Skeleton blocks ready and waiting!

Skeleton Blocks

Why do I call them that? Hmmm...no idea, they look like skeletons as I carve them, bony and white and waiting for the "meat" to arrive and give the image shape.

The process of carving is just keeping at it, I usually put the blocks together so the image will flow from one to the other. Then I reinforce the characters with permanent marker, oil the block and go at it. Being quite large, I have to keep at it; some areas are easy and just need clearing. For that, I have very large chisels that make quick work of the cherry plywood.

Other areas get to be quite intricate and, there are holes in my way! I have to cut around the empty spaces, leaning on nothing. Quite challenging at times but kind of fun. I purchased some Kevlar gloves to protect me from sharp edges and they work quite well. They actually just have tiny Kevlar dots on them but enough to protect my hands (knuckles, mostly) from scrapes against the sharp wood.

Here they are! Hurry! The garden awaits!!!

The "empty" Fantastic Garden!
Keep an eye on the blog to see it fill up with wonder!

Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com