Paradise Of Fools

2012-02-04T09:15:00.001Z

Our last week in Spain and the weather has turned cold. We went up into the mountains yesterday, which were covered in an inch or two of snow - absolutely beautiful in the brilliant sunshine.

The almond trees, flowering in the snow are a wonder of nature - so restrained and delicate but so exquisite.

On the way up the hairpin bends, three skateboarders/rollerbladers came down the hill - they must have been doing 30 - 40 miles per hour - quite amazing - and what an accolade to Spanish mountain roads.

I've been doing more drawings for 'The Bureaucrat', I do not think he'll be sitting on a stool - something more significant - after all he is sat on people's hopes and dreams.

Working with Xavi, the young would-be carver in last weeks blog, I got to thinking about the problems facing a young person living in a small apartment in the city, who wants to carve. In Britain, America and Australia and some other countries we tend to have more space - garden sheds, garages etc. But when you have no tools, no bench, no wood, no bandsaw and nowhere to work - well it is pretty difficult.

When Betty started the BWA, the idea was a sharing of resources - knowledge, wood storage, tools. work-space, materials. I am not aware of any of this happening but it may be a way forward in some situations. perhaps it is why there are so many painters compared to sculptors. Still, at least Xavi can work outside - I am not going to try in Ireland.

Betty's putting together woodcarvers from all over the world and some of it is pretty startling - makes me think I should be trying a bit harder - There's some amazing stuff out there

Best wishes

Ian

2012-01-28T10:56:00.002Z

I will do no more to Pierrot until we get back to Ireland. I am doing some drawings for my new piece 'The Bureaucrat' and continuing my oil painting of Venice.

We have been to Valencia this week. It is not bad as big cities go, but is really a carbon copy of most cities today. There are some fine old buildings in the old town, but I cannot really see what justifies its position as a World Heritage Site compared to others I have seen. The modern buildings at the museum complex are very impressive but somehow artificial, as if they had been built just to be impressive. They do not seem to have evolved naturally - but then I don't suppose the Colosseum in Rome looked very natural when it was first built.

Also in Valencia there is a very dramatic sculpture in marble or maybe alabaster on a church doorway. Some of the anatomy is so inaccurate and bizarre that one wonders if it was deliberate for some reason.

I have had a young Spanish artist working here for a couple of days learning the rudiments of woodcarving - I envy him his boundless energy and enthusiasm, just chipping away at a horrible slab of oak.
We have received a lot of e-mails about the proposed trip to Canada and the Northern States, Betty is working on it - please get in touch if you are interested in either attending or hosting a class.
James has now put 'Carving Venus' as a downloadable DVD - this of course makes it cheaper and instant - no more wondering about the vagaries of the post.
Best wishes
Ian

2012-01-21T08:04:00.001Z

I have carved a head for 'Pierrot' this week. This may seem an extravagance, to carve a trial head for a figure, but when fitting it into a socket I think it is worth it. Also, I think it looks too small - although it is exactly the right size - I may make the final head slightly larger.
It rained this week for a day and a half - the first in 6 weeks - and they call this winter??

We went to Xativa yesterday with some friends where there is a fantastic castle on a mountain ridge, built by the Moors and the Romans; we also saw an aqueduct built by the Moors, all of the pipes bored through the rocks, maybe 1,000 years ago and still in working order - And yet our motorway bridges are falling to bits - We seem to have lost something somewhere!!
Already I am planning our trip home - how time has flown - the work I had so much time to do now seems pressing. I hope the almond orchards will flower before we go.
I am thinking of doing a teaching tour of Canada and the Northern States in 2013. If anyone is interested please let me know.
Best wishes
Ian

2012-01-15T08:36:00.000Z

We're back from our trip to Andalusia - just 1,000 miles. Fabulous scenery in the Sierra Nevada. The hotels here are quite beautiful although the breakfasts leave much to be desired. Driving through the old town of Granada and Cordoba was a bit tricky!

The Alhambra beggars description - What a wonderful civilization the Moorish culture must have been.

The Great Mosque in Cordoba is absolutely staggering. One can only be appalled at the total desecration of this beautiful building by the Catholic Church, who have built a cathedral and heavily barred chapels within the mosque, with their paintings of bleeding martyrs and lashings of gold leaf - it is so tawdry in contrast to the sublime quiet space of the mosque.

Some nice carving in the Cathedral but the wood is so uniformly dark brown it looks like a miraculous creation in chocolate. Sad to think a great craftsman should do anything so vulgar.

The drive back was quite astonishing - I could not believe there were so many olive trees in the world let alone one part of one country. Millions as far as the eye could see in every direction.

I certainly recommend a visit to anyone interested - I can even suggest accommodation if you are on a budget.

Best wishes
Ian

2012-01-07T07:42:00.002Z

A good weeks work - Pierrot is finished except for his head and hands which I cannot do because I do not have any steamed pear with me - but I may make trial ones in limewood. I've answered a question in FAQs about bleaching him. I will not doing much this coming week because we're off down country to the Sierra Nevada, then to Granada to see the Alhambra, then to Cordoba to see the Great Mosque and back through Acazar. This will also mean that the blog will probably be on Sunday next week.

Yesterday was the day of The Three Kings here in Spain - their Christmas day and it has been very quiet.
It is strange the differences in different cultures. For example I parked the car in the local small town last week and the ticket machine would not take my money - none of the other cars had a ticket so I left it. When we came back it had been towed away. After an hour and a half of chasing around, 125 euros lighter and thanks to two good friends Matthew and Joanne - I got the car back - not a good way to treat guests - but I guess the government needs the money - I'll be more careful in Granada!!
Best wishes
Ian

2011-12-31T09:03:00.000Z

We've been getting around the local area a bit - up into the mountains. The scenery is superb but what I find most striking is the roads - even the most remote mountain areas where we never see another car, the roads are like new, smooth and quiet. The potholes and grass growing down the centre are entirely absent. Zig-zagging roads up mountains, bridges over gorges and rivers - all in perfect condition. And all the villages look as if they have had a make-over - perhaps that is where the moneys all gone?

Well it is nearly the new year and I guess everyone will be drowning their sorrows or celebrating - I'll be working as usual (bah humbug!!) Pierrot is coming on well, but my fingertips are getting sore from the sanding so I might get on with my painting. I also have to do some drawings for a couple of new pieces.

To all my readers all over the world, Betty James and I wish you all the very best for the New Year - We live in interesting times!

Good carving

Ian

2011-12-23T11:06:00.002Z

It really is quite pleasant living here; I was working in shirt sleeves yesterday- I would say it was about 23 degrees. From my work station I overlook the orange groves and the distant sea, on the other side a very pretty set of balconies with bougainvillea.

A stiff walk over the hill brings you to a beautiful village, Forna, with a good restaurant. The near town of Oliva is well supplied and in Gandia there is a Carrefour the size of a small town. Gandia is where the Borgias originated and their statues stand in the square as if they were heroes.
There are also 2 little British supermarkets in the area selling all things English - even frozen sliced bread - as if our bread was so great!

Pierrot has a page on the website now and is coming along quite nicely and as I predicted it really is an exercise in carving fabric - I must say I find it a bit odd working outside - but I guess I'll get used to it.
I'm going to start a painting of Venice to do in the evenings. Up to now I've been watching ancient videos. It would be easy to get very sloppy here with booze so cheap!
Anyway, Christmas is upon us and James, Betty and I send our best wishes to you all for Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year. Thank you for your support and interest
Best wishes
Ian

2011-12-17T09:23:00.000Z

Here we are in sunny Spain. The journey was very pleasant.

The Cathedral at Chartres is being cleaned - the part they have completed inside - maybe a third of it is absolutely amazing; the stonework on the vaulted roof quite unbelievable. We have made a date to return in 2014 when it is supposed to be completed.

Montresor near Tours is as beautiful as the guide book says - as is Rocamadour. Strangely, although the weather was fine these places were totally deserted.

The stunning city of Carcasonne was quite busy and we located a hotel there for the return journey.
My friends house, in the hills above Oliva, is quite delightful, surrounded by orange groves, as is everything here.
I have set up my carving bench on the second floor balcony looking over the orange groves to the sea and tomorrow I should start work. I've a pile of e-mails to answer, but we have only just sorted out the connection to the internet - what a performance! The man in the Vodafone shop seemed to think Betty's computer was a reject from Bletchley Park - almost as antiquated as my video camera!! I think serious investment is in the air.
While Betty and I have been travelling, not only has James finished the 'Venus' DVD he has also made the 'Venus' e-book available to download, put video clips up of all the finished pieces (except 'Another cabinet Reshuffle) and put two of Betty's books up for downloading 'Furniture for the 21st Century' and 'British Craftsmanship in Wood' - someone has to do the work!!

Best wishes

Ian

On the Road

2011-12-10T10:09:00.002Z

Ian has asked me to post this message telling you that he is currently away in Spain and is in the process of getting connected to the internet. As soon as that is up and running the blog will be back to normal.

Regards, James

2011-12-03T12:03:00.002Z

The DVD of 'Venus' is finally finished and is on the website for purchase, it is approximately 2 hours long and James says it works very well. The video of the finished piece is on U-Tube, but in the wrong format at the moment - as soon as we have ironed out the formatting the link will be from the site.

James has also extracted the video clip we took of our hare in the garden in the spring and put it on U-tube for you to enjoy.

Tomorrow we are off to Spain via Bruges, Chartres, Tours and Carcassone. I've a carving bandsawn ready to do there - it will be 18 inches /45 cm high made of limewood, steamed pear and ebony. The figure is based on photographs by Adrien Tournachon of the mime artist Charles Deburau performing as Pierrot in 1845.

It will be an exercise in carving fabric, which I am sure some carvers will find of interest, it will be something of a new departure for me as I have never really made fabric the main feature of a carving. I intend to bleach the limewood to pure white which should make a good contrast with the pink pear and ebony skullcap.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-11-26T09:10:00.000Z

Back in the UK - everyone seems very gloomy, they do not have the optimism of the Irish.
I have two more commissions to work on and some interesting news from the past.

An auction house in Cyprus has contacted me to identify a painting I did there in 1969 - it is Famagusta Market expected to sell for €2,300 or more. That has to be a 400% profit in real terms - who said art's not a good investment?

Having packed and weighed the cut out/blank kits for 'Venus' we have removed the balls and repriced the kits accordingly at £200 each - The carriage was going to be prohibitive and I am reliably informed that the smaller 7 inch / 18 cm balls are more readily available.
I've started roughing out the piece I am taking to Spain and should have some pictures ready next week.
It is quite strange coming back from Ireland how differently we look at all the rampant commercialism here in the UK and it seems totally alien - You think 'Why do people need all this stuff that is being pushed at them??' - I can't wait to get out of it. Still the choice of restaurant is great and the prices are cheap compared to Ireland.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-11-19T07:40:00.000Z

I have just finished two female figures, both about 6 inches / 15 cm long - they are actually cane handles! The point is that being small and detailed I would normally use boxwood, which, although not really a commercial timber is not particularly rare, in fact I think most of it gets bulldozed into the ground by developers. It is the sort of wood you got for nothing from a neighbour, shoved it under the bench for a few years and there it was when you needed it. Now I find that to buy it - 4 inches / 10 cm diameter, with a radial crack, costs £350 a cubic foot! - I am having my small stock insured.

Walking cane handle in boxwood

One of my figures is boxwood, rather spalted and the other is birch also spalted. The birch costs next to nothing and is almost as fine, hard and good for detailed carving as boxwood. Try it.

Walking cane handle in birch

Betty has put up the pages for the 'Carving Venus' DVD and E-Book as well as a full description and pricing for the 2 blank/cut out kits.

The house-sitter has arrived and on Monday we leave for the UK and then on to Spain - a 6 day drive through France. Of course I will need to work in Spain which raises the problem of a bench. Someone should invent a portable woodcarving bench - like a camera tripod - that you can throw in the boot of the car or even take onto a plane. Of course I should have thought about this ages ago, but since I didn't I am having to take a 'Superjaws' vice which weighs half a ton. Maybe someone out there has already invented one? If not I'm definitely going to. I see wealth beyond the dreams of avarice flowing from the pockets of nomadic woodcarvers who want to chip away on the beach in Tahiti - Dream on!!
Best wishes
Ian

2011-11-12T09:39:00.003Z

'Venus' really, really is finished. Even the video is finished. There are a last couple of work in progress shots.
Friday I was taking the still photographs, I tried to use my Nikon D50 but its intricacies are beyond me. The instruction book is almost as long as this year's Booker prize winner's and, believe me, not as readable. The jargon is impenetrable. I really feel that 'techno-speak' - commonly understood by the young is as alien to me as me talking to them about Greek mythology and ancient folklore. There is an inbuilt resistance to learning it. So it is back to the point and squirt. All I have to do now is get the drawings finalised, edit the E-book and away it goes to James!!

