Year of the Eagle ;)

Spring is my season for carving tree stumps and this year the majority of these jobs   are eagle carvings.  This one was finished this morning.  The stump is of a maple tree planted by my customer!  Location is in the back yard of a private residence in Richland, WA.

Browse photos of other stump carvings at WoodHacker.com

Eagle Plaques

Those 'scraps' from the end of bench backs or relief carvings can be used for smaller wall hanging carvings.  The first of these is about 4' tall and customized for the customer.  The second, only 2' tall.  Each is 2" thick sycamore.

Tree Stump Beautification

Cowboy & Eagle Americana

Lately I have been very busy with tree stump carving! I love carving stumps because of their permanent location.  I also dread the logistics of carving away from my studio.  After all, carving a tree stump with a chainsaw is a lot different than meeting friends to carve a hunk of cottonwood bark.  For one thing, the tools are a lot bigger.

One of these stump carvings begins with visiting the location to examine the stump.  Once I figure out what the customer 'really' wants me to carve, a few things have to be looked at before coming up with a price.  Such as:

Two bears, squirrel & raccoon.

Is the wood going to cooperate or is it likely to splinter, crack, and fall apart?
Is is rotten or solid?
Will the design fit inside of the stump?
Is scaffold needed?
And how far must I drive by the time I bid the job, carve the figure, oil the surface, and return later to seal it with urethane?

Goldfish Totem

Gotta figure those hidden expenses too...  Tools have to be packed  into the truck before the job then unpacked, cleaned, sharpened, and maintained to be ready for the next project.  "Time is money."

Then there is the schedule.  "You want it by the weekend?  HA HA HA HA HA!!!"  I'll do my best but unless you can control the weather, there is no guarantee.  Locally, wind causes more delays for me than does the rain.

Eagle & Salmon

Now that we have agreed on the price, what happens? You pay me, of course!  Then I start the "tree stump beautification."  :)

What can go wrong?  Mostly minor things...
If the job is large, the big hunks of wood removed, as well as scaffold feet, will dent or otherwise damage your lawn.  (A small price to pay for a large piece of art.)
Spontaneous design changes occur due to flaws and foreign objects in the wood. I've found bullets, nails, screws, spikes, staples, barbed wire, ceramic insulators and even a wrench buried under the bark of a tree!

However, the majority of what can go wrong occurs after the carving is complete and I have moved on.  It is the owners responsibility to protect and maintain their property (artwork).  I have provided a short video on caring for chainsaw carvings. To see the video, click here.

Eagle Update

It was a big adventure and it's FINALLY complete.  The size of this carving, and the size of the tools required to execute such a project, were hard on my old body.  Muscles ache, joints creak and pop when I move, and I have a couple of new calluses.

Today I will try to take it easy but it's going to be difficult because I can barely wait to start the next carving.

Ugly Stump?

When driving around town, I frequently see large tree stumps in people's yards.  Some appear to be fresh cut and many have obviously been standing in the weather for a long time.

It's a bit of a puzzle...  Why leave a stump standing and not do something with it?  I've stopped and asked a few folks about their tree stump.  Some had hoped to get their stump carved, others are at a loss to explain.  A few explain they removed the tree limbs themselves but their saw wasn't large enough to cut off the stump.

Well, I can help with those unsightly stumps :)  LOL  "For mere money" I can change them into art or just cut them down.   Depending on the tree species, I might be happy to haul the wood away too.

These photos are of the stump of a paulownia tree near Burbank, WA.  The tree had died so the owner had the limbs removed and asked me about carving it.  We discussed various options {prices} and after a month or two, I was asked to start the job.

This design makes use of the 2 upper forked limbs.  Each will become an eagle with wings raised high.  The larger eagle has barely missed catching a large steel-head fish.  The smaller eagle is right behind and diving for the same fish.

When the carving is completed, accents will be burned in and the entire piece will be sealed with marine spar varnish.

New cottonwood bark carvings.

I've made a few more pieces from cottonwood bark.  This first one is the second eagle from what started out to be a Native American face.  That piece broke in half so I used the smaller pieces for eagle heads.

When one carved predators, shouldn't the also carve prey?  The hare is a common figure in European woodcarving and is often presented as a stylized figure.  Another coat of varnish and this hare will shine as nicely as the eagle above...

While not yet completed, I have begun carving a tortoise to complement the hare :)

Each are for sale.

Broken Cottonwood

After the un-named white guy carving, I went back to working on Native American faces.  Or at least I planned to.  I selected a small piece of bark and as I started cutting the relief above the hair, the bark broke in half!   Bummer.  My nice piece of carving bark was now 2 tiny pieces.  What to do?  Make lemonade?

As I twisted the busted hunk around, one edge of it looked like feathering to me so I started an eagle.  I had to be careful with the sharp point on his beak but it came out looking like an eagle.

Disaster averted!
SOLD