Wood-Carving

WOOD-CARVING Wood-carving consists entirely in a sort of elimination of parts obscuring the desired image. Although the mechanical process is simple, the training required by the carver before he can put it into practice is by no means simple. Firstly, the carver must have a clear idea of what he is about to carve ; its shape and form have to be studied before he makes a cut. He must have long practised the use of his various tools; he must know how to conquer the very serious difficulty which the grain of the wood presents in every inch of his work. Many years of laborious practice at last enable him to master all these problems. Of course there are many cases in which such skill and knowledge are neither to be found nor expected, as for instance in the case of primitive work, where a kind of child-like naivete compensates for the lack of skill. The more sophisticated carver is not content to stop at this stage ; he experiments with new forms, invents new tools, and slowly builds up a coherent manner of work which embodies both knowledge of form and skill in the use of his tools. From beginner to master, from generation to generation, this goes on, and so shapes itself into a dignified art—an art which demands a keen love of beautiful form and a constant pleasure in the use of the creative faculties.

Acquiring Technique.

Two kinds of knowledge therefore are essential to the wood-carver. A knowledge of form and a knowledge of and skill with his tools. The beginner must learn to cut before he invents anything for himself. The grain of all kinds of wood runs in a fairly straight direction, but the cuts made by the tools go in every possible direction. This difficulty has to be cunningly mastered by subtle movements of the tools; it takes at least two years of constant practice before one has thoroughly mastered the art of "cutting." When a carver begins to learn the use of beautiful forms those forms are to him never the precise counterpart of nature's forms. He has been long enough at his craft to have learned that purely natural shapes and forms are inexpressible in wood, and that his only chance of making his subject readable is to adopt the traditional "convention" in his treatment, wherein he must simplify all his forms, arrange them in agreeable groups and make the very most of the strong contrast between light and shade of which his subject may admit.

Up to this stage the carver has been learning what may be called the technicalities of his craft, and perhaps exercising his mind in getting a useful knowledge of form. In this respect there is probably no difference between the education of a mediaeval and a modern carver, but here the modern carver is often expected to remain satisfied, and to go on carving, not what he would him self like to do, but what he is told to do by others. An archi tect, "builder," or some patron of art may give him a "design" to follow—none of them, probably, knowing anything about the use of carving tools. A handicap like this puts a full stop to the progress of the craftsman ; he ceases to think of his craft in any other way than as a source of livelihood, and thus the innate talent of our wood-carvers is lost. This was not so in the case of the mediaeval carvers. There can be no doubt that there was someone to guide the work going on in the shop. This would be in all probability the master carver who controlled but did not fet ter. This will be clearly seen by a reference to the illustrations, showing work of 54th and 15th century carvings. Such work could not have been done by fettered hands. Here fancy is seen to play within well kept bounds—the best treatment for a given position has been decided by actual experience, be it under a miserere seat, on a stall division, or the orderly arrangement of a rood screen. This delightful playfulness of fancy has disappeared from our workshops, and instead of invention, spontaneous and living, we get miles of some stupid kind of "ornament" generally copied mechanically. It would be rash to look for an early change for the better in this respect, but there are some signs of improvement.