I have, for the purposes of the video, bandsawn a block of limewood to the drawings for 'Venus' to fit a 7 inch / 18 cm glass ball and a black and red marble ball which I intend to sell as a kit.
Now I am working on the two cane handles for delivery next month.
The hare is still about, Betty sees him most mornings, lolloping down the drive on his way to the vegetable garden. He is certainly much bigger than the one we saw on the road last night - good diet - I hope he will be with us next year - I feel he is family.
In view of the current political - financial situation, I feel a sharp poke at the establishment is in order and I am working on ideas for carvings in this vein - after all it is not going to go away any time soon, is it??
Best wishes
Ian

2011-11-05T09:16:00.000Z

A week after I said 'Venus' was practically finished I'm still fiddling about sanding, altering little details and finding odd jobs that take half a day to do. The arm band is patinated copper held with silver pins, which was very fiddly.

The sword, made of copper, silver and ebony, took a day to make. The varnish, for some reason, refused to dry on the ebony, so I had to sand it off and spray it with cellulose lacquer. It does not fit into the hand assembled, so will have to be assembled once 'Venus' is positioned on the ball.

Rather interesting, if a little gruesome, is the little dead bat we found in the house a couple of weeks ago. Foolishly, I left it on the wall outside and three days ago found only its skeleton laid there - a minute rib-cage and a translucent skull the size of a pea. The wing bones are relatively long. Presumably the flesh was eaten by insects.

I have answered a question on drilling marble in the FAQs

Only a couple of weeks before the house sitter arrives and we leave for Spain and I have a list of jobs to do that is simply not possible - I am in Greek mode!!

Best wishes

Ian

2011-10-29T09:30:00.003+01:00

'Venus' is finished to all intents and purposes. I have to make the sword, fit the arm and do a lot of sanding, but the real work is done. I should be able to send the tapes to James next week. But can you trust the post? A package from Belgium recently took 3 days, while one from Swansea took 10 - Perhaps we will deliver them by hand.

Now I will be making a couple of cane handles for a client and designing and bandsawing a couple of pieces to take with me to Spain to work on. I want to do something a bit satirical about the present political financial situation - it shouldn't be too difficult should it with the tragic comedy that's being played out? The Greeks calling the Germans Nazis and Sarkozy telling Cameron to 'Stuff it'. With the new Kindle my daughter, Jayne, bought me, I'm well up with the tabloid news!!

The magazine articles we put up last week are proving to be a great hit, having finished that and the E-Book for 'Venus', Betty will have more time to get on with her 'World Sculptors'

We saw the hare again a couple of days ago, looking absolutely splendid, eating leaves on the back lawn. I took a photo but the light was not good. I noticed a few ripe strawberries disappear - there are a lot of foxes about so he'd better watch out.
Time now to dig over the garden. I have about 2 tons of horse muck to put on it and heaps of old compost, I bought 50 meters of plastic weed suppressant to cover it all and plastic poly tunnels for next year - I won't be defeated by endless rain, a million slugs and a hare!!
Best wishes
Ian

2011-10-22T08:57:00.003+01:00

Our visitor from California left today. We had a great week and he demonstrated the technique of the laying and patination of metal leaf. It is a fairly simple technique and I see great potential for it's application to carvings. I'll need to get some supplies and an extractor fan - The smell was awful!

'Venus' has progressed well - the upper part of the body is finished and I have roughly shaped the hair. This required me finding a new place to secure the carving to the clamp. To do this I shaped a piece of wood to the curve of the ball and screwed it to the buttocks, then screwed the clamp to it. The hair will be a long job, but then it is just the face and the left arm.

James and Betty have been busy uploading 36 instructional Magazine Articles I wrote in the 80's and 90's - I gave it up when the magazine reduced the size of the illustrations so much that they were almost useless. However with modern technology, you will be able enlarge these articles and the images to your requirements. I hope you find something of interest there.

We have also added the Residential Masterclass dates for 2012 - there will only be 3 next year - which at 2 students per class is a maximum of 6 students - you will need to secure your place early if you are considering coming.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-10-15T10:09:00.001+01:00

I have a friend from California working with me this week. he is practicing small heads, 2½" / 6cm or so - a very wise decision in my opinion as this is exactly the sort of size you need for a typical figure.

I've been working on 'Venus' - it's slow progress, I am sanding to 240 grit to avoid a massive sanding operation at the end. I have only a few weeks left to finish the carving, the video and the e-book before I go to Spain.
And there is so much to do in the garden, especially with all the leaves gathering in the gutters, I wanted to try making some knives, and then there is the french windows to paint and the machine shop needs new doors. People ask if I'm thinking of retiring - some hope!

We've seen the hare a couple of times this week - he looks so big and healthy - obviously a diet of broccoli and strawberries is good for him. Strangely, considering it is autumn the new crop of strawberries is starting to ripen - I'll bet he gets to them first. Considering the poor summer, we've done very well for vegetables.
I'll be working all weekend and all next week - from the crack of 10 am till wine time at 5.30 pm (less coffee, lunch and tea) so expect dramatic developments by next weekend.
I have answered a question on the FAQs and on the Woodcarving Illustrated Message Board.
Best wishes
Ian

It Fits!!

2011-10-08T09:30:00.001+01:00

We arrived back in Ireland Thursday night after a round trip of some 2,000 miles. The ball is finally in my studio, unpacked it is superb and astonishingly 'Venus' fist onto it perfectly - I really am quite amazed. On Monday work will begin on her again.

Finished pictures of 'Harlequin Triumphant' are now on the website and a video with commentary on U-tube (there is also a link from the 'Harlequin Triumphant' page). Being tall and narrow, it is quite difficult to photograph for a computer screen.

I have answered a question in the FAQs about carving teeth.
After a week of glorious weatherin the UK, the cold and wet have returned. My strawberries, which are still producing but I am sure will never now rippen, are nonetheless dissappearing - I suspect the hare, who has grown remarkably on a diet of fresh vegetables. What he doesn't eat is cleaned up by the slugs and caterpillars, so I feel I'm maintaining an entire eco system here!

Best wishes

Ian

Betty here - he does exaggerate - Just a tiny bit! we had wonderful home grown vegetables for supper last night!

2011-10-04T09:58:00.001+01:00

Back in Cheltenham after driving about 1,200 miles, delivering 'Harlequin Triumphant' meeting our daughter from and returning her to Heathrow and and collecting the black marble ball for 'Venus'

We spent a couple of days at Port Meirion, staying in one of the little houses in the village - to be recommended - the quality of the furnishing and cleanliness are excellent. It is an inspiring place and makes one itch to go home and build a folly in the garden. It is particularly beautiful at night when all the visitors have left.

We returned to Chester for retail therapy. An interesting town, if excessively commercial, with some very fine architecture. I found a nice carving of a jester on the front of a pub.

Coming back to Cheltenham I was rather sad to see my workshop of 30 years empty apart from some junk - no machines, no gouges, no carvings; and the gallery - just clean empty rooms with nothing in them. Perhaps we will keep it for another year and have my exhibition here. The great advantage is that I have total control over lighting, layout and organisation - most of my clients know where it is and it costs me nothing. On the other hand it would be good to have the exhibition somewhere exciting - a castle, the crypt of a church or the hall of an ancient building.
Meanwhile I now have to drive back to Chester and collect the statue of 'Ganesh' for the garden, then back to Dublin and on to Tournafulla. The weather does not sound good for the ferry!!
By next Monday I should find out if the marble ball for 'Venus', which is very beautiful, really is 12 inches diameter and whether 'Venus' fits. If she doesn't you're going to see some very fancy footwork.
Thank you to many followers who sent their good wishes for our anniversary
Best wishes
Ian

2011-09-22T17:34:00.003+01:00

This weekend Betty & I celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary which also coincides with me being a carver for 40 years. We ask you to celebrate with us and have put a special page on the site '40 Years at the Bench' - on this page you will find 40% discount (for 24 hours only UK time on Sunday 25th September) and two articles which Betty and I have written - both free for you to read and/or download. I hope you enjoy them.
It is Thursday and I haven't got any work done. It is amazing the amount of work you need to do to go away for a couple of weeks, even though we have friends staying while we are away, particularly with the severe weather we are having.
However, I have been thinking about 'Venus' and planning the next stages and a question arises which is worthy of discussion.
As 'Venus' approaches the pelvic area one has to pause to consider the female genitalia. In 500BC judging by surviving statues, it seems not to have existed, although the male genitalia and pubic hair was meticulously rendered in exquisite detail.
A thousand years later, it was still invisible and did not appear until the late 19th century. Was the fashion for depilation so strong that it persisted for 2,400 years? In ancient Greece where nudity was commonplace in medieval Europe, where personal privacy was virtually unknown, in artistic circles devoted to the accurate rendering of the human form, by some oversight the female pudenda somehow escaped their pircing eyesight. Perhaps they simply did not have any. Whatever the answer, the question is - should me 'Venus' have pubic hair? - would the original Venus have had it? or was there a taboo against it that was so strong that even the god of war, Mars, would have turned his nose up? These are the kind of questions that keep me awake at night!
Whilst I appreciate that some people will be offended at the explicit depiction of genitalia, God created it so and it is not for me to deny his creation.
Would you carve a male torso with no genetalia - it would be ridiculous. In this age of female equality it is only right that they should be depicted in their full glory.

Further research on the internet by my friend Jim Dunn revealed a German artist, Heinrich Aldegrever, in the 1540 portrayed Eve in this way in an engraving. We do not see this hair in art again until 1866 when Gustav Courbet caused uproar with his 'The Origin of the World'.
However early photographs of nude women around 1855 show that the fashion for depilation had clearly been abandoned. It is all very mysterious,
Best wishes
Ian

2011-09-17T09:12:00.004+01:00

Next weekend Betty & I celebrate our 4oth Wedding Anniversary which also coincides with me being a carver for 40 years. We ask you to celebrate with us and have put a special page on the site '40 Years at the Bench' - on this page you will find 40% discount and two articles which Betty and I have written - both free for you to read and/or download. I hope you enjoy them.

I have finished the right leg of 'Venus' up to the hips and should finish the left one next week before we go back to England to deliver 'Harlequin Triumphant' - I am also hoping to finish a watercolour of Venice.

My friend James Dunn has made a wooden plaque to go with 'Harlequin Triumphant' - he has done the calligraphy - the lettering is about the size of norman type - absolutely amazing!
I will be taking photographs and making a short video of the finished piece which will be put on the site when we return in October.

I'm about to start the drawings for a scale model of Bernini's Elephant in Rome in concrete - a wedding anniversary present for my beloved wife - it should be interesting.
The weather is foul, the tail end of an American hurricane apparently, not very nice for the rest of our American visitors' holiday, but since the lady had a broken leg it probably didn't affect them too much.

At last my tomatoes are rippening. Unfortunately a rat has decided to take up residence in the greenhouse underneath the tomatoes. Over three days he has dug out a prodigious quantity of soil. Now I have nothing against rats although I have a bit of a phobia about them, but it really is getting a bit much - The weather, the caterpillars, the slugs, the hare and now a rat - I feel I am losing the struggle of one man against nature.
Best wishes
Ian
P.S. I have scanned my marketing book ready to revise - the current version 'Marketing and Promotion for Crafts' is on the site at the greatly reduced price of £3- the revised version will be ready in 2012. - Betty

2011-09-10T09:10:00.001+01:00

The American carver, from Idaho, and his wife left Friday, very nice people and a very good Masterclass. Unfortunately she broke her leg at Blarney Castle which kind of spoilt it for her.

I didn't get any work done on 'Venus' but I started a female nude about 6 inches / 15 cm long which will end up as a cane handle. It has some awkward corners on it which will need careful working.
The interesting thing is that the wood is mazar birch, which is birch with a little brown fleck in it, that I have had for years. It was actually a wood turning blank. Anyway, it turns out that birch is very nice to carve, almost like boxwood but not as hard and capable of taking very fine detail and a beautiful silky smooth finish.
I know my friend Jon Steinolfsson in Iceland uses it a lot, but I assumed that was because they only have birch trees in Iceland. Now I will be looking for a decent sized piece of birch - the trees in Betty's garden are marked for felling!! I guess birch trees don't grow very big, but I've never taken much notice.

