Caricature miniature newest female face bust hand carved wood branch Carys

Meet Carys. She is newest hand carved from a storm-downed branch of a white oak tree.

I love to carve faces. The variety is endless. For most carvers the female face is much more difficult to get right than the male face, as it is for me.

I figured the best way to get better at carving them was to carve a bunch of them. Thus the birth of the Alphabet Series.

Carys is one of a series of female faces I am carving in branches. The series will eventually have 26 members, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each face is as much a surprise to me as to anyone. All I do is uncover the face that's already in the branch.

I use only knives to do my carvings, no gouges, chisels, or power tools of any kind. I don't even use artificial light, preferring the clarity of sunlight.

I use dead branches as my medium because I think they provide a much more interesting frame than a plain block of featureless wood. They also provide challenges as I have to deal with bark, small branch takeoffs, knots, and grain weirdnesses. As these materials are in a natural state without any chemical processing such as drying agents and are finished with food-grade walnut oil, they may experience cracks or checks as time goes on. Bark can flake or peel off. I have done my best to stabilize any cracks that exist or occur as I am carving, but stuff can happen. If a crack does occur, my view is, don't worry about it. This is a natural process on a natural material.

Carys' branch is about 2.25" long and around 1.5" in diameter. Her face, from hairline to chin is roughly 1.25" by 0.75".

Carys is looking for a new home and would feel very comfortable on a mantle or in a display case, perhaps along with other miniature figures.

Color may vary from the photos due to curing of the walnut oil finish and age.

She'd look especially good in YOUR home! Order her now with free shipping by USPS Priority Mail.

Keywords:
low carbon footprint - hand tools - ladies - women - smiles - happy - decorative - home decor - folk art - ornament - sculpture - figurine - miniature