilded and carved, it appropriately displays the Goddess of Liberty flanked by Indian maidens as symbols of our country. This program presents a selection of renderings of American woodcarvings, primarily of the nineteenth century. The selection is organized into five groups that are typical of this craft. These categories, though by no means all-inclusive, are ship carvings, shop figures and trade signs, circus and carousel carvings, weather vanes and whirligigs, and dolls and birds.