Steve Tomashek - Tiny Whittling: More Than 20 Projects to Make

Steve Tomashek grew up in Winona, Minnesota. He is a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in World History and Education. Partway through his university years, his familys house burned to the ground, and with it, his grandfathers woodworking tools were destroyed.

As a way of coming to terms with the loss, Steve bought himself a knife and carved a chess set. The experience led him to take up carving as a hobby, and after several years of practice, the hobby turned into a full-time career. Fifteen years and thousands of carvings later, his work has a devoted following around the world through his website ministeve.com and from art fairs and galleries in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States as well as Europe. In collaboration with the artist Glenn Gordon, he also stages and photographs miniature tableaux of his carvings. He is now bringing his carvings even further to life through his video stop-motion animations, which he writes, produces, directs, and does all the sound effects for himself. He even organizes the catering

The main type of wood I use for carving is American basswood (also known as American linden). Basswood is used for all the carving projects in this book because it is fairly soft and lightweight, so it is relatively easy to carve. However, there are many other types of suitable wood available and, as you progress with your carving, you may want to try some alternatives. Lets take a closer look at some of them.

AMERICAN BASSWOOD
Basswood has a straight grain, is dense, and generally has no knots or irregularities. The wood is not scarce or threatened. Its classified as a hardwood because it is deciduous, but if it is dried correctly, it is actually soft and easy to carve. It can be bought from sawyers, carving supply stores, or specialty wood suppliers. Dont confuse basswood with balsa wood, which is often used for model building and is generally too light and too soft for carving.

BOXWOOD

The other primary carving wood is boxwood, which also has a straight grain and no knots. Its important for the grain to be predictable if youre working on small details. Boxwood commonly grows as a shrub, and the large shrub branches are fine for carving, but in some places it also grows as a tree. Its slow growing, which is why the grain is tight, and this means it holds detail well in smaller pieces. Its harder to carve, so practice with basswood first.

HOLLY

Holly is harder than basswood, but it is not as hard as boxwood. Its very strongcomparable to birch or maplebut is not so easily available. Its a white wood, but sometimes it also has grayish streaks, which can make it very attractive. Its more difficult to carve than basswood, but it holds details well.

YELLOW CEDAR

Cedar, pine, and firs are not ideal for carving unless they are slow grownthe slower the growth, the tighter the grainand even then, the grain can be wavy. Old or slow-grown yellow cedar is harder to find, but its a very pretty wood with a pleasant smell.

SWISS PEAR
Nut and fruitwoods such as walnut, pecan, apple, and Swiss pear are hardwoods; they are comparable to boxwood, but they tend to have a lot of knots. You can still use them, however, if you avoid the knotty areas. Swiss pear has a particularly attractive color, close to cherry (which can also be used for carving).