On Monday I'll get back to 'Venus'. I want to finish below the waitline this coming week and Betty will get back into the office she wants to get started on all the tips you have been sending her for 'World Woodsculptors'
Best wishes
Ian

2011-09-03T10:32:00.004+01:00

'Harlequin Triumphant' is completely finished. But there will be no finished pictures of him until after he is delivered to the client - who must be the first to see him complete. He is to be delivered at the end of September. Apart from photographs - we will be making a short video of him to show every detail this will be on the site and U-tube as soon as we return from delevering him.

Meanwhile I have started work on 'Venus' again - I am starting from the feet upward so that I can hold her by the hair until the last moment.

James and Betty have now put all of the German and French translations of my books on the site to download as e-books and when we return from the UK in October we will be bringing all the carving articles I have written for magazines and making those available on the site.
Some of them must be about 20 years old - How the craft has changed since I first demonstrated at the woodworking shows. I remember Record Tools used to demonstrate sharpening on a rotating plywood disc covered in emery paper. When I bought a white Arkansas stone in a junk shop, it was like finding the Holy Grail. I haven't used it for at least 15 years.
Here in Ireland, summer has passed us by. It is not very warm and as I write it has started raining. My tomatoes obstinately refuse to ripen, though the beans and peas are excellent. The hare has returned - he's a big fellow now. The cabbages that he helped to ruin we now feed to the neighbours cows - they are crazy for them.

Best wishes

Ian

Thank you to all who wrote to be about World Woodsculptors - I am following up the leads and hope to have something for you to look at next week. Betty

2011-08-27T09:37:00.001+01:00

'Harlequin Triumphant' is effectively finished as far as carving is concerned. Having fitted the hat, a difficult business involving lots of fittings with carbon paper, it has been screwed into place, the poppy is made of pink ivory wood and the centre is amethyst.

The gold buttons have also been put in place, the left hand joined and the torso fixed to the legs. Apart from a few more coats of varnish - only some of the paintings on the staircase remain and these will be completed over the coming days.

Hopefully I will be back to 'Venus' some time next week, although I have a Masterclass begining next weekend, so not much will happen the following week.

My wife, Betty, is embarking on a great project to build a website and compile a book of the World's Finest Woodsculptors.

This will be a fantastic resource, with hundreds of images of great woodcarvings from every country in the world that she can get input from. So I am asking all you carvers out there to please send Betty information on who is the best where you are.

Best wishes
Ian

2011-08-20T10:53:00.003+01:00

Wednesday was a fabulous sunny day and we drove through the Kerry Mountains to Dingle and round Slea Head. it was quite beautiful, although Dingle seems to be going the way of all seaside resorts. It was very busy which is a good sign for the tourist industry. Still, I can't help missing the old days, when my 25 year old Rover was the smartest car around, there was no vehicle testing, no drink driving laws (at least, none that anyone took any notice of), no anti-smoking laws, none of the little rules and regulations we have now that don't really seem to benefit anyone. Dingle was just a dusty fishing village with a famous dolphin. Living here was so cheap and now it is so expensive - that's progress I guess!

Despite my day off, and another day consulting with the client, I have finished both hands on 'Harlequin Triumphant' and the carving is complete apart from the hat. There are a few little things, buttons to fit and polishing but I have broken the back of it. Next week I will do these jobs and start the paintings on the staircase, I've made a jig to hold it at an angle to facilitate this.

I also have to make the cases for transporting the whole thing to the UK. The sharp eyed amongst you may have noticed that I've used very little copper, silver, shell etc. in the inlays. That is because I considered the potential for shrinkage on such a large carving would result in material that did not shrink popping out! Ireland can be damp, particularly this year, and the concept of really dry wood is a non-starter.
We have added a new E-Book 'Carving a Female Torso' and we have started adding the German and French editions of the books 'Techniques of Creative Woodcarving' 'Techiken des Kreativen Holzschnitzens' and 'Projects for Creative Woodcarving' 'Kreatives Holzschnitzen fur Fortgeschrittene' are on the site and the other three will be added next week.
The hare, who has grown very big on my vegetables, is conspicuous by his absence this week - maybe he is waiting for the second crop to get up to size!
Best wishes
Ian

2011-08-13T11:56:00.001+01:00

The left arm of 'Harlequin Triumphant' is now finished apart from the hand and the black strip round the joint. On the website the picture denoted 68e as you hold your cursar over it shows the final inlay being cut in up to the joint. The staircase has been mounted onto a heavy granite base and a green marble plinth. A disc of mahogany is sanwiched between, the staircase will rotate on the granite.

The string of the staircase will be painted in sepia with 30 images, meaningless to anyone, but significant to the client. These have been proptyped in a beautiful leatherbound drawing book ordered from the Cartoleria Pantheon in Rome.

The client is flying over next week, by which time I hope to have the left hand finished and mounted the figure on the staircase.

Best wishes

Ian

Betty - The hare has been very good this week - he seems to have heeded to Ian's requests that he share!!

One man's struggle against nature

2011-08-06T09:00:00.000+01:00

I finished the right arm of 'Harlequin Triumphant' as promised - in fact I finished it on Thursday and took Friday off. The arm is glued and screwed in place. The screwholes are covered by inlays and the joint covered by the black inlayed strip. The sleeve was drilled out about 1 inch/25 cm then the hand set into resin inside the sleeve. The resin was covered in cling film so that the hand could be taken out again. Later the hand will be set into this perfect socket with a steel dowel. At the moment it would be in the way for applying the varnish.
Next week I will do the left arm - boringly similar to the right one. I also have to make the hat, which is not as easy as it sounds, and to construct the granit and marble turntable for the base of the staircase.
Meanwhile the hare has become more aggressive with the depredation of my vegetables. Half of the courgettes are gone, the heads on the broccoli and most of the cabbage. He eats holes in the netting. When I go down there he just sits and looks at me. Termination with extreme prejudice, is, I believe the final solution - It is time for me to demonstrate man's superiority over a dumb animal. (Betty - He obviously is not so dumb - he certainly knows where breakfast is to be found and in a spot where the owner is daft enough to stand there talking to him!!)

Best wishes
Ian

2011-07-30T07:25:00.003+01:00

The weather remains reasonable and we spent a pleasant day in glorious sunshine on Tuesday with freinds at Kells Bay, a delightful seaside village in County Kerry which seemed to consist entirely of holiday homes and a caravan park.
Not a great weeks work, what with taking the day off and some very difficult and tedious inlays on the elbow of 'Harlequin Triumphant'.

The good news is that the staircase is finished and has had the first coat of polish. A bit of sanding and more varnish and that's it.

Now I must mount the staircase onto the marble and granite base with a turntable. I have to make a mahogany disc 13½ inches/34cm and ¾ inch/2cm thick as a spacer for the bearing. My lathe will not take this size so I will do it with the router, I am making a jig to cut the circle. This is a nightmare for me - the router is like an angry animal ready to chew great circular chunks of wood out if mistreated!

Anyway, next week I will get the arm finished it it kills me.

I have answered a question about gouge sizes in the FAQs.

James has been busy - 'Carving Uncle Sam' is now available as a DVD and 'Carving the Female Figure' DVD is now available to download directly to your PC - the first one - we aim to make all of them available in this format.

Meanwhile the vegetables are growing in abundance, although the caterpillars are trying to finish what the hare started with the cabbages. It's all caused by global warming!

Best wishes

Ian

2011-07-23T11:36:00.000+01:00

The weather has brightened up - the good news is we are getting fresh vegetables from the garden - the bad news is the hare is taking more than his fair share. At first he nibbled the tops of a few cabbages of which I have too many - then he ate the strawberries - just before they ripened - is this in the textbooks? - that hares eat strawberries? Now he has demolished the new broccoli plants of which we had only 6 - I netted what was left and he ate a hole through the netting - where will he strike next.

I got a good weeks work done on 'Harleqin Triumphant'. I used the router, a fearsome machine. A mistake with the router is serious. I screwed a piece of board to the faceplate and set the cutter to project two and a half inches. On the board I screwed two blocks to stop the cutter hitting the spiral by mistake. Then I ran the router over the pillar and kept turning the pillar until it was all a uniform cylinder. I now have to finish a few more steps and the underside of the spiral and clean it all up.

The torso of 'Harlequin Triumphant' is finished, so Monday I will start on the arms, more difficult because of the small circumference and tight folds - I might well do the hands as well to make a break from the diamonds.

I have answered a question in the FAQs about timber sizes for the DVDs
Best wishes
Ian

The Staircase

2011-07-16T09:37:00.002+01:00

This week I've decided to start work on the staircase of 'Harlequin Triumphant'. I've continued inlaying the diamonds in the mornings, but started hacking away at the staircase in the afternoons.

Having made a lot of sawcuts with my adapted handsaw - I thought I could knock out the wood in blocks - this did not happen. By its nature the spiral has no straight edges, any saw cut, except those near the middle, quickly ran into the strings of the staircase. however, I made quite a few and tried to knock out the wood in the block - limewood does not split easily - one of its benefits of carving. I decided to use a power carver. This ripped the wood out quite easily and quickly but the vibration make your hands feel strange and you have to wear ear defenders or go deaf! However this resulted in Fig.1

A little more careful paring with the power carver produced Fig.2

The problem now was tomake the spiral exactly two and a half inches wide leaving a two and a half inch column in the centre. I drilled into the centre along the lines of the spiral, using a depth stop on the drill. The bottom of the holes can be seen in Fig.3 where I have carved away the bulk of the wood, just short of the two and a half inches.

The consideration now is whether to finish the column first and risk nasty tool cuts in the column when I cut the steps, or cut the steps first the work out how to get the column right. I cut the steps first - not as long a job as I anticipated.

Now - How to finish the column - it has to be right - I am considering using the router with a long cutter, mounting the cylinder on the lathe with the router on a jig set to two and a half inches and getting Betty to turn the cylinder while I operate the router - Don't miss next weeks exciting episode!
Best wishes
Ian
While I still have all my fingers I have put a link to the bandsaw video that James has uploaded this week. It can also be accessed from the FAQs
Betty

2011-07-09T10:19:00.003+01:00

I am now inlaying the torso of 'Harlequin Triumphant' with couple of difficult inlays round the shoulder and I have made his belt from green patinated copper out of a leaking hot water cylinder.

I've also started doing the drafts for the vignettes which will decorate the string of the staircase and will be painted in sepia monochrome. I had great difficulty finding brown ink drawing pens and eventually find out that the usual companies have discontinued them. However the internet company 'Tiger Pens' supplied exactly what I needed with amazing promptness.

The hare that lives in our garden or nearby and visits everyday is eating all the strawberries. No sooner do a few ripen than they disappear - I suspected Betty - but she maintains her innocence. I have seen the hare in the strawberries trying to hide, but his ears stick up - also there are bits of cabbages missing and telltale currants nearby.

The good news is that the statue of Ganesh we bought has been delivered to our friend in Cheshire so we can collect it and it should be set up in the garden by October - since he is supposed to bring good luck - perhaps the weather will improve.

Although he is finished I have been asked if there are any work in progress pictures for the 'Hollow Man' - Betty has put these up this morning

Best wishes

Ian

2011-07-02T09:19:00.005+01:00

The car has been to the body shop this week, last week someone in a parked car opened their door and bashed in the wing. We had visitors arriving from Cork so we hired a car - they gave me a Skoda Octavia which conked out within hours. It was replaced with a Mondeo.
After our visitors left on Wednesday I worked on getting the legs of 'Harlequin Triumphant' fixed together and finished.

I've also started work on the spiral staircase, drawing it onto the block by careful measurements.

The cylinder is 7½ inches/18 cm diameter and the central pillar is 2½ inches/6 cm diameter so I must remove 2½ inches/6 cm of waste all round the pillar. To this end I have glued 2 strips of wood to the sides of a nice sharp handsaw 2½ inches/6 cm from the teeth, to limit the depth of cut.

By making several cuts around the cylinder I should be able to knock out most of the waste - we'll see on Monday.
Meanwhile the weather has improved and things need to be done in the garden.
James has retreived some old video clips of Inlaying diamonds, finishing and bandsawing - subjects which people ask about constantly - and we have put them up on the FAQs page (the bandsawing one is being edited and will join the other two asap) - they are pretty poor and I will make some new ones when I have time. I have also answered a query about my redrawing plans.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-06-25T09:01:00.002+01:00

I didn't get so much work done this week because we have family visiting but 'Harlequin Triumphant's' second leg is finished and they are screwed together temporarily.

Inlays have to be made to cover the screwholes ready to fit when the legs are finally joined together.

When this is done the joint must be covered by inlays and the black strip up the centre, back and front. I have now used one inlay of patinated copper and one of nautilus shell. I have kept them small to mitigate the problems of expansion and contraction.

Next week should see a start on the torso which has flatter areas than the legs and should permit more adventurous use of different materials.

