tributesinwood

Wood Carvings by Mark Sheridan

Archive for the tag “relief carving”

12 Dec 2016

More Detail

Here’s another quick update on how this project is going.  A little bit more detailing left and some final sanding and I’ll be on to Archangel Michael as another panel on my chalice box project.  I should mention that all of the blue masking tape is just to protect the wood from dings while I do the carving.

The carving has been very enjoyable and I’m really only using a few chisels for the work.  The only “special” chisel that I’ve used is a bent style ( much like a spoon ) to be able to scoop out along the archway on the top and bottom where access is limited.  A nice project and certainly being done at the right time of year!

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Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , | Leave a comment
10 Dec 2016
2 Comments

Saturday Progress

Well, not a whole day on Saturday…but a few hours work, anyway.  The real event today was watching “Scrooge” with my son, Paul.  Now this is the “real” Scrooge starring Alistair Sims.  I’ve been watching this since I was a kid at Christmas and it’s a tradition for Paul and I to watch it as well.  Kind of scary and not very Christmas-y really…but it’s tradition!

Here’s the work that I completed today and I’m really enjoying the way that it’s shaping up.  As you can see, I’ve started to use and will continue to use sandpaper following the chisel work on this carving to provide a fine and smooth finish to the piece.

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Posted in Chalice Box and tagged ,
08 Dec 2016
2 Comments

Roughing-In

Here’s some initial roughing-in of the image of Mary with child.  It’s coming along pretty nicely.

Even though I knew that I would be carving it about 5/8″ deep and that the clay model was roughly that depth, it still looks surprisingly deep when it’s carved into the wood.  The recessed arch that the image rests within probably has something to do with it looking like a deeper relief carving than it actually is.

I think that the finished carving is going to look pretty sharp.

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Posted in Chalice Box and tagged ,
22 Nov 2016
3 Comments

Archangel Michael

My work on the clay models of Jesus and Mary with child are pretty much as far along as they are going to be prior to carving.  Although each of them could use some additional work, I think that they’ll give me all of the reference that I’ll need to carve the figures into the basswood box.  For now, I’ll store them with a damp paper towel over them and sealed in a large ziploc bag so that they don’t shrink and crack too much.

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Now, on to Archangel Michael…which is a bit tougher religious figure to portray.  I searched around for a depiction of Michael, however, there aren’t many to choose from and most of them I really didn’t care for too much.

But, recently, you may have read in the news that an individual in Lisbon, Portugal, actually damaged an ancient statue of Michael in their Museum of Art.  Unbelievably, the individual was trying to take a “selfie” when he upset the statue and broke it.  Can you believe it?  Anyways, a photo of the statue ( prior to the damage ) showed up in a news article and I plan to take some features of that image for my rendition of Michael.

I’ll get started now on a pencil sketch of what I’d like to add to the chalice box.

 

Posted in Chalice Box and tagged ,
12 Jan 2013
4 Comments

Family Crest

While I’m working away at my 1812 Soldier ( Cpl. Sowerby ), I thought you might be interested in a carving that I did of our family crest.  Not quite along the lines of my caricatures blog…but a “tribute in wood” just the same.

The Sheridan family is originally from County Cavan in Ireland, where two brothers left for Canada around 1860.  The crest is of a lion with three shamrocks surrounding it.

The overall size of the crest is about 17″ high and 11″ wide.  The relief portion is made from mahogany and the background plaque is covered in a velvet.

I actually carved this relief carving almost 26 years ago and presented it to my Dad on Father’s Day as a surprise.  I had a small photo at the time to go from…one that my Dad had taken of a framed photo that one of his brothers had.  I was pretty excited about giving it to my Dad and I remember him being just delighted in receiving it.

The crest is now hanging in my house.  It’s a nice memory to have of that day and many other great days I had with my Dad.

He’d have got a real kick out of my latest carvings and this web site.

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Posted in Sheridan Family Crest and tagged ,

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