A Manual of Wood Carving

by Charles Godfrey Leland; John J. Holtzapffel

What the pupil should do in copying leaves and flowers, etc., or in modelling them for carving, is to observe their characteristic shape and contour, to follow all their graceful lines and bends, depressions and swellings, and give the general expression and spirit of these without striving too accurately to make a mere leaf. He should not make it so thin that it would break with a slight blow. A great deal of the most admired work of the present day is of this kind, which will hardly bear dusting. A leaf may always be cut, as we see it done in classical and in ancient work, so solidly and firmly as to resist the wear and tear of centuries. As nobody is expected to believe that it is a real leaf when it is palpably cut out of wood or stone, we may as well conventionalize it (that is, keep only a general likeness to a leaf), and make it attractive by grace and skilful combination. And this can be done if we only cut out the leaf in its general form and leave a strong base for it to rest on, so that it may be safely dusted or rubbed against. The student should try to understand this, for it will enable him to make all effects necessary in decorative work, and save him much needless petty labour.

Fig. 44.

If the pupil has practised the sweep-cut, and can with confidence work in any direction, with both hands, he may now attempt oak-leaves in which there are varied slopes, cavities, and swellings, Figs. [44] and [45]. These seem to have been the favourite subjects of the old modellers and carvers. Perhaps the best designing of the kind in existence is that by Adam Kraft, in Nuremberg. I repeat here, that the more difficult and varied a leaf is the more necessity is there for the pupil to model it in clay, or at least to draw and shade it carefully, before beginning. The reason is this, that, having its principal points in the memory, it is much easier to reproduce them when cutting in wood; we know then when and where to turn the hand or the tool. And it is well to bear in mind that this practical and necessarily accurate, though often hasty, sketching and shading of the workshop grows very rapidly on the pupil, so that, being driven to it, he learns to do such drawing more promptly and vigorously than he would in a school or class.

In making the sweep-cut it is necessary to get the bend or movement, which is directing the gouge in the proper route. In ordinary cutting we only push the blade forward; in the sweep-cut there is a “draw” or side movement as well as a push. But the bend or direction constitutes, so to speak, a third movement, and this is the most difficult to determine. To get a certain symmetrical turn or curve we cut without seeing, whereas in ordinary cutting or “wasting” we see clearly just what we are going to slice off, and take it away with confidence. But with a little practice on waste wood, the sweep or draw-cut will become so familiar that one can execute the most difficult curves, not by chipping away, but by a bold sweep. Amateurs who have taught themselves can generally cut or chip only straightforwards; they cannot turn or curve a leaf with a sweep. The combined movement given to the tool in making the sweep-cut may be thus analyzed, and if the three distinct forces applied to the tool be first understood and then kept in mind in making such cuts, success will soon and easily result. Suppose we are engaged upon the surface of a leaf which slopes generally downwards and off to one side, but also has a rise or mound somewhere in the course of the slope, and most leaves have one or more such undulations. With the gouge, straight or bent, grasped firmly in the right hand, and the two fingers of the left hand pressed on the surface and side of the blade about an inch from the cutting edge—the position already described: the tool is pushed straight forward for the entire length of the cut by the right hand; at the same time the blade is pushed to the right or pulled to the left by the two fingers of the left hand to the extent, and as the slope may travel to the right or the left; and thirdly, the right wrist is raised or lowered to cause the tool to travel over the intended mounds or undulations on the leaf. Now these three distinct movements or forces exerted on the tool merge into one another, and may be said to be used simultaneously, and are really one continuous movement, which gives the sweep-cut; but the extent to which any one preponderates of course depends upon the particular shape of the leaf or scroll being carved, and is soon found out by but little practice upon different forms.

In commencing or bosting out this pattern, Fig. [44], and all others in high relief, the pupil will do well to observe that he should select a gouge whose sweep will fit the curve of the leaf in the part it is intended to begin upon, and placing the edge of the gouge outside, but quite close to the line, and holding the tool at a slope so as to cut away from it outwards, give it a moderate blow with the mallet. Take care not to drive the gouge in too deeply. This is the blocking out of the leaf, or outlining in the solid. And in doing this, begin by making or cutting the general outline only. Leave the second-sized interstices or hollows for a second cutting, and the smaller notches of the leaves and fine corners for a final finishing. In this pattern, Fig. [44], also Figs. [42] and [45], the leaves should be of the natural size, or from three to five inches in length.

Fig. 45.