Desiree Hajny - Carving & Painting Adorable Animals in Wood: Techniques, Patterns, and Color Guides for 12 Projects

Through my adult life, I have had the pleasure of having some very special four-legged friends be part of these years. I enjoyed the time with each, but they all also served to teach me some important values:

To Buster, our first dog. He was small in stature but very stubborn. I have always tried to apply this same attitude of stubbornness in achieving the goals I was trying to attain.

To Taffy, a beautiful dog whom we rescued from a shelter. Taffy had been abused, and it took a long time for us to gain her trust. I learned a sense of patience from her and to try to give people a second chance.

To Dottie, our wonderful, amazing dog that adopted us. Dottie had the heart of a lion, and although she had some tough years before deciding to pick us, she lived to the age of almost twenty. I learned to have a bit of tenacity in all aspects of my life, just as she did.

To Norbert, our red-footed forest tortoise. Norbert moved slowly but with a purpose. He taught us patience, not to tackle things in a rash manner, and to enjoy the very simple things in life.

They were all wonderful, important members of our family. They taught us so much, we loved each dearly, and we think of them often.

2020 by Desiree Hajny and Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552.

Carving & Painting Adorable Animals in Wood is an original work, first published in 2020 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. The patterns contained herein are copyrighted by the author. Readers may make copies of these patterns for personal use. The patterns themselves, however, are not to be duplicated for resale or distribution under any circumstances. Any such copying is a violation of copyright law.

For a printable PDF of the patterns used in this book, please contact Fox Chapel Publishing at .

Print ISBN 978-1-4971-0083-1
eISBN 978-1-6076-5769-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020931482

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Because working with wood and other materials inherently includes the risk of injury and damage, this book cannot guarantee that creating the projects in this book is safe for everyone. For this reason, this book is sold without warranties or guarantees of any kind, expressed or implied, and the publisher and the author disclaim any liability for any injuries, losses, or damages caused in any way by the content of this book or the readers use of the tools needed to complete the projects presented here. The publisher and the author urge all readers to thoroughly review each project and to understand the use of all tools before beginning any project.

Have you ever met someone you immediately liked? We met Desiree Hajny in 1991; she was just getting established as a carver when she came to Charlotte, NC, to teach a seminar for the Charlotte Woodcarvers Club. It did not take long to understand that Desi is a true artist and a professional woodcarver as well as a very special teacher. Desi specializes in carving wildlife, and we have watched her develop projects from simple animals to complex designs.

Desi is a happy, outgoing person in love with life, her family, and carving. Her positive attitude and instructional methods enhance the abilities of experienced carvers while allowing even beginner carvers to feel at ease and produce a good complete carving. Beyond carving skills, Desi has excellent woodburning techniques, which, along with her painting skills and in-depth understanding of wildlife anatomy, bring her carvings to life. She has the ability to add expressions to a carving that one cant describe with words.

We have deepened our friendship with Desi and her husband, Bernie, over the course of more than twenty years and have enjoyed hosting them in our home for seminars and carving shows. Desis carving seminars are popular and fill up quickly. People know that she has both true artistic skills and a passion for helping others to discover their own artistic talents.

This book will thoroughly show you many ways to create and improve your carving, burning, and painting techniques. Youll see just how detailed and thought out all of her illustrations are. Desis desire is for each person who picks up a carving knife to have a good experience along with success in carving, just as she has. She is simply that kind of person, sharing the love of art through her carvings.

Happy carving from a woodcarver and his wife!

Bill and Judy Dominick

Charlotte, NC

Bill is a charter and lifetime member of the Charlotte Woodcarvers Club.

Everything you do in life is cumulative. While teaching art to high school students, I heard these sage words of advice from the wife of a fellow teacher. How true they have been in my journey through the past forty-plus years. I would have never imagined that I would be carving wood since 1985 as a vocation.

In high school and college, many of my art instructors praised me for my efforts but always suggested that my level of talent wasnt up to par with many of my fellow art majors. Each time, the message stung, but it also served as motivation to improve. Upon graduating college, my first job was teaching high school students art. Many of the students werent interested and couldnt see any practical application for art. I noticed many of the boys had pliers and pocketknives on their belts. It was the late 1970s, and this was ranch country. To attempt to capture their interest, we did lead casting with scrap materials from the local automotive garage. We also picked up scraps of wood and end pieces from the lumberyard. I learned to carve wood right along with the kids.

A few years later, my husband, Bernie, and I had our first and only child, and I left my teaching career to stay at home more with our son. Wanting to help supplement his teaching income, we set the objective to have my art business earn $100 per month. At the time, I was doing T-shirt designs, greeting card designs, and even coaching junior high volleyball. There were months when that $100 goal wasnt met.

But I continued to carve, and one day I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for a carving show in nearby Omaha, NE. We attended, and my work was viewed favorably. I still remember selling three pieces at that show, one of a raccoon and two others that were Christmas ornaments, for a grand total of $106. We still wonder how we came to price those carvingsthe raccoon was sold for $92 dollars and the ornaments for $7 each. Im quite sure that the time we spent traveling, the show fee, and the other incidentals werent covered by what we earned at the show. But it did give me confidence.