Each 20 page portfolio contains 5 major projects, each with three pattern views and several reference drawings for the 7" to 9" tall figures, plus informative notes and patterns for a few smaller projects such as carving basswood eggs, bottle stoppers, carved pins/magnets, golf balls or other items for your carving pleasure. There are also optional drawings for many of the patterns which allow them to be carved in a variety of ways by changing the pose or the props and you can choose between creating a realistic carving or a caricature by picking a different head to use. The last page in each portfolio is a painting guide and shows some of the projects in suggested colors.
In this portfolio you will find Santa checking his list, playing on the floor with his toy train, getting stuck in a chimney and playing guitar as a Jingle Bell Rocker. As a tribute to the old time pin-up calendars you will also find a pattern of Mrs. Claus as she looked when Santa first met her. A few of the other items are a bottle stopper, 3 ornaments. basswood egg patterns, a page of facial expressions and some comments about carving eyes.
In one word, "flirt" would describe the theme of the patterns here. "Coquettishness" is out to get her man with a wink and a seductive smile. "Flirtation" is blowing kisses across the backyard fence. "Innocence" is looking for a husband and doesn't care whose he is. With "Reticence" you'd better not get too close and "Rancorousness" is a fantasy figure who is out to get her man- with a 3 foot sword. You'll also find several pattern options and a caricature bust plus a few notes about laying out a realistic head, hair styles and textures and some thoughts about carving hands.
Kids never seem to sit still for long (I wish I had their energy) and here you will find them playing leap frog, doing yo-yo tricks, feeding ice cream to a dog, skateboarding or in-line skating and a little girl who didn't get punished for digging in mom's garden. As with all the portfolios, you will find several suggestions and notes including head proportion references for carving children and some ways for creating the "cute character" look in your carvings of little folk and young critters.
We all have ways of of relaxing and in this collection you'll find some sports enthusiasts like the typical Friday night league bowler as I remember him, a young lady who moves like the wind on the tennis court and a fellow I call "Happy" Hooknslyce who claims he's a pro golfer, a fisherman who may or may not have had a good day (depending on how you carve him) and a "Wildlife Population Control Specialist" with a couple target critters. Along with several pattern options you'll also find some golf ball patterns and a variety of comments including some notes about fitting hats to heads.
As the title implies, this portfolio is a collection of 26 patterns for carving bottle stoppers. Most are caricatures. You'll find cute kids, cowboys, Indians, dirty old men, lovely ladies (plus some "also rans") and even a few critters. Included are a couple patterns for articulated stoppers which are animated by moving a lever or an arm. To give you some additional mileage out of these patterns, there are patterns for shoulders that can be combined with the stopper caricature heads to create bust carvings. All that plus notes on how to create a caricature of someone you know, ideas for creating facial expressions on your caricatures and some carving suggestions can be found within these pages.
(For ordering information, Click here to Return to "Portfolios")