I must start also on the staircase and do a bit every day or it will become a real bore chopping it all out.
best wishes
Ian

2011-06-18T09:04:00.001+01:00

One leg of 'Harlequin Triumphant' is finished and one half of the second one. The area adjacent to the join cannot be finished until the two legs are finally fixed together.
I am using different materials such as shell, silver, copper and gold for some of the inlays which is somewhat problematic, since the wood can shrink, whilst these materials will not - they could pop out ot buckle. I have done this without a problem with smaller diamonds, but these are 4 times the size, so 4 times the shrinkage possibility. The wood has been cut for a long time, but I must also allow for the ambient humidity in Ireland. Fortunately I have several months to see what happens.

My consignment of veneers has arrived from California - thank you Beaver for that - with lots of beautiful wood. I will have to choose them carefully as some of them will loose their colour in the light. Furniture makers of my aquaintance use special UV filtering varnishes to prevent this happening, especially with sycamore.

While the weather still ranges from hot and sunny to cold and wet - in the middle of June - we have enjoyed our first crop of blackberries - the bushes are laden this year.
I have answered a question about jointing arms on 'The Bather' in FAQs and now its back to the diamonds.

Best wishes

Ian

2011-06-11T09:43:00.001+01:00

Last Sunday the rally went past which didn't really bother us, the road signs went up 'Respect the neighbours' 'Max 30 KPH' - but most of the souped up old jalopies went by at about 50 - 70 MPH. A good time seemed to be had by all and no real damage was done. That's it for another year or two.
The garden is still very slow. In Northern Europe and South East England they are having a drought, while here in Ireland we have had rain of biblical proportions. I think we will be paying the price in the grocery stores this summer.

'Harlequin Triumphant' progresses at a snails pace now as I am inlaying the diamonds.

Unforseen problems have arisen due to the increased size of the diamonds, but I think I've got the measure of it.
I've finally found (It was Betty really) a supply of a wide range of veneers at Woodcraft, Ventura, California which should arrive next week and a leather bound book of watercolour paper from Cartoleria Pantheon is on it's way from Italy. This is for me to do the original illustrations for the staircase. Isn't the internet wonderful?
I've answered a question in the FAQs about the Haida Indian Mask.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-06-04T10:30:00.003+01:00

The promised 'heat wave' has finally arrived - that is 2 days without rain, I've switched off the central heating which could be a serious mistake - tempting fate. This weekend is an Irish bank holiday - banks need holidays?? - and we have a motor rally passing the house on Sunday and we are not allowed out while a load of boy racers try to kill themselves.

'Harlequin Triumphant' has progressed, his face and mask are complete. I've now started on his shoes because I now have to work from the bottom upwards - its tricky trying to fit the shoes when the carving is finished. Its amazing how much more shere labour is involved in a larger carving - a mere shoe becomes a project in itself.

I've also turned the limewood pillar for the staircase 24 x 8 inches / 60 x 20 cm. When I chucked the blank I thought the lathe would walk across the room - who'd be a wood turner??
Early next week I should start the inlays. Does anyone know how to bend shell? - it must be possible because you can buy it in flat sheets.
I have answered a question in FAQs and Betty has started scanning the German and French editions of my books ready for uploading in September.
Best wishes
Ian

Making the mask for Harlequin Triumphant

2011-05-28T09:31:00.001+01:00

Harlequin Triumphant's figure has been shaped and roughly sanded - there are many improvements to be made - this is just the first draft so to speak. The lower half of the face has been carved; the upper half cannot be completed until the mask is made because it would be wrecked in the shaping of the mask which is made from a 3 x 5 inch / 7 x 12 cm sheet of .5mm copper plate. I make a shallow depression into a block of wood, the size of the face. The copper is then hammered into this hollow.

The hollow is deepened and the hammering repeated and so on until the hollow is a negative of the face and the mask roughly fits the carved face.

The mask is then fitted more accurately and the eyes are cut out.

The mask can then be cleaned up and the face finished.
Apart from work the weather has continued to be wet and windy. In 'The Week' magazine I get from the UK it boldly states -'The drought goes on' - that's because the water is all over here! - but our visiting hare doesn't seem to mind.

Best wishes

Ian

2011-05-21T11:34:00.007+01:00

Chaos in Ireland as the queen's visit seemed to necessitate closing down half of the country, and another €30 million down the drain that they can ill afford - Barack Obahma next week.

I've been working on Harlequin Triumphant - carving and sanding the figure completely in the limewood before inlaying the diamonds. I'd forgotten how much physical work a large carving entails. I may well work this weekend as we are off to Paris to the Manet exhibition next week.

We have a young hare that visits the garden every day to eat the dandelions - I hope he does not take a liking to my vegetables!
Many thanks to those who sent information about veneers - Betty is following them up.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-05-15T09:52:00.000+01:00

The weather remains awful and my poor little seeds rot in the ground. Still, when the sun breaks through onto the blossom on the trees, the fresh young leaves on the ferns bursting out of the ground it seems like paradise. Weeds love this weather. So do slugs - I am trying to stun them with used coffee grounds - I read about it in one of those 'green' articles in 'Wind Turbine Lovers' magazine! Why doesn't anything 'green' work properly. The wind turbines stand on the hillsides like dead dinasaurs most of the time!

Venus continued to be rough sanded and is looking quite tasty. Her marble ball has been moved from Scotland to Somerset so I should collect it September.

The new commission 'Harlequin Triumphant' has been assembled and roughed out. The sheer labour of removing wood is exhausting and because it is nearly 3 feet high one is always reaching up to the head or bending to the feet. I've made a special jig for a hydraclamp which I can raise and lower in a bench vice to alleviate this.

I've (well Betty has) been looking on the internet to order some veneers for inlays and I'm surprised how limited the range of timbers are. Does anyone know of a specialist?
I've answered a question in the FAQs about my sandpaper source - at the end of the day it's all down to how much pain your fingertips can stand - if they are not bleeding, your're not doing enough!!

Best wishes

Ian

2011-05-07T11:22:00.002+01:00

The weather has not been good - rain every day since Monday - not good for my plants - should have planted rice and watercress!

Venus has progressed well this week, but I have just accepted an important commission for the largest and most elaborate harlequin ever - 'Harlequin Triumphant' - so she will have to go on the back burner. The piece of limewood has a few streaks of discolouration in it, but this will add to the interpretation of the piece, reflecting stains on her character. She does have a rather overt posture and I may carve one of those little bits of white cloth that floated around in olden days, conveniently adhereing to the naughty bits!!

Doing this commission means setting my exhibition back to 2012 - perhaps a good thing, allowing me to get more pieces together and the economy is still in such a mess.

Talking about the economy has anyone heard if the publisher
Stobart Davies is going pear shaped? No sign of my royalties appearing (due last month) and they are not answering correspondence or returning calls. Are any other writers experiencing the same problems with them?
I've answered a question about converting timber in the FAQs
I am pleased to report that my friend and erstwhile student Beaver Valenzuela, who is now teaching at Ventura Woodcraft, is achieving great success with his students, one of them has recently won prizes. Well done Beaver.

Best wishes

Ian

2011-04-30T09:19:00.001+01:00

I have been working on my commission this week - we have an early deadline so time will be of the essence. I have completed the watercolour sketch for the clients approval. He has generously agreed for it to be posted on the blog and work in progress.

Venus has reached the stage of actually fitting her to the ball. The one I am using is a 12 inch /25 cm diameter sandstone ball which is a substitute for the black marble ball which friends are kindly bringing from Scotland.

The weather is fabulous, it hasn't really rained for ages and the tadpoles in the stream are getting anxious as it begins to dry up. Last year I poured water on them till it rained, then when it did they were washed away.

Yesterday we went with friends into the Kerry Mountains - it was quite spectacular.

Betty has put three more pieces into the Archive, but I am afraid there was no information about the Drouilly gouge.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-04-23T08:39:00.001+01:00

No work done this week. Our visitors enjoyed the beautiful weather and were somewhat non-plussed to discover that you cannot get a drink anywhere in Ireland on Good Friday - well you can at my home!
However, I have acquired a very interesting commission which will appear on the site in due course.
Dwayne enquired about a carving chisel stamped with the name Drouilly - he can find nothing about this tool on the net. It could of course, be the owners name, but it maybe clearly a makers name. There are, or were many manufacturers of carving tools - British, French, Spanish, German, Austrian and Swedish, that I have come across. Among my UK ones I had a very nice rose handled gouge marked 'Ross & Alexander, Liverpool' - the only time I ever heard the name. German companies, at one time would put any name you wanted on a chisel. If any one knows anything about this Drouilly name, perhaps they could get in touch
James, my son, who many of you will have corresponded with, has come across my original reference copy of 'Projects for Creative Woodcarving' which I bandsawed the spine off so that I could take the pages out. He has put it on E-Bay for a tenner if anyone is intersted.
Meanwhile, into the garden this weekend, back to 'Venus' on Monday and drawings for the commission in the evenings - and Betty has just reminded me I have to photograph 'Destiny'
Ah well, "Idle hands ......"
Best wishes
Ian

2011-04-16T09:47:00.002+01:00

Wonderful weather, plants shooting up everywhere, flowers blooming - all a bit early really.

My vegetable garden needs some attention and I will start on that next weekend. My acorns from America and my little Umbrella Pine from Rome are growing vigourously now they are in the new conservatory, finished this week.

'Destiny' is complete with marble base, limewood subframe with lettering and figures mounted on top - just remains for me to take a few photographs - some time this week!

'Venus' is progressing slowly due to the video and E-book. It is incredibly difficult to explain how you do something that you do every day. Imagine having to write down how you steer the car, while changing gear and looking both ways to cross a junction.

It is going to be a long video and not a project for the faint hearted.
I have answered a question about finishing in the FAQs

Enjoy the Spring, or if it is not your Springtime I trust the weather will be kind to you.

Best wishes

Ian

2011-04-09T09:37:00.002+01:00

I have finished the lettering around 'Destiny' - he now awaits more chess pieces and final assembly. 'Venus' is finally underway and Betty has put a few of the pictures on the Work in Progress

Because I could only bandsaw it on the side view, the 10 inch / 25mm block being too big for my bandsaw, I have spent most of the week cutting out the top view by hand. Also because I'm making a video and e-book, I have to film everything and take still photographs - it's like carving in slow motion. Still it should be a long video - out in time for Christmas.

The weather is great again, all the spring flowers are in bloom and my ferns are uncurling their lovely croziers. It will soon be time to start off some vegetables, but last years we had a slight ground frost on May 28th which killed half of them off, so there is no hurry.

Many thanks to all who wrote in about the burr holder/pin vice, Betty has updated the FAQs and there is a new question about timber availability in the UK. I have always bought my timber from Jack and I cannot recomend him highly enough.

Best wishes

Ian

2011-04-02T09:08:00.000+01:00

Well, the beautiful weather has finally ended. The driest March since whenever has changed to hurling gales, reportedly 115 kilometers per hour, and bits of my greenhouse are scattered across Co Limerick - well actually one window in the bog!

I spent the first part of the week making the limewood plinth to go under the marble slab. I am unlucky with my mitres, so this is a fraught operation for me. You may ask why not use a solid block? Because carving lettering on end grain is not very satisfactory. However it is done and most of the lettering complete. I have used a letter form designed in 1545 which is almost unreadable but very decorative, with the added advantage that it is almost completely executed with a 'V' tool, something I rarely use.

The lettering is the first two lines from one of the quatrains of the 'Rubaiyat of Omar Kayyam'. Failing a glorious sunny weekend in the garden it will all be finished by Monday and then I can start on Venus. Everthing seems to take longer than you expect, and I have just remembered the rest of the chess pieces - back to the accursed lathe!

This little tool - illustrated on the blog last week has cause a lot of interest and I have answered a question about it's source in the FAQs with more illustrations. If anyone knows where to get one of these I would be grateful to know and I can pass it on.

Best wishes

Ian

2011-03-26T09:28:00.006Z

I've got a decent weeks work done despite the glorious weather tempting me into the garden, where a lot of damage has been done by the harsh winter.

My little man holding up the chess table is finished apart from polishing, I've cut the marble for the base and fixed the books together for the harlequin to sit on. Unfortunately his foot now does not touch the ground.

Pictured is the kit used to sand the walnut figure, which took as long as the carving. I now only have to make the wooden block to go under the marble one and carve the lettering around it and 'Destiny' is pretty well finished.

I reckon on Wednesday I should start on 'Venus' which means using the photocopier that was soaked by the leak, if it works! and bandsawing a block of wood it takes two people to lift. Then preparing the video camera, still camera, lights etc. before starting the carving. Don't expect anything to happen quickly - videoing and photographing a carving takes twice as long - We're in for the long haul.

