08 September 2009

Carving Text

CarvingStages

The text I'm carving is about the equivalent of 17 point Times Roman. I've worked out a three-stage carving process which you can see in the photo above. First I carve out all the "holes" -- the spaces in the letters o, d, g, etc. You can see this at the bottom of the photo. Then I use a very sharp straight knife, called a toh, to outline the letters (seen in the middle portion of the photo). And finally, I use the same knife plus a small u-gouge to clear away the wood around the letters, as at the top of the photo.

Naturally this is taking much longer than I expected, which I should have expected.

7 comments:

starkeyart said...

Wow. Can I relate to that last sentence. I had been wondering about the process of carving the lettering. Thanks for posting.

Celia Hart said...

Thank you for taking us through how you're tackling this task - do you enjoy the systematic process? I know I would.

Celia

Sharri said...

Ahh, yes, the world of the unexpected - it is my natural habitat. Next comes the unexpected consequences —

Ellen Shipley said...

Amazing. 8-]

Amanda said...

Oh Annie! I wondered how you would go beyond all those 0s and 1s you carved! Are you sure you're not a puritan, punishing yourself for all those sins? (joke)

Anonymous said...

Gosh, that's a LOT of work! I bet it'll look fantastic when printed. How did you transfer the words to the wood?

Annie B said...

Thanks everyone.

Celia, I do enjoy the process especially, as you suggest, once I get a system going.

Sue, I used a paper (laser print output) hanshita. One reason I'm carving the way I'm carving is because the paper loosens once the cuts are made around the letters.