Real-Life Communication
Carvers need to work with their hands, but they need to be good
communicators as well.
"Good communication skills are going to help
with selling," says Eric Bunn. He works with a woodcarving school. "Good carvers
usually go on to take students. If they're good at what they're doing, then
they can very often end up teaching."
It's important to be able to
communicate and demonstrate your skills.
You're teaching an intermediate
soapstone carving course. You choose this stone because it's soft and can
be worked on with traditional tools such as a chisel and mallet. You've decided
that one of the first projects will be for the students to carve one of three
birds: a cardinal, a mountain quail or a common merganser.
The students
will be able to portray these birds in any fashion they choose. For example,
the birds could be in flight, nesting or hunting for food. The carvings must
be accurate depictions, however.
In preparation for the class, you
bring in photos of the birds, but also do research on the animals so you'll
be able to assist the students. This is what you find:
Cardinal:
The
cardinal is 7.5 to nine inches long. The male is a bright red, with a crest,
black face and throat and a conical red bill. The female is olive-colored,
with some red on its crest, wings and tail. They nest in loosely built nests
in bushes and thickets. These birds are ground feeders, eating in thickets
and gardens and often visiting bird feeders.
Mountain Quail:
This
large quail is 10.5 to 11.5 inches long. It has a gray head, neck and breast.
The chestnut throat patch is outlined with cream color around the forehead
and along the side of the head. The back is brown, with white diagonal flecks.
Both male and female quails have a black comma-like head plume. They nest
hidden among rocks, logs and in shrubs, and live in dry mountains and brushy
wooded areas.
Common Merganser:
This duck is about
the size of a mallard duck. It is generally 22 to 27 inches in length. The
breeding male has a black and white body and wings with a shiny green-black
head. The female is gray. These birds live in mountain and sub-arctic lakes
and rivers. They nest in tree holes, but have also been seen in rock openings,
roots, on cliff faces and along coastal streams. This diving duck captures
its prey, such as fish and insects, underwater.
These are some questions
your students ask you before beginning to carve:
- Alison wants to carve a merganser nesting in a tree hole. Would this sculpture
be accurate?
- Jamie wants to carve a male and female mountain quail. He believes that
he should not give the female a head plume. Is he correct?
- Marie wants to carve a cardinal resting on a bird feeder. Would this depiction
be accurate?
How do you answer the students?