At last I have sorted out the holding clamps and Arbotech equipment and it is now on the site for sale. Please feel free to ask questions if you are interested in making a purchase.

Also James has uploaded a new E-Book 'Carving a Female Head'.

I have answered a new question on FAQs but Betty has not uploaded the new pictures of Destiny for the work in progress - she assures me it will be done next week.

Best wishes

Ian

2011-03-21T08:28:00.000Z

An exhausting week, driving from Ireland to the UK, back and forth across the country and back to Ireland.
We attended an High Church funeral, a new experience for me and quite a spectacle. Multiple priests, incense, bells ringing and lots of fancy dress. A bit of an eye opener to a confirmed heathen like me, but a hell of a send off for a fine man.
Anyway, here we are home at 10.00 o'clock at night and it is nice to be back and eating your own food instead of a restaurant meal - it palls pretty quickly doesn't it? When I taught in The States for three months we'd eat out three times a day for 90 days - believe me it's not funny.
For anyone taking the Irish Ferry Ulysses to or from Dublin, the enormous woodcarving of James Joyce in the lounge is very interesting and worthy of study. Of course there is no mention of the carver that I could see - Typical. And no pictures on the web for me to refer you to.
Tomorrow I have to unload the car, answer the begging letters from the utility companies, instal a new woodburner in my workshop and maybe, just maybe do some work!!
Best wishes
Ian

Blogus Norbicus Anno 2011 Ides of March

2011-03-12T09:02:00.001Z

My little man is pregressing faster than I anticipated - I put this down to the small size - less than 6 inches high - so there is actually very little wood to remove.
This is an interesting point financially - the balance of work input against the likely selling price - do larger carvings defacto achieve higher prices? I do not think that painings are sold by the square foot, so why should carvings be sold by the cubic inch?
I have unearthed yet more carving equipment to sell - you may wonder where it is all comes from. As any of the hundreds of carvers who came on my courses will tell you, each of the five students had a basic set of 15 gouges, a clamp, mallet, etc. There was also a stock of little used tools - backbents, frontbents, riflers etc. to draw on plus my own personal tools. Apart from this tool companies often gave me tools in the hope of some kind of publicity. Sorting out all this stuff I am staggered at the current price of some of it. Betty has been adding this stuff to the Tools For Sale Page and it should be back on the site next weekend.

I have answered a question about joining limbs in the FAQs.

I may be a bit late next weekend as I have to return once again to the Land of Hope and Glory!!

Best wishes

Ian

2011-03-06T10:05:00.001Z

Now that my plumbing career has stopped - temporarily I dare say - I have actually managed to do some work, although I've also made a couple of packing cases to ship carvings.
However, the little man holding the chess table for 'Destiny' is started - see Work in Progress.

The walnut is from a very old veneer core log, which took half a day to get a block out of, there is some sap wood on it, which is a bit annoying. The wood is very hard and causes some concern for cutting the sharp, deep folds in the recessed front of the figure.

I've also moved the limewood block for 'Venus' from the damp unheated workshop to the drier store room, thence into the heated workshop. The block is 38 x 16 x 9 inches cut about 10 years, so hopefully pretty stable, but it is the only piece I have wide enough (16 inches) to make the figure over a 12 inch ball, so I must be careful.
I've answered a question about mounting a figure on a base see FAQs and we are hoping to get the Tools For Sale page, with a few additions, back up again sometime this week

Best wishes

Ian

I'm not a great believer in global warming

2011-02-26T12:57:00.000Z

We departed Cheltenham on Sunday, the trailer loaded up with wine, tobacco and foodstuffs, much of it half the Irish price. Without mishap we travelled to Chester and we spent the night with a friend, crossing to Dublin the next day, where we got lost before we left the docks! Having paid 10 euros to traverse the Dublin Bay tunnel, we then circumnavigated the entire city to get back to where we should have been.

Arriving home there were no signs of problems other than a window missing from the greenhouse and mysterious puddle of water on the floor in the dressing room of Ryan's.

Having been rather clever and drained the tanks, turned off the water and put a light for heat in the pump house I was dismayed at the site of this puddle and the fact that the photocopier seemed to have been in the direct line of the water. I hadn't drained the central heating system, believing the electric radiator would do the necessary.

Of course both houses run from the same water supply, so I could not turn off the water in one house without renewing the leak, so I went into the loft and turned off the water to the heating supply, then turned on the water. Back in the other cottage, water is now pouring through the ceiling!

So we spend what's left of the evening, after the mopping up, drinking wine and eating the fine tea loaf Jaqui had made for us. In the morning up into the loft to find the burst pipe - where did the water come from to freeze? - never mind - it won't take long, not worth getting the plumber - off we go to get the fittings. I cut the pipes - wrong size fitting! - back to the shop - back in the loft - all done. Turn on the water, which pours through the ceiling!!

Back into the loft - there is another burst hiding round the corner, I fix that while Betty mops up again. All done - It's only taken most of the day - the other house can wait till tomorrow.

Over in the other house we have worked out that the leak is behind the pannelling - so I carefully remove this and all the insulation!! and there are two bursts which I fix, and shine my torch back and forth over and over again looking for another hidden leak - I'm not going to be caught twice! On with the water - It cascades back through the ceiling giving the photocopier another shower!

The leak is repaired, the panelling refitted ready to repaint. We are drying out quietly. Meanwhile some maniac smashes the wing mirror off the car, which now looks as if it was abandoned in Bagdad. There's tools and junk everywhere and I shall be lucky if I can start work on Monday - but that is the aim.

Now you understand why I am not a great believer in global warming - apparently it got down to -12 here for the second year running, very unusual for Ireland. But we are both well and have thoroughly enjoyed our adventure to Rome and are raring to go.

Best wishes

Ian

2011-02-18T14:52:00.003Z

The drive northward from Rome was fine, our first stop was the old hilltop city of Bergamo Alta, northern Italy. What a difference from Rome; no beggars, no broken up roads, no dog's mess, no graffitti, no homicidal drivers - a beautiful old town with an art gallery with Botticellis, Canalettos and Guardis.

Then on to Lucerne in Switzerland. The roads were clear of ice and snow - thank goodness! Lucerne is as beutiful as ever and it was so good to catch up with friends there.

A long drive then to Brugge in Belgium and the Duc de Burgogne, our home from home in Brugge which is another beautiful town

And then off on the ferry to the UK. British motorways are so frantic after continental ones with the ever present threat of it all grinding to a halt. However, we got back all in one piece after a round trip of just over 3,000 miles, the only mishap caused by a concrete pillar in a car park in Lucerne that suddenly moved sideways and scraped the car door.

Betty and I will be back to work on Wednesday of next week, so progress will soon be seen on all fronts. In the meantime I have answered a question about bandsaw blades and will soon, by popular request, do a short downloadable video on bandsawing.

Best wishes

Ian

2011-02-10T12:17:00.001Z

Our last day in Rome so we are packing for the drive home. We are leaving tomorrow morning, staying in Bergamo, Lucerne, Brugge and Cheltenham.
This week we visited the Barbarini and the Spada galleries. it becomes an endless succession of madonnas, crucifixions, depositions, ascensions and miracles. These people were obsessed with religion. They also seem to be obsessed with Italian artists, almost to the exclusion of foreigners. It must be said that one could see a vastly better cross section of the world's great art in London.
At the Spada Gallery what is most impressive is Borromini's Colonnade - an avenue that appears to be about 50 feet long with a large statue at the end. When someone walked down it, it demonstrates that the colonnade is only about 15 feet long and the statue is about 30 inches high. It is quite extraordinary.

So that's it from Rome and back to the wonders of Ireland.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-02-05T11:21:00.001Z

Our last full week in Rome begins and we are planning our journey home.
This week we went to the Doria Pamphili Gallery, this is the largest collection of paintings in Rome - 400 plus - but they were so badly hung and lit that it was is not worth the €10 to get in despite their having some wonderful stuff - Breugel, Raphael, Valasquez, Carravagio etc.

We also visited the Baths of Caracalla, which are simply enormous. Roman civil engineering was staggering. Such a shame that the marble facings, carvings, pillars and mosaics were all looted to build their overblown palazzos and churches.

I have taken lots of photographs of Bernini's Elephant which I hope to reproduce in concrete in my garden - '..such things as dreams are made of..'

The epic journey by tram, bus and train went without a hitch. As far as we can see no-one seems to buy a ticket. They say there are fines for free riding but we did not see any inspectors. The train was spot on time, a very clean double decker and an hours journey was €3 - How far would that take you in the UK?
However, this is not a cheap place for a tourist and if you want to do the whole cultural trip you need strong legs and deep pockets. Still, I think everyone should come here - it makes you realise how culturally retarded we are today.
I have answered a new question about carving benches - hope it helps

Best wishes
Ian

2011-01-29T13:49:00.002Z

Another week of visiting the fabulous sights and galleries of Rome, although the all pervading air of neglect of the monuments is hard to fathom - they certainly charge enough to get into them.
In reply to the enquiry about the sights for a woodsculptor to see, there is endless sculpture - Greek, Roman, Baroque. I think the best is in the Borghese Gallery - the Bernini's - and the museums on the capitol - mostly Roman.

The trouble is there are other great pieces scattered about - Michelangelo's Moses is in a church, The Pieta in another, Bernini's St Therese in another, The Laocoon and others in the Vatican. It involves a great deal of hard walking and gets expensive.
However, of actual woodsculpture, there is very little. Some beautifully carved doors (in the Capitoline Gallery if I remember correctly), lots of decorative carvings, mostly guilded. The problem is that 'minor art' is not usually displayed in big museums - the V & A in London being one of the rare exceptions. Only in a tiny theatrical museum did I find things I could relate to - some painted papier mache figurines of Harlequins and Punchinellos.

In our last few days here we still have to visit several major galleries and have several more meals at 'Il Fratte di Trastevere' - a great restaurant run by an Italian American family - very relaxed a friendly and the walls adorned with enormous paintings of Roman life.

Meanwhile tomorrow we have the trauma of catching a tram, a bus then a train. Apparently you buy tickets from a tobacconist!! But I am reliably informed that most people do not bother buying one. The Tourist Information Office totally and utterly useless when we asked them about our journey. So it's fingers crossed - I will report back on this exciting event.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-01-22T11:34:00.002Z

After a week of very fine weather in Rome, it has turned cold and wet. This week we have been to see The Belvedere Appollo, Rape of Proserpine The Laocoon and Bernini's David to name but a few.

The Belvedere Appollo

Rape of Proserpine

The Laocoon

Bernini's David

For me the highlight was Apollo and Daphne - the beauty of the figures and the delicacy of the carving of the hands and hair turning to leaves is staggering. It really makes one believe that anything can be done.

Appollo and Daphne

Back to my own humbe effort, now that the drawings for Venus and the jester juggling are complete, I can stort planning the 'Ship of Fools'
I have answered another question in the FAQs on the website and am compiling a list for the Blog Follower whose would like some recomendations for a Rome trip.
Best wishes
Ian

2011-01-15T11:30:00.006Z

A week of beautiful weather here in Rome, sitting in a pavement cafe drinking cappucino, admiring Bernini's fountain.
We found some wonderful old engravings of Harlequin in a theatre museum today - the Italian sense of humour was really quite bizarre. There was also a drawing of a weird ship which I may absorb into my 'Ship of Fools', which has not progressed as I have been fleshing out the idea of a juggling jester

and doing an artist's impression of Venus

Earlier this week we saw some beautiful sculptures at the Capitoline Museum where I took some photos of knees and stuff like that. I think the Roman and Greek figures make Michelangelo's 'David' look quite crude.

A new question and answer on the site at FAQs.

We have friends coming to visit next week, so we are off to the Vatican Museum and the Borghese Gallery

Best wishes

Ian

2011-01-08T10:13:00.002Z

The weather in Rome is fine and it is quieter now. Epiphany, 6th January, is a big event here and many visitors will leave after it, so hopefully the half mile queue for the Vatican museum will have diminished.

Meanwhile we visited a beautiful Protestant cemetary and saw the graves of Keats and Shelley amongst others. It was a haven of peace and quiet in Rome immaculately maintained and full of well fed cats. I photographed some beautifully carved hands and feet - always a tricky detail.

The drawings for Venus are now finished, I will not be able to do any more work on her till I get back to Ireland. So I will now do some more drawings of an idea that is brewing.

I get a few e-mails asking for help with particular aspects of woodcarving and often find myself repeating the same answers - we have therefore introduced a Frequently Asked Questions page to the website.

Betty has finished the Archive pages - I hope you like them - Please ask for any other pieces you would like to see.

