Arbortech - Wood Spirits

"Wood Spirits "
By Jim Gledhill

A Canadian whittler and woodcarver for most of his life, Jim has written this article to encourage his fellow carvers, whittlers, and easy bleeders to step outside the "box" and try something a little different - like carving bark!

I would like to share this article with all my fellow carvers, whittlers and easy bleeders. Sometimes you just need to step outside the basswood box and try something a little different. I suggest bark.

I am sure a lot of you folks have seen bark carving; usually wood Spirits, ranging in style from the humorous, to the intricately detailed, to the pieces done with an old butter knife. They all have one thing in common: character. Each person develops his or her own particular style of face that is as distinctive as their own (that is as distinctive as a thumb print).

Scandinavian tradition tells of the Spirits of the Woods that would help travellers find their way in unfamiliar areas, or play tricks on those that were deserving of such treatment. Although not easily seen, they would reveal themselves when they saw fit. They were thought to bring safety to a home from those harmful influences that might try to enter and cause mischief. The tradition slowly filtered though Middle Europe showing up in England as the Green Man and in many other forms and locations.

There is an older history, a little grizzlier, about the source of the Spirits of the Woods, which I am a little leery to share. In the oldest of memories there was a time when the Spirit lived behind the eyes. It was a tribal custom to retain the head of your most ferocious foe and afford it a place of honour in your dwelling. It had much power because it existed between life and death in the spirit world and could see all things. They would warn of harm to the oblivious of the unseen.

The spirits were greatly revered and much sought after. They became an item to be stolen and sold to the highest bidder. As the thieves carried away the prizes, The spirits would sing the old songs of far away places and wonderful things; thus calming and subduing the thief, causing him to stop and dream the dreams. Upon awakening, they would find the spirits gone away to the forests; disguising themselves as trees and singing the old songs.

Having lived in East Texas for about a year, I had the good fortune to fall in with a good group of carvers who, among other things, carved bark. The material came from the huge cottonwoods along the Mississippi Valley, Montana and Oregon. The material is soft, but rigid, 2-6 think and in lengths of up to 6ft or more. A good tree will yield several hundred smaller pieces and is available for the taking. The colour ranges from burnt orange to almost black, depending on the tree, location, species and age.
After coming back to Canada and using up all of the bark I had brought back with me, I was in a bind. Where to get more bark?

I started calling wood suppliers, but no one had it for sale because it was just not marketable. I called some forestry people and got in touch with Kimberly-Clarke. They said there were lots of Cottonwoods in British Columbia and they mostly used it for making toilet paper. If I wanted to come when they were harvesting, I could have as much as I wanted. Well, for me living in Cobourg, Ontario, British Columbia, was no closer than Texas, so I kept searching.

I ran into some folks from the Ontario Provincial Parks Department and asked the question: "Where's the bark?", They replied: "Right here!". Apparently, Cottonwood belongs to the family of Poplars that include Carolina Poplar, Eastern Poplar, Lombardy, and a few others. They are also related to the Willow family. The folks from the parks department stated that the area I now live in is a little hotbed for Carolina Poplars and Willow. They naturally grow in moist lowlands and creek beds in the area from Belleville to Oshawa, and as far north as Highway #7 (in Ontario, Canada). I began to look a little closer while driving around and sure enough, I have found endless supplies, with minutes of where I live.

Harvesting bark can be a pleasant adventure in the great outdoors. Living trees will always have prices of bark that have fallen off, or pieces that are about to fall off and are easily removed. This doesn't hurt the tree because you can't get right down to the wood. The best harvesting is from dead falls. It comes away in large sheets. Bark will survive much longer than the wood in dead falls because of the natural chemical composition of the bard's material to resist insects and weather. The best times to harvest are early spring and late fall when there is a lot of frost at night. That way, you are sure the spider population is small to nil.

There is a brittle crust caused by wind, weather, sand and moss which is easily removed with a knife or chisel. I would suggest that if you're going to brush away the excess buildup, please use a dust mask, as some of the pollens and spores may cause some breathing difficulties for some individuals. Safety First! Clean only the area to be carved.

For carving a few simple tools are required: a straight or hooked knife, a 1/4 gouge, a small parting tool, 180-240 grit wet/dry silicone paper, wire brush, semi-gloss urethane or tung oil, hanger and a Band-Aid. I prefer Elastoplast.

A couple of things to keep in mind while working your bark. Carving bark is not like bull wrestling, It's more like a dance. The bark will take you where it needs to go. You have been enlisted to remove everything that is not Spirit. It will allow you to take away just what is necessary. There may be only a bit of eye and moustache to be exposed, or maybe that's not where the face is, or maybe there;s more than one. I remember doing a larger piece for a soldier's family last year. When I delivered it, I explained the history and that there were five Spirits in the piece. They searched and found three full faces and one partially exposed, but couldn’t find the fifth. After a bit, the youngest daughter smiled and explained, "He must be a little shy. I'm sure that's him under that bit of crust".

Step 1

Select a piece of bark and remove
surface scale just
enough to
accommodate
the figure.

Step 2

Block in the bottom of the nose and angle of moustache with a B-pencil or marker.

Step 3

Slice the material away from the sides of the nose to a depth of around 1/4 inch up to the point of the eyebrows.

Step 6

With your gouge, push back the fore-head from the eye-brows. Use sandpaper to smooth cheeks, forehead, moustache and nose.

Step 4

Cut in the upper eye sockets to bout 1/4 inch depth. Cut definition of the moustache.

Step 5

Draw in with your marker the lower extent of eye sockets and remove.

The eye itself should appear to be a rounded wedge. Model the nose to a wedge straight from the tip to the cheeks and make sure it goes into the forehead a little. This helps define the eyes.

Step 7

This is where the fun begins. There are three features that really give this face character: eyes, nostrils, and lips.

Eyes

I prefer to cut a thin line across the eye wedge suggesting closed lids. To have open eyes, cut a line on the upper part of the wedge and one on the lower wedge. Then, round the inner part to look like a ball rather than a wedge.

Lips

The lower lip can be as large or as small as you like. However, a smaller lip may look like a tongue. Remember, the mouth is the deepest cut on the face. Begin adding shape to the beard with the gouge.

Step 8

Detailing with the parting tool is the next step. Begin to texture the beard. It will begin to look ratty if overworked. If this is the case, go over it with the gouge and begin again. Cut small wrinkles into the corner of the eyes (crows feet). Using the back of your knife or bottom of your parting tool, press lines under the eyes, forehead and eyebrows. This fine details is better pressed in rather than cut out.

Step 9

Tweaking

Deepen the cuts around the nose, nostrils and moustache. Define eye sockets.

Sand a bit. Dust.

Step 10

Finishing is a personal thing. I like two coats of semi-gloss urethane or tung oil.

About the Author: A Canadian whittler and woodcarver for most of his life, Jim's articles are a must read for any woodworker needing to be motivated to try something new, or simply pick up a chisel again. To see more of Jim's work, visit his website at Boxes and Bark (http://www.boxesandbark.com).

Portions of this article were originally published in Canadian Woodworking Magazine in October/November 2001. Visit their website at www.canadianwoodworking com.