Wild Boar

Hi all,
This post is about my second, and probably last, netsuke carving. It is a carving of a wild boar, he doesn't look that wild I know, but that's because he is sleeping at the side of the river under a bunch of reeds. Things are much easier to carve when they are sleeping.

It is carved from lime wood, which is very similar to bass wood that is often used for carving in the USA.

Without further ado here is picture one.

I think he is kind cute, definitely better than Clarence the cross eyed crane from my last post.
Here is the other side.

I cheated a bit on the lines that are supposed to be the hairs. The book said to carve them with a "V" tool but my patience was running out so I did the hairs with my pyrography iron. Not brilliant but far better than I would have managed with a gouge and black ink.

Here is the view from the front.

Here is picture of the rear.

And finally, a picture of the underneath.

So there you have it. I did almost give up with it about half way through, but just like Earnest Shackleton I battled on. I'm pleased that I finished it but I won't be doing another, not carved out of wood at any rate. I have been dallying with the idea of making one in polymer clay and if I do you will be the first to see it.

If you fancy having a go at carving a netsuke, I would encourage you to have a go, it is well worth the experience. Even though I won't be carving any more, I learned a lot from doing the carving and I'm sure that it will help me when doing something a bit bigger.

In my next post I will show you the small pot I turned recently. It has some nice pyrography on it and
I'm so pleased with it I'm currently doing another using the same theme. If I get it finished I will let you see them both.

My biggest problem at the moment is the cold, It's as cold as a polar bear's mit in my workshop. I've tried heating it with two bars on an electric fire but it isn't very effective and it's playintg havoc with my wallet. I wish I could find a nice creative hobby that I can do whilst sitting in my armchair in the warm. Just for the winter of course, I have loads of stuff I want to turn and carve when the weather warms up again. That's it for now, I you have any suggestion for a creative hobby that can be done from the comfort of my armcahir please let me know.