Best wishes

Ian

2010-12-31T16:04:00.003Z

It is New Year's Eve afternoon and Trastevere, the area of Rome we are staying in, seems to have gone very quiet - no shouting in the street, no horns blowing and no police sirens wailing, the normal background music.

Meanwhile I carry on working. The views of Venus are finished - of course most of it will not be seen but it cannot be left blank. I have also done her right hand, leaving just the left hand, the face and the feet. When all these are finalised the working outline for bandsawing will be produced.
A big problem is allowing for the curve of the ball on the dimensions of the outlines. As I said before my block will be too big to bandsaw from the top view, but eventually I will bandsaw a smaller one for the benefit of carvers who would like to make a smaller version.
When the drawings for Venus are complete I intend to make plans for two more harlequins and a large relief carving of 'The Ship of Fools' a medieval book by Sebastian Brant, which I will attempt to give a contemporary flavour.

Betty has started work on the 'Archive Pages'.

Meanwhile it is time to celebrate the New Year - let's hope it's a good one

Betty, James and I wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year

Best wishes
Ian

2010-12-26T12:08:00.001Z

The clay model of Venus is finished as far as necessary. I have photographed it and made the initial drawings. The problem now is to turn these utilitarian diagrams into the ideal desirable woman - rather a tall order. I intend to assemble a collection of detailed drawings and combine them.
I shall spend many hours studying the statues in Rome. Apparently the Fontana de Naiads caused a scandal because they were so sensuous - I will report back. We went to St Peter's Basilica - it is a bit OTT, but they certainly knew how to build.

Meanwhile I have started filling in the anotomical details on the drawings, they are the figure in its crude state, rather like a building before it is painted and decorated. The the top view is not very accurate - its extremely difficult to get a projection like that accurate and it will not be used for bandsawing, since the wood will be 16 inches wide and will not fit in the saw.
Also the details of the face would be pretty meaningless - they will be done seperately.
The write up for Venus is now on the website
Hope you are having a good Christmas
Best wishes
Ian

2010-12-18T10:30:00.003Z

Rome is very busy, chaotic traffic trying to its best to run you down and too many people in narrow alleyways.

Other than that it is quite spectacular with clear blue skies and bright sunshine.

I have been getting plenty of work done. The drawings for the man holding up the chess table for 'Destiny' are complete.

and I have started the clay model for Venus. I am using an old basketball of my son Alan for the ball. It is only 9 1/2 inches diameter while the marble ball is 12 inches, but that can be blown up on the drawing. The ball is stuck down with resin and there is a wire armature. I have not used clay since I was at college and I am amazed at how easy it is to work. You could finish a figure in a weekend. No wonder people make bronzes - or those plastic things.

I'm also starting a painting, there is a fantastic art shop about 200 yards away, so I won't go short of kit.

For those of you thinking of coming on a Masterclass - here is one taxi company not to book for your trip from the airport - From Cork to Tournafulla

It is Christmas next weekend, the blog may be a little delayed - I may be celebrating with some of Italy's exceedingly good, cheap wine!!

Merry Christmas to you and your families

Ian

2010-12-12T20:47:00.003Z

We left on Monday, driving across the UK, taking the ferry to Calais and then driving up to Brugge. The outside temperature gauge read a steady -1, 0 or +1 all day. The canals were frozen in Brugge, but it was still very beautiful.

Tuesday we drove to Paris to deliver a carving, it snowed north of Paris for a short while and then we joined the famous peripherique, which was not quite as bad as we had heard. Getting out of Paris was easier and that night we arrived in Beaune, a wonderful ancient town which I would certainly like to visit again.

Wednesday it was south to Province where the temperature gauge read 18, but we took the scenic route through the mountains to Cannes, thick fog and the temperature plummeted to freezing, but the views were spectacular. We spent the night in Grasse - awful place - but the restaurant was excellent.

Thursday we drove around the coast past, Monaco, Genova, Liverno and Firenza to spend the night at San Gimignano, a medieval hill town and world heritage site, not to be missed. Stunning views of Tuscany which is rather beautiful.

Friday sees us south of Rome to Valmontone meeting friends, family of our friend Bruno who runs the Italian Restaurant Ragazzi in Newcastle West in Ireland. They have kindly arranged parking for the car while we are in Rome.

Saturday we have a family lunch, a warm friendly occassion, with plenty of good food. Then the bit we have been dreading the journey into Rome, but our guide was excellent, the car is garaged with a very nice man who says he will turn it over etc. Warm goodbyes and a taxi ride bring us to Trastevere. Our apartment is very nice as is our landlord.

We have spent today getting our bearings, and now it's time to get back to work - but we are really looking forward to exploring Rome

Best wishes - from Rome

Ian
PS - It looks as if we had a problem with the special Christmas offer on DVDs and books - but James seems to have got it all sorted - well done James

2010-12-05T10:05:00.002Z

Back in Cheltenham after a nightmare drive across Dublin at 6.30 in the morning to catch the ferry. 3 inches of snow had fallen in the night and it had been turned to ice on the roads by traffic and freezing temperatures.
There's certainly no sign of an economic downturn here - fashion shops and eateries seem to proliferate.
It has been bitterly cold and I've been burning loads of offcuts of good wood, but you can't keep it all - I've had some of it for 25 years.
I've also been clearing out the studio here and found three more pieces for the sale page.

I've also found some more old tools which will be for sale on the site in February. I have to clear out this studio eventually.
Our Christmas offer is back this year - 3 DVDs for the price of 2 and a third of all book downloads
Now the snow seems to be gone we're set to leave for Brugge on Monday, delivering a carving in Paris on Tuesday. My next blog should be from Rome.
Best wishes
Ian

2010-11-27T09:51:00.000Z

Our friend have arrived to house sit while we are away, the weather has turned very cold but hopefully they will not get snowed in as we were last year. We are all packed and off on the first leg of our trip to Rome today, just as far as Dublin.
I did not get 'Destiny' finished but can spend some time in Rome doing the drawings for the figure supporting the chess board.
I also intend making a clay model for my woman laid over a ball and doing some drawings for a new video of her. It will be on the website after a gap of 2 or 3 weeks
Best wishes
Ian

2010-11-21T11:04:00.005Z

I'm in the middle of my last Masterclass for this year and the trip to Italy is rapidly approaching. I'm not a little nervous at the prospect of the horrors of driving in Rome. I think I should have the accelerator connected to the horn.
While I am away the carving chisels will be taken off the site. We can take no more orders after Tuesday evening, many of them have gone as have some from the box-full I found last week. E-mail Betty if you are interested - she has an up to date list of what's still available. They will return in February, when I will also have sorted out a load of Arbotech equipment, most of which has never been used. There are also some carving clamps and other sundry carving tools.

Meanwhile I am carving a pile of books for my Harelequin 'Destiny' to sit on. They are tedious to make, but look effective, and use nice small pieces of wood that would otherwise be consigned to the fire.
I am considering supporting the chess table on a grimacing crouching figure, representing the suffering of humanity - some people are suffering a lot here in Ireland at the moment. On the plus side, the government is going to send us all a piece of cheese - No don't ask!

Ruth, James'wife, a very skilled embroiderer, is running a raffle of one of her pieces, the sparrow pictured here, to raise money for animal welfare - an excellent opportunity to own one of her superb pieces - tickets are only £1. Anyone interested should go to Ruth's site http://www.ruthnorbury.com/competition

Best wishes

Ian

2010-11-13T11:28:00.002Z

We have had a week of dramatic windy weather. The covers on my cold frame have been wrecked - a large expensive sheet of polycarbonate has disappeared into the bog somewhere.

I made a marble chess board for 'Destiny' this week. To get the marble I bought two black and white marble terrazzo floor tiles; the pieces were too large so I had to cut them smaller - 128 cuts - but it should look quite nice.
The new website http://www.iannorbury.com/ is getting plenty of hits and the archive pages will be returning, as soon as Betty gets chance, she is busy answering e-mails and enquiries the new site has generated. Plenty of gouges have been sold from the Tools for Sale page, and I have just discovered another box with 37 more in it which will be added and soon I will catalogue all the Arbotech stuff and get it onto the site.
Best wishes
Ian

2010-11-06T11:31:00.003Z

At long last he new website is finished http://www.iannorbury.com/ - thank you all for your patience.
This week has been spent doing a Masterclass with Sergio from Rome.

'Best time I've ever had in my life. Wonderful place,wonderful food, wonderful people. Thank you so much indeed.' Sergio

and Richard from Scotland

'Excellent step-by-step instruction, demonstration and guidance. Great hospitality and home cooking.' Richard

It was great fun despite the unremittingly, appalling weather. As I sit here, Saturday lunchtime, Sergio is still travelling, with a three hour wait at Heathrow, but Richard should be at home, having caught the overnight ferry. My American students do even more travelling. I can only be astonished at the enthusiasm and dedication my students.

As the rain continues unabated, and my garden is slowly turning into a quagmire there seems to be no alternative but to get on with some work. I hope to finish the harlequin 'Destiny' before we go to Italy, where I intend to plan to plan a major carving of Venus laid over a 12 inch marble ball that I have sourced from the north of Scotland.
This will be made into my next DVD, perhaps accompanied by an E-book to use in conjunction with the video.
Best wishes
Ian

2010-10-30T16:55:00.003+01:00

It's been a long time since I was in touch - I've been very busy and just keep putting it off. Now Betty has nearly finished building the new web-site I'll have to be more punctilious.
My vegetable garden has been very productive, but the first frost (early for Ireland) has killed a lot of it.
I've finished Pandora who now has a beautiful silver box made by a silversmith.
I have also finished a commission of a female nude which has to go hand luggage on a plane. I spent hours making a box which could be easily opened by customs and contained no metal to get the xray machine excited.
My Harlequin is still rumbling on but should be finished before we go to Rome for the winter. We have another Masterclass before then - so time is running out1
Richard has sent me some photos of an excellent self portrait he has made after coming on a Masterclass last year.

Best wishes

Ian

2010-10-08T10:29:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone
I am sorry Ian has been off line for so long - I am building him a new website, and we thought it would all happen so much more quickly. Suffice to say we should be up and running again by the end of October. All of his new work scuptures will be there as will all his paintings. We are introducing a Sale page to clear out a few old pieces and we have added all of Ian's out of print books as downloads.
Thank you for your patience.
I'll let you know as soon as it is up and running
Betty

2010-05-05T12:55:00.000+01:00

1.The figure is now roughly shaped except for the hands which I will leave to the last. The figure can only be held on the clamp by a couple of screws and keeps coming loose. In hindsight it would have been better to leave a waste block on top of the head which could have been cut off at the end.

2. Most of the figure has been roughly sanded, more anatomical details can now be carved

3. The body is virtually finished bar the final sanding. Now I can carve the face, I realise that the hands are in the way making it difficult.

4. The face has been carved and now I must start on the hair.

5. The first stage of carving the hair is finished and sanded. Now it must be detailed
6. The face is nearly finished. The hair is actually taking longer than the face. Very often it is treated as an afterthought of no real importance

This carving is taking longer than expected because I don't do much work. Between going out shopping, to the dentist, to the garden centre, painting the outside of both houses and working on the garden, I'm really becoming a part-timer. The sun is shining, the swallows are back, the cuckoos are singing and the weeds are growing. Life is very pleasant and Cleggmania is only a distant dream
Best wishes
Ian

2010-04-13T13:20:00.001+01:00

At long last the inlays are finished and the components fitted together. The next step is to turn and carve a minature chess set or at least part of one.

I have decided to carve a small limewood nude of Pandora as a kind of relaxation.

The limewood block ready for bandsawing is 9 x 11 x 12 inches. After bandsawing I have started the roughing out.

One of the problems with a seated nude like this is that the legs, feet and buttocks must be finished before proper work starts on the torso and arms. The reason being that there will be no way of holding the figure upside down when the upper part is complete. The underside must be carved and sanded. This is difficult and especially so on this complex pose.

Meantime I've finished a new painting of Venice.

The garden grows in the sunshine and the frogspawn are growing tails.

Thank God I am not in the UK for the election

My little American tree grows vigourously.
Best wishes
Ian

2010-04-01T19:28:00.006+01:00

It has been some time since my last blog - there has been much to do in the garden after the cold weather. Now things are beginning to grow. The nut we brought back from Yosemite is shooting up. I believe it is a Sunrise Chestnut - perhaps someone will recognise it as it grows.

On the work front I have not been idle. The right leg was completed and I moved to the left which has a lot of difficult folds.
With the left leg finished I have now started the left arm. This is much simpler and should not take lolng, but the hand still has to be done and cannot be completed until the object it is holding is made.

