Here’s a crowned bird and flower design from inspiration to carving. The original artist is unknown, but little paintings like this one (c. 1840) were sometimes given by teachers as rewards to students. The bird may or may not have symbolized the soul, as birds are intermediaries between earth and heaven; if so, is this one crowned in glory? Or do these little guys just look better with something on their heads? (Original from The Pennsylvania German Fraktur of the Philadelphia Free Library, vol. 2, 1976.)
Todd Grotenhuis this is really neat.
I have a simple set of carving tools I’ve been playing with. But I’ve been seeing if I can make little figures or game pieces (and I’m still incredibly amateur).
I also wonder if they could be used to make lino cuts?
David Walbert @toddgrotenhuis Lino cuts you want largely a different set of tools from figure carving — v-tool and small gouges, I think. Or a more specific set of tools, anyhow. Art stores sell sets of them but at a quick look what I see is "palm chisels" with big fat handles that I think would make me crazy.
I may try moving into lino or wood block prints at some point just for the ability to make multiples out of a single carving. Always something else to try...
David Walbert @toddgrotenhuis And thanks, by the way. Incidentally—the practice of teachers doing those little paintings for students was, according to the editors of that book at least, more prevalent among Mennonites than among the "fancier" Dutch. They say it was tied to religious instruction in particular.