Let The Chips Fall

I took another woodworking class this morning on carving, including the basic techniques of chip carving and relief carving. I took a chip carving class previously, but this was my first introduction to relief carving.

The large circular item is a relief carving. The smaller items are mostly chip carvings.

I think the biggest deterrent for those who might be thinking about beginning carving is the prospect of sharpening gouges -- they're obvious a lot harder than working with flat objects. I'm starting to get the hang of it, and using a gouge today that I'd sharpened myself made the handtool experience doubly satisfying.