It is now nearly three months on this piece although not full time. It really is going on a bit.
However, I have now finished another picture of Venice

Bye for now
Ian

2010-02-26T11:40:00.007Z

I have now finished the diamonds on the torso Photos 1 & 2

I have started on the right arm - no particular reason for this - first finishing the hand, then starting on the inlays from the creases in the elbow down to the cuff. It should take about a week.

The cold weather continues with more snow and frost every morning. However it does encourage one to stay in and work.

The dates for this years Masterclasses have been finalised and they and the details of the Masterclasses can be found at htt://www.iannorbury.com/Masterclass/Master%20Classes.htm

Betty and I will look forward to welcoming the students to our home.

Best wishes

Ian

2010-02-11T13:11:00.002Z

Hello

As you can see the back is now complete and I am very pleased with it; it is much easier than the arms and legs
I have moved around to the front of the torso, the upper chest is quite straightforward, the deep folds of the stomach are a bit tricky
This is a socket cut for a diamond, about 1/4 inch deep - this is cut away using a lead template
The diamond, made of cocobolo, is cut and fitted using the same lead template
The cocobolo diamond is carved to fit the folds, sanded and sealed. it is a long job. There are 96 diamonds on the back and presumably about the same on the front.
I have also decided to change the face as he looked a bit grim, so he now has a rather phoney smile

Best wishes

Ian

2010-01-29T12:16:00.003Z

The right leg is now finished after carving and fitting the shoe. As a respite from the difficult inlays on the leg I am doing some easy ones on the back. I have achieved 15 in one day, probably my personal best. However the front of the torso will be quite tricky. It's all taking rather longer than anticipated although this may be due to the fine weather which tends to get me outside. I have just put my spare bandsaw in the local paper and had an immediate response - from a butcher

Best wishes

Ian

2010-01-19T19:43:00.003Z

The road outside the house eventually cleared itself of ice and snow and I was able to venture out and get some glue. I am continuing to inlay diamonds, the heavily folded area round the groin is very difficult and time consuming. However two more days should see the right leg completed, then I will proceed to the left one. It takes a certain amount of patience.

I must express my gratitude to the guy in the US who gave me the anti-slash glove - it is ideal for the knife work cutting the sockets for the diamonds.

Best wishes

Ian

2010-01-13T18:31:00.003Z

I am now inlaying the first of the diamonds starting with the difficult folds at the back of the knee. It is slow work, I usually complete between 7 - 10 diamonds in a 6 hour day - I estimate approximately 300 diamonds on this figure.

Having been snowed in for some time I have run out of gule, so I have carved the head.

While the snow has been beautiful, the secondary roads, like the one we live on, have not been gritted or cleared in any way. We have relied heavily on our store cupboard, which has been a godsend. The birds have come from far and wide to the bird table and the ducks have been most unhappy about the situation. The thaw started yesterday, so we will probably be back to normal tomorrow.

Best wishes

Ian

2010-01-05T11:39:00.003Z

Day 5. The right arm has been detailed and roughly sanded.

Day 6. Detaining and sanding of left arm completed.

Day 7. Working on the front of the torso and left leg to get the folds to fit together.

Day 8. The right leg detailed and sanded and fitted to the fold of the torso. The carving is ready to begin inlaying the diamonds.

Ian has asked me to point out that at the moment he is getting to work a full day - and has based these 'days' on 6 - 8 hour segments. At the moment we are spending quite a bit of the day taking the ice off the pond for the ducks, defrosting pipes, clearing paths etc. Ireland is gripped in an artic weather front.

Best wishes

Ian

2009-12-30T13:18:00.003Z

This week I started work on a new harlequin, 'The Philosopher'. It is a seated figure. 18 inches high made from 5 pieces of limewood

Day 1 - The torso and head bandsawn and roughed out

Day 2 - The roughed out torso with right leg attached

Day 3 - The left leg attached - all the attachments are temporary

Day 4 - The right arm attached and the hand roughly shaped

As you can see we had a magical snowfall last night. It is so beautiful and so dangerous on the roads. So be safe as you travel.

For Robert - if you let me know which Alice figure you would like to carve I will try to sort out a drawing for you.

Happy New Year

Ian

2009-12-21T16:38:00.005Z

After a bitterly cold week of heavy frosts the snow has arrived. The ducks are not impressed by their frozen pond, but otherwise seem oblivious to the weather.

I have finally finished 'Eve' and the small jester, as yet unnamed - perhaps 'Another Cabinet Reshuffle' - since the cards are all jokers and clowns.

Today I started the drawings for a new harlequin, based on limewood and completely inlaid in different timbers - a daunting task, but something to do through the bad weather.

'Eve' is 24 inches high without her marble base and made of
limewood, walnut, copper and silver

The jester is 8 inches high without his lead crystal ball and is made of walnut, boxwood, gold, veneer and oils

Next weekend will be Christmas, may I take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and peace and good health for 2010

Best wishes

Ian

2009-12-14T13:50:00.004Z

Sorry not to have been keeping up for a couple of months, I have been away teaching in California and New Mexico. Many thanks to those who attended the courses – I hope you enjoyed them. My thanks also to Wendy and Phil, for organising them and for their hospitality.

Having enjoyed the staggering sites of Yosemite, the harsh beauty of Death Valley, the exquisite dunes of White Sands and the cold hand of Homeland Security we returned to England and set of with James & Ruth for Brugge, Bernkastel, Nueschwanstein, Venice and Lucerne. How different from the USA, yet strangely, not nearly so foreign.

After returning to Ireland and another Masterclass and sorting things out I have eventually returned to work.

Eve’s serpent is progressing and my new little jester is nearing completion. Painting the cards is proving difficult as they are only an inch long.

The coming week should see the end of both projects.

We’ve put a good Christmas offer for my DVDs on the site http://www.iannorbury.com/dvds_and_cds.htm and James is busy dispatching orders to ensure everything arrives in time for Christmas.

Best wishes

Ian

2009-09-16T13:10:00.006+01:00

I'm late again. Very busy week with a pleasant and very talented carver from Canada. He is very involved with the competitions at davenport in the US. I was surprised to learn that the vast majority of my own work would not be accepted as exhibits for various reasons - mainly lewdness!!

No time to carve now as I have to finish three paintings I have just sold and I must get my vegetable garden into shape before I go to America for 5 weeks and then to Venice for 10 days stopping at Bernkastel and Neuwschwanstein on route - It's a hard life, but we must soldier on!!

I appear to have a bat in my workshop roof, it comes out and flaps like mad when I go in there in the evenings.

At last - the sunshine, which started on Wednesday and is due to end tomorrow - is laughingly called an 'Indian Summer'

Ireland votes on the Lisbon Treaty soon - the streets are festooned with placards predicting doom for those who do not vote correctly. We live in interesting times - there must be a carving there somewhere - perhaps a clown balancing on a razor's edge, or a blind man leading a group of blind men over the cliff!!!

Best wishes

Ian

Pictures are of further progress with the new jester which is 8 inches high

2009-08-27T16:44:00.008+01:00

The ‘summer that never was’ continues with an irrepressible persistence, a day of sunshine is a window of opportunity to perform a few outside jobs. One of the upsides of the wet summer are the beautiful fungi growing on a dead elm in the garden.

I have been working on my small jester, making his head from whitethorn/hawthorn, a very common tree, with dense wood not unlike box, but pinkish brown in colour. It takes detail very well. The branch, only 2 inches thick has been in the workshop for about 10 years. I think it is well worth looking at for detail work.

I was sent pictures of an amazing piece of carving by Vladimir in the Ukraine of Ruben’s Battle of Anghiari – His website is well worth a look http://www.woodcarving.com.ua/foto_21_en.html

Pictures
1. Fungi
2. Fungi
3. The head with two halves of the cap

4. The head set inside the hood

Best wishes

Ian

2009-08-18T13:01:00.009+01:00

‘On the Riva Di Schiavoni’

I can do no more work on Eve until I get some walnut big enough for her base, so I am off to the U.K. for 3 days to collect a pile of walnut veneer cores and some 8 inch limewood. In the meantime I have started a small jester in boxwood and walnut.

I have finished my latest painting of Venice and must start a new one when I return. Since I only paint at night I am trying out some daylight bulbs to try and get the colours right.

The weather has been exceptionally wet and cool. My vegetable garden is not progressing as well as it should but the slugs don’t seem to mind. The ducks refuse to go down to the vegetables and eat them preferring to hang around the house looking for hand-outs.

I am also bringing some machines back from the U.K. which will be surplus to requirements, so if anyone is interested in a Record lathe, an Electra Beckum bandsaw and a Kity planer, then get in touch.

Best wishes

Ian

The New Jester

Main torso, quartered in boxwood and walnut, cut with a stoned bandsaw

The legs ready for attaching to the torso

The two parts temporarily joined

The arms and one half of the hood

2009-07-29T14:24:00.004+01:00

I have been out of touch for some time, having been to James and Ruth’s wedding and taking my daughter on a trip to Europe.

I have also conducted another Masterclass with a student carver from Scotland and one from Puerto Rico.

I have received photographs of the female head from my book ‘Carving Classic Female Faces’ carved in stone by Michel Halleen and quite superb in my opinion http://mjhalleen.blogspot.com/ mjhalleen@gmail.com

The main figure of Eve is now complete and it remains to make the base and the serpent. james will be putting up more work in progress in the next day or two

My current painting is finished and I am beginning work on a small jester in boxwood and walnut. He will be sat on a marble sphere, one of three I have recently obtained from Rose Shelley at Orcadian Stone, for which I am very grateful.

In view of the appalling weather we are experiencing at the moment I can not get out on the garden so I should get plenty of work done.

Best wishes

Ian

2009-06-10T14:37:00.008+01:00

The painting commission is finished, the female nude commission and the secret piece are about finished and I can concentrate on 'Eve' - The new work in progress was put on the site this morning at
http://www.iannorbury.com/Work%20in%20Progress/Eve/Eve%20WIP.htm

I had to cut her arm back off yesterday as the grain did not match as well as I had anticipated - Plus the bandsaw is making a hell of a noise - All very irritating - Do't buy an Electra Beckham bandsaw. I'd like to bring my old Startrite back from the UK, but it is so heavy.

It can be trying at times living in two homes, for instance I now have to design the base for Eve, but my books on snakes are in the UK. Hopefully the house in Cheltenham, which we recently put on the market at http://www.rabennett.co.uk/content/009_Results/002_Property/property-sales-rpsRAB-LEC090117-1244564062 will sell soon and I'll be flush, with about three times as many household goods as I have room for, not to mention 2 bandsaws, 2 planers, 2 lathes etc. etc.

At last the first E-book is on-line at
http://www.iannorbury.com/ebooks.htm and james is now working on the new dvd 'Carving the Female Head'. Those of you who know James will be interested to know that he is Marrying Ruth on 25th June and I am sure you will all join me in wishing them well. We will be off to the UK next week for the happy event, nipping to the continent for the day to stock up on the cheap wine and tobacco.

The vegetables are flourishing in this warm damp weather. Unfortunately one of the ducks has hurt her foot, but is on the mend. Yesterday an Irish Hare was in the garden, nibbling the grass - He is quite beautiful.

Best wishes
Ian

2009-06-03T06:44:00.002+01:00

Hi Betty here, not Ian, who has had a small accident in the garden and damaged his eye. Having got the gardening bug he's now laying the foundations for a greenhouse, demolishing a rickety ruin for the foundations. While he was smashing the hardcore into submission a piece flew up and hit him in the eye. All was fine that evening, but the next day the eye and surrounding area was protesting strongly and he has had to rest. He is on the mend, but I think he will be wearing his goggles next time.

He has always had sensative eyes and bits in his eyes used always to result in a trip to the hospitals A & E, until a very astute nurse showed me how to effectively wash his eye for him as soon as he got something in it.

James has put up the work in progress for Eve at http://www.iannorbury.com/Work%20in%20Progress/Eve/Eve%20WIP.htm, but the disc I sent him containing the e-book that we were so hoping would be up by now has gone astray in the post. I have sent him a new one.

For those of you who know our son James, you will be pleased to learn that he is getting married to Ruth at the end of June.

best wishes to you all

Back to Ian next week

Betty

2009-05-19T12:07:00.001+01:00

Winter seems to have returned with relentless rain, day after day – Ireland revealing its true colours. The sun bathed hills of Tuscany are calling me. No wonder Ireland has a huge trade in exporting people.

However, it has allowed me to get plenty of work done. Eve progresses well and I will be sending more work in progress shots to James later in the week.

