Back in my comfort zone

I've recently gone back to carving the kind of things I love. Whimsical animals, well to be precise,                   
Mice.

Dad's little wood-turner mouse

Over the years I've done a lot of mice for various people. They are usually just whittles as I walk along, often out with friends or walking the dog. One mouse has sat on the mantle at my friends' Ron and Tina's for over ten years. I carved him whilst out cor a walk in their local woods near Barton Stacey where they live. He is a simple and rather rough little chap carved from sweet chestnut found in the woods.

Another is in boxwood and sits on Tom and Janet's kitchen window sill, again a walking the dog type whittle.

I did a much more involved mouse for my dad while he was still wood-turning and he used to display him on the "East Surrey Wood-turners" stall because a mouse was his trademark.

More recently I've tended to do mice when I'm really not in the mood to carve anything more demanding and just want some carving therapy.

Little "Valentine Mouse" (below) was a simple little Valentine's present for My Darling wife Trace.

Valentine Mouse

During a recent visit Ron and Tina mentioned again my little mouse and their daughter Heather mentioned that she would like one, which kind of got me to thinking. It takes me about three hours to do a fairly reasonable mouse and It might be kind of nice to leave a mouse with people I visit. I left "Harry the House Mouse" with the couple I stayed with last week and I've got another couple on the way. One for Ryan, (Ron's son) whose wedding I'm going to in a couple of weeks and another for Heather... 

I'm beginning to think that every house should have it's mouse....

This is "Felix, the fast mouse" who will be going to live with Heather in her new home soon..

Drunken Viking- Unfinished

One Horn Too Many I think...

This little fellow has had one too many horns of ale. He is inspired by a bunch of great guys from Peel on the Isle of Man who I met in 2005 on a viking longboat racing weekend in Killeyleagh, Northern Ireland. 

Often I will start a piece and spend the next few months picking it up and putting it down again. Unless I'm carving for a particular occasion/person/gift I find that it is the act of carving that I love more than the production of the end result. This guy has been in my pocket for about three months, he occasionally swaps with a sketch of a mouse that I've also had on the go for ages.

He is probably going to take a back seat now as I'm just starting work on a little gift for a friend. I won't say what it is yet as she might read this blog and we would rather it be a surprise when she gets it.

It is however in a timber that I haven't carved before and in fact don't even know the species, I inherited it from my Dad.

When I do get to finish this chap I am thinking perhaps of using pyrography to burn in some of his features such as beard and decoration on his shield, that sort of thing. He might even get sent off to the Isle of Man, who knows...

Nearly forgot to mention he is carved in Ash which is from the tree in our back garden and is largely still fairly green. He stands a little over 2 inches tall. I won't be putting too much more detail into him as the timber really doesn't like much fussy stuff but I think I will smooth him down quite a lot before giving him a couple of layers of Danish Oil.