Carving

Carving is an artistic as well as an amazingly fun-filled process of shaping something from a material using various tools. It is done by scraping away portions of a material in order to derive a beautiful artwork from it giving it some shape or form.

Any material that is solid enough to retain a shape even after the removal of its portions and yet soft enough for making scraping possible with the tools, can be carved out.

When carving is used in order to create a sculpture, is a bit different as it uses soft malleable materials such clay where it is shaped into forms when they are soft and then they are given time to get stiff later. This process is more time-taking than other techniques to carve.

 
 

There is a wide range of types of carving and people interestingly carve out various types of objects and materials. Some of them are listed below…

Types of Carving…

Vegetable and Fruit Carving:

This type of carving is the artistic technique carving vegetables and fruits to give them the forms of beautiful objects. Usually, birds, animals and flowers are carved out of fruits and vegetables and presented in a decorative manner and also used with food servings. Food carving originated at Thai, Japanese and Chinese royal feasts.
 

Chip Carving:

Chip carving is a style in which small chips of the material from a flat surface in a single piece are removed with the help of chisels and knives. The style can be seen in the folk arts in many parts of the world.
 

Stone Carving:

This one is mainly an ancient artform. Rough stones are given a shape by careful and detailed removal of portions. Ancient stone carvings are still surviving due to the permanent nature of the material. It has been used for lettering, for creating designs and sculptures.
 

Ivory Carving:

It involves the carving of animal tooth or tusk with the help of sharp cutting tools. The process can be mechanical as well as manual. Ivory carvings are usually considered luxurious and from the ancient times ornaments and designs are created by this method. Very intricate detailing can be achieved while carving this material.
 

Wood Carving:

This is one of the most commonly practiced form of carving. It involves working wood with a tool, usually a knife or chisel to create a wooden figure and also used for the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object. Wood is is very easy to carve because of its light nature and it can yield minute detailing. Sculptures, masks and decorative pieces and toys are carved out of wood.
 

Bone Carving:

Art forms such as ornaments and figures are created by carving animal bones, antlers and horns.

 
 

 

 
 

Learning To Carve:

 
All it takes is patience as well as art and craft skills to learn this growing art. Knife skills and methods to use the tools are the key to learn carving. Both professionals and amateurs can begin the learning process with the help of various sources such as DVDs, online videos, classes as well as books. You can always indulge yourself in this affable hobby.