I have come to the feet – What do beautiful feet look like? Crushed and squashed by shoes, the sights you see in shoe shops are the stuff of nightmares – bunions, calluses, twisted toes, hammer toes etc. I looked in books at the feet of native Africans for natural feet – horror, they are worse than ours. Perhaps I should look for adverts for toe nail varnish – they would have searched out the world’s most perfect toes. As usual I will make them up – Isn’t that what art is supposed to be?

I have also completed an oil painting of Venice, started another female nude – a commission – and another very small item which must remain a secret for now.

The main body of Eve should be finished this week, stick the arms on and then the interesting but difficult work can begin.

Also, I will start a new painting today to do in the evenings.

James has sent me a sample of the new DVD which has just arrived looking very smart in its new format. The Masterclasses are filling up nicely – so I might survive the recession – if the vegetables would only start growing!!!!

Best wishes

Ian

2009-05-14T12:42:00.011+01:00

Glorious sunshine this weekend and the garden is doing really well.

I've just had a chap from Dublin on a masterclass all week http://www.iannorbury.com/Masterclass/Master%20Classes.htm he stayed a few extra days with his wife and we all had a really good time.

Work on Eve therefore has progressed more slowly
http://www.iannorbury.com/Work%20in%20Progress/Eve/Eve%20WIP.htm it is quite difficult because of the twist on the torso and the arms and legs being at different angles

The new DVD 'Carving the Female Figure 2' is selling well and judging from the e-mails it is being well received and enjoyed
http://www.iannorbury.com/DVDs/DVDs.htm

We have also scanned the first book 'Woodcarving - Book 1 Basic Techniques' and the e-book should be up and running soon

Enjoy the fine weather

Best wishes Ian

2009-05-03T09:58:00.020+01:00

The torso and the portrait head are finally finished and the video films sent to James for conversion

I have now started work on Eve http://www.iannorbury.com/Work%20in%20Progress/Eve/Eve%20WIP.htm
Reading Genesis more questions arise – If man is made in God’s image why the shame in nudity? And who is God talking to when he says ‘us’ and ‘we’?

My new DVD ‘Carving the Female Figure 2’ is now finished and available for purchase.
http://www.iannorbury.com/DVDs/DVDs.htm James is of the opinion that it is the best we’ve done – but he is not a woodcarver. Good luck to all who buy it and I hope you enjoy it

Summer is arriving here in Ireland amid the showers. The vegetables are growing as are the daisies in the lawn – soon all the grass will be gone and it will be a carpet of daisies that does not need cutting!

Best wishes

Ian

2009-04-25T17:12:00.000+01:00

I am preparing for the courses in the USA. I make a carving for the class, make a note of the gouges I have used and make a tool list. Unfortunately most of the gouges I use are fishtails. Now every time you sharpen a fishtail it gets a little bit smaller in the width. So when I measure the tools I used and supply a tool list to the stores, the tools are not available. Having changed the list with the store we now need to change the list on the net. It does not really make much difference but causes confusion.

Then I am wondering if the timber available will be the size of the pieces I am working on, if not some of the tool sizes will be a bit out. Never mind I will be bringing my gouges and the stores will have stock.

In one store on a previous trip we had laminated wood and the joint ran down the girl’s face which was not too good.

Some students bring their own pieces and this can be challenging – I had one student who brought the two polo players from my book ‘Projects of Creative Woodcarving’ – The trouble was the plan had been taken straight from the book – 4 inches high – like toy soldiers.

Well you have to make do – like Australians. An Ozzie guy brought his own gouges – bits of steel tubing, cut in half and welded to the ends of screwdrivers.

In Jersey (Channel Islands) the course was held in a primary school woodwork room. The benches were 2 feet high – Everyone worked kneeling down. It was like a prayer meeting.

In Switzerland they drank beer all day from 9 am and I worked in a fog.

Still – it always works out OK – In Iceland I had ten guys, none of whom spoke English, carve a full female figure (the bather from ‘Fundamentals of Figure Carving’) in three days – It took me two weeks!

I just hop when someone brings their own tools, it isn’t 85 different kinds of chip carving knives – I’ve had that – I’ve no idea what to do with them, but they are great for sharpening pencils.

The class hosts in New Mexico, Phill & Becky and in California, Wendy seem very on the ball and enthusiastic – it’s going to be four great classes. http://www.iannorbury.com/American%20Classes.htm
Looking forward to it.

Ian

2009-04-12T11:20:00.000+01:00

I have this week finished the female torso for a video and for use in the classes in California and New Mexico.

On Saturday evening I was devastated to learn of the death of Simon Channing Williams, film producer and perfect gentleman.

I was privileged to call him my friend and honoured to have him as a collector of my work. He was a lovely man and a light has gone out in the world.

I will try to love life more, as he did.

Ian

2009-04-05T12:39:00.021+01:00

Many thanks to all those who gave me contacts for marble balls, I‘ll be following them all up and let you know how I get on.

No work done this week – we have been over to Belgium for a couple of days, staying in Brugge to stock up on cheap pipe tobacco and wine. Brugge is as beautiful as ever, clean, quiet and the motorway in Belgium is superb.

I have been to visit my limewood at my timber yard. This is specially cut 9 inch thick and has been drying for a couple of years now. Jack, the timber merchant has supplies of limewood up to 6 inches thick along with a host of other beautiful timber. He will always arrange shipping if anyone were interested, and I trust him 100%. He is based near Malvern, Worcestershire and his phone number is Int+ 44 (0)1886 833612. He has no website or e-mail address.

We should travel back to Ireland on Tuesday and get back to work. One of the things I will be doing is to revise the DVDs to make them better.

Best wishes
Ian

2009-03-29T10:26:00.014+01:00

Betty here - I have found out how to enable you to comment without having to register, and have enabled that feature - sorry it was all such a pain - our friend Beaver in Malibu pointed it out to me (none to gently) and not being as computer literate as I would wish it has taken me a while to work out. This picture is for Beaver I know how much he misses me!!!!!!

Ian again
Back in England, so different from Ireland, for a couple of weeks to collect some timber for carving. Having acquired a commission for a female figure, Eve must be delayed once again.

However the female torso for the classes in the U.S.A. is about finished and I can get on with the portrait head.

Does anyone out there know of a source of polished marble spheres 10 - 12 inches in diameter, as I have found them impossible to find in recent years

Best wishes

Ian

2009-03-21T11:07:00.000Z

The weather has been fabulous and we are well on with the vegetable plots. We have planted potatoes, rhubarb, peas, beans and onions. The birds are all singing their hearts out and building nests. The trees are beginning to leaf and blossom.

The ‘Hollow Man’ is finally finished and is on the gallery page at http://www.iannorbury.com/Sculpture%20Gallery/Hollow%20Man/Hollow%20Man.htm
and I can now proceed with work on Eve – the first fool

In preparation for this I am doing a study of a torso, since it is twisted round and therefore a bit tricky. I am making a video of the carving of the torso, the plan being to then make a video of the full figure. The two together should then enable less experienced carvers to make a successful major figure. I am also taking still photographs and intend to make an E-book to go with the video, as I think books have certain advantages.

However, all this makes for slow progress on the work – set up the piece, check the camera, adjust the lights, make 30 seconds of film, check the film, take the stills, switch everything off and then do another half hours work

This is also the torso I will be using for the classes in New Mexico & California http://www.iannorbury.com/American%20Classes.htm

Best wishes
Ian

2009-03-08T13:51:00.006Z

Now the ‘Hollow Man is nearing completion I am working on the drawings for ‘Eve’, and making a set of anatomical studies and outline drawings for a female torso which will be used for classes in the USA and made into a video.

The dates have now been fixed – I’m really looking forward to coming and meeting with fellow carvers

25th, 26th & 27th September and 2nd, 3rd & 4th October at Woodcraft Ventura, California – Tel. 805 658 9663 – E-mail Ventura@Woodcraft.com

16th, 17th & 18th and 23rd, 24th & 25th October at Woodcraft Albuquerque, New Mexico – Tel. 505 342-9663 – E-mail albuquerque-retail@woodcraft.com
James will be putting a page on the site with more details, hopefully this week. Please feel free to e-mail with any queries me; about the carving and projects or the store about booking.

The other project for the classes is a portrait head of a teenage girl ‘Clodagh’, the very pretty daughter of a friend of ours. This will also be made into a video.

In my spare time I am working on an oil painting of Venice. The weather has been too inclement for the water feature, so that is on hold for the moment.
Best wishes
Ian

2009-03-02T18:06:00.000Z

A bit of a delay this week waiting for e-mails about courses in the U.S. It looks as if there will be 2 courses at the Ventura, California and 2 in Albuquerque, New Mexico in September/October this year, with a sightseeing trip in between. I have to find out if I can take my gouges to the U.S. on the plane or if I will have to mail them.

The Masterclasses in Ireland are receiving inquiries and bookings from far flung corners of the world. It is nice to know there is so much interest.
http://www.iannorbury.com/Masterclass/Master%20Classes.htm

Meanwhile, this is hopefully the last week on the Hollow Man – I’ve just sent the update photos to James. We were all pleased to hear that his book launch went really well. http://www.iannorbury.com/Work%20in%20Progress/hollow%20man/Hollow%20Man.htm

2009-02-22T11:18:00.000Z

The frogs are definitely spawning; the gentle croaking noise they make can be heard all over the garden.

The details for the Masterclasses went onto the website yesterday at http://www.iannorbury.com/Masterclass/Master%20Classes.htm

I continue to work on the Hollow Man, you can see the work in progress at http://www.iannorbury.com/Work%20in%20Progress/hollow%20man/Hollow%20Man.htm

Now that it is at the tedious stage of making the diamonds on the arms, I can start planning my next carving. In line with the theme ‘Paradise of Fools’ I have decided on a religious subject namely a nude figure of the First Lady – no, not Mrs Obama, but Eve.

Surely, one who was specifically instructed by no lesser authority than God, not to eat a particular fruit, and then does so, on the advice of a snake, is some kind of a fool. Why it had to be a woman is a question that might be answered by misogynistic rednecks in low bars.

The big problem for the carver is “Did she have a belly button?” I will be consulting ecclesiastical authorities on this vital point. I would read the Bible, but in this ultra-Catholic country no-one seems to have one and I left mine in the UK. There’s sure to be a Bible on line

Best wishes

Ian

2009-02-15T10:53:00.000Z

Hello, Last week snow; this weeks signs of spring, daffodils and snowdrops are flowering and the gardener is preparing plots for an organic vegetable garden. The ducks are enjoying the sun and I’m sure we heard the frogs are spawning, although I am sure it was around May last year.

I have been working on the diamonds and the base for the ‘Hollow Man’ doing the paintings for panels in the evenings. When these are finished I have to do some oils of Venice for a client.

In my spare time I am making a water feature for the garden of the other cottage, ‘Ryans’. We have two cottages close together and the other one has been restored and is nearly ready for residential master-classes, the details of which will be available shortly.

I have finished the drawings for the new DVD and will send the tape and pictures to James next week to make into the video. He is very busy having just had three new role playing books published.

So by this time next week the course details should be on the website along with news of a possible trip to the USA and the DVD should be in the processing stage.

Best wishes

Ian

2009-02-08T12:06:00.001Z

Having been snowed in for a few days I have had plenty of opportunity to work. The ducks were not impressed

The refurbishment of the studio is nearly complete except for painting the walls under the bench. I have set up a permanent drawing/photographing area and three work stations (in preparation for the residential masterclasses - more as I get the details finalized) and am in the process of regrinding all of the gouges with a Tormek water stone, which is good, but the water stops you seeing the edge properly.

The ‘Hollow man is coming along, the body is hollowed out, so it is time for the tedious inlaying. James is away, so the work in progress will not be up on the site until the middle of the week.

2009-02-01T11:52:00.000Z

Back in Ireland for week now, we collected our ducks from a good friend who was looking after them while we were away – they are a constant source of amusement.

I am performing a major reorganization of my studio, making a new photographic area and two workstations which will enable me to hold a few small residential master-classes (more later).

I have written the text for the ‘Balance of Life’ which I sold last year along with the text and early stage photographs for the ‘Hollow Man’, the first of my exhibition pieces. This has all been sent to my son James, my webmaster, and he will be uploading it to the site early this coming week, Monday morning is the plan. There is a membership group on the web (it’s free) – those signed up get automatically advised of any updates. I will of course be happy to answer questions.

The ‘Balance of Life’ can be found on http://www.iannorbury.com/archive_gallery.htm and the ‘Hollow Man’ http://www.iannorbury.com/work_in_progress.htm

This week I will be continuing with the ‘Hollow Man’ and finishing the drawings for the new DVD which should be available shortly – only 6 months late. I intend to make at least two more this year.