CONTOUR CARVING

Contour carving is the simplest carving technique. A linear, somewhat deepened pattern of straight, twisted or broken lines in the form of a dihedral or semicircular notch on the even surface of the wood, clearly outlining the contour of the image, looks sharp and stiff.
This technique is widely used in Russian folk carving: various ornaments on wooden carved elements at home, in the manufacture of panels, furniture, dishes, souvenirs. Contour cuts all kinds of veins, grids, details of large elements of compositions. The absence of relief in contour carving does not reduce its artistic expressiveness. Lines of different depth and width, background sampling around linear, ornamental or figured compositions, as well as combinations with other types of carving are very common.
Contour carving, in spite of the simplicity of the figure, requires the skills of free possession of a carver’s tool, accuracy and attention. To make a contour drawing, depending on its complexity, jamb knives of different sharpening angles, cutters, jamb chisels, corner chisels, semicircular chisels, clavicars, and sloping chisels are used. Straight chisels are also used in some operations.
Consider the technique and techniques of contour carving on examples. First, the workpiece is marked and the pattern is drawn with a pencil on a template or copied from the original.
Beginner carver is better to do the contour carving on the wood of soft species – lime, aspen, and then after acquiring skills – on harder. Work should be standing up, because it gives more freedom of movement. The right hand holds the tool by the handle, and the left hand holds and guides the blade.
Carving with a joint. Carving is done in two steps – notching and undercutting. The jamb knife is held with the blade towards itself and somewhat obliquely, the blade is introduced into the wood and is led with effort along the line of the pattern, directing the movement of the blade with the thumb of the left hand.
Having notched the line on one side, start undercutting. The position of the knife in the hand does not change, – only the hand leans in the opposite direction, and also with effort the undercutting of the already notched contour is made/ As a result, a three-sided band comes out from under the knife – “break”, and a two-sided notch is obtained on the workpiece.
To obtain roundings of different radii, it is necessary to use joints and cutters with a small angle of blade sharpening. A splint knife can be used to cut in all directions: toward yourself, away from yourself, tilting it in all directions.
When carving rosettes or ornaments with curved lines, the width and depth of the two-sided indentations are different – this is necessary to make the pattern and shape more expressive. In this case, the joint is kept with the toe in the depth of the wood to thin the line, and the exit to the surface and narrowing is done with the heel. If the tops of the sides of the rosette converge in the center, begin to cut with the toe from the edge of the circle, and in the middle lead necessarily the heel of the joint, otherwise chipping of wood is possible. Carving lines with semicircular chisels. The contour line with a semicircular notch is cut with steep, medium, and sloping chisels.
Consider the techniques of carving a small rosette. Circular chisel notches the petal. The blade is inserted into the wood at the beginning of the line and, rotating the chisel, align the blade with the curve, tilting to the center of the rosette. Continue the cut of the same petal with the middle chisel and finish the cut with the sloping chisel.
These operations are used to notch all the petals of the rosette, and the contour trimming is done with more oblique chisels.
Carving the lines of large ornaments with semicircular chisels and corners. In house carving, pinias in the contour carving technique can be made with semicircular chisels with high sides and clavicles. A line carved with these tools is a semicircular notch in the plane of the wood.
The double-sided notch is cut with angle chisels and huckleboard angles. Curved lines are very convenient to cut with cranberries, because they can be turned and change the angle, which broadens the maneuvering of the carver.
The carving of large ornaments with deeper notches using picks. In this case, the chisels must be particularly sharp. It is also necessary to consider the structure of wood layers.
It is easier to clean the joints of carving lines with two hands, guiding the chisel blade with the left hand, and pressing and notching with the right hand.
Having mastered the individual techniques of contour carving, you can carve ornaments of any complexity to decorate the house outside or inside.
Embossing the background. When performing contour carving in the composition often use plant and animal motifs. In this case, around the outline of the pattern chasing background (Fig. 168) is made, i.e. the background is cut with semicircular chisels or picks in the form of shallow lines or chaotic notches, which gives the carving a very picturesque look. If an ornament has a large and deep outline, the background is sometimes made in the form of a fine grid of cuts, which better reveals the pattern.