Acanthus Leaves - Highland Woodworking

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Woodcarving
By
NUMBERS
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Pt.7 — Acanthus Leaves
and Flowers by Mike Davies
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ithout doubt, the acanthus leaf is
one of the most widely used
plant motifs in the decorative
arts. Its origins lie in the ancient Roman
and Greek empires and have been traced
back as far as the fifth century BC.
The Acanthus Mollis is a Mediterranean plant which is also known as ‘Bears
Breeches’ or ‘Brank Ursine’. It was stylized in different ways for Greek, Roman,
Byzantinian and Gothic arts but has
remained in constant use.
During the renaissance and the revival
of classical Roman and Greek decoration,
the acanthus leaf returned to its most
favoured form and its presence spread
wherever European tastes were adopted.
Design
It is good practice to collect pictures of
antique furniture and study how the leaf
designs have been used. The leaf can also
be found carved into stone to decorate
buildings in towns and cities, especially
those of the eighteenth century. Photographs of these decorations can prove to
be a valuable source of inspiration when
Photo.1: Acanthus leaf and flower
decoration
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developing designs of your own.
Photo.2 is a fine example of acanthus
decoration carved into wooden moulding. This moulding was salvaged from the
fire at Windor Castle in 1992 and was
used as a pattern by carvers during the
restoration work.
Project Preparation
This issue’s carving project (Photo.1 &
Fig.1) forms an introduction to the acanthus leaf and flower and will also encourage you to start thinking in three dimensions with your carving. Inspired by a
Victorian design, the pattern is not elaborate in detail, but provides scope for shaping in various ways. On completion it can
be applied to a panel if desired as an
embellishment.
I used Mahogany for this piece but any
good carving material can be used.
It is important that the profile of the
leaf formation is the same on both sides to
provide balance. However, the shaping
does not need to be exactly symmetrical.
Enlarge the drawing in Fig.1 to scale,
ensuring that each grid of the square measures 20mm x 20mm. You can make the
acanthus smaller or bigger than this if you
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Fig.2: Tool profiles used in this series
Fig.1: An acanthus design based on carvings from the Victorian era. Enlarge the
pattern so that the grid squares measure
20mm x 20mm
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Photo.2: An example of acanthus
decoration carved into a moulding
from Windsor Castle
Mark the pattern onto the timber with
the grain running from top to bottom. This
can be done by using carbon paper or
making a cardboard template. It is important to be as accurate as possible with the
drawing of the pattern onto the blank
(Photo.4).
Use a scrollsaw to cut out the shape,
taking care to cut on the waste side of the
marked line (Photo.5). Once again, work
as accurately as possible.
You need to firmly secure the blank to
Photo.3: Preparing the carving blank
wish, but the pattern at this size has been
deliberately designed to suit the tool profiles shown in Fig.2.
Prepare your carving blank, 155mm x
120mm x minimum 30mm thick (Photo.3). Ensure that one face of the timber is
planed perfectly flat, as this will be required for the rear of the carving.
Photo.4: Using a template to transfer
the pattern
Photo.5: Cutting out the outline of the
acanthus leaf using a scrollsaw
Photo.6: One way to mount the blank is
to glue it to a timber board after the
back has been scored and waxed
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Photo.7: With the #4 tool held in the
Pinch position, the flowers are set in
a work surface before you can begin to
carve. One method is to attach the work
with two screws through the rear of a
backboard. Always make sure that the
backboard is big enough so that you can
then fix the board to your work surface
(vice, bench, etc).
If you choose this approach then it is
essential to carefully position the screws
in a part of the carving that will remain
high. There are few things worse than
finding a buried screw with your razor
sharp carving tools.
Another problem with fixing the work
with screws, is that support is not provided for the entire carving. If your design
requires fine areas that are carved thin
and close to the backboard, you may find
that they can be easily broken during
carving.
An alternative method is to glue the
work to a backboard. Ensure that the back
of the carving blank is perfectly flat and
clean. Lightly score a chequered pattern
onto the back of the wood using your
skew chisel #1 or a marking knife. Then
rub a candle over the surface to apply a
thin coating of wax. Glue can then be
applied and the carving blank clamped to
the board until the glue is dry. This works
with any sort of woodworking glue including conventional PVA (Photo.6).
All elements of the carving blank are
now held firmly in place to allow you to
carve the project piece.
On completion, the carving can be
released using a thin pallet knife. Some
carvers opt for paper in the joint instead of
wax, although this may result in a weaker
joint and the back of the carving will
require more cleaning up. If you do use
paper, apply glue to both sides before
placing it between the carving blank and
the board.
Use the tapping technique with tool #5
to remove the surrounding timber from
the flowers. Continue to set the profile of
the flowers in more deeply as you progress, until the timber around the flowers
is reduced to a thickness of around
15mm.
Try to achieve a clean, flat surface
around the flowers using tool #11.
You can view my demonstration of the
Significant Six techniques by scanning
in the QR code, or
by typing “Record
Power Significant
Six Techniques with
Mike Davies” into
your internet search
engine.
With a pencil,
Significant Six
divide the blank
QR Code
down the middle
and add curved lines to the left and right
(Photo.8).
Carving the Pattern
Photo.8: Drawing more detail on the
blank
Photo.9: Using tool #6 to create a clean
straight line at the bottom of the valley
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Position the blank on your bench so
that the grain is pointing away from you.
Select tool profile #4 (Fig.1) and hold
the tool in the Pinch position. Set in the
profile of the two flowers in the middle of
the carving, making sure that the cuts are
at 90° to the surface of the wood (Photo.7).
Photo.10: Setting in the profile of one
flower. Note the shape of the centre
valley between the ridges
Photo.11: Roughing in the shape of the
leaves
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Photo.12: Removing the waste from around the scrolls
Photo.13: Marking
the flowing lines in
the leaves. Note
the various carved
shapes at this stage
Photo.14: Forming the valleys between
the leaves
These curves will later become high
ridges when carved.
With chisel #8, carefully carve between the curved lines below the flowers
to form a valley. You can see in Photo.9
how tool #6 is used to create a clean
Photo.15: Releasing the carving from
the backboard using a pallet knife
pressed into the joint
straight line at the bottom of this valley.
The finished result is shown in
Photo.10. Note how an inverted pyramid
shape has been created where the bottom
scroll meets the leaves.
In Photo.10, one flower is being
defined from the other by setting in the
entire profile of the flower and angling the
other towards it.
At this point you can start to rough in
the shape of the leaves, using various profiles from your tool kit (Photo.11). In the
same photograph you can see how the
flowers have taken on their rough shape.
Create a concave shape on the two
larger leaves leading down towards the
scroll. Try to keep the edges of the leaves
high, where they meet each other in the
centre of the design.
Think about each cut that you are
about to make and visualise how you
want the leaf to lie. You might find it useful to collect leaves from the garden for
reference and experiment with the shape
to ensure that your carving looks realistic.
If you are working to your own design,
I would recommend that you create a pattern first in clay or plasticine so that you
can be certain of the shape that you want.
Photo.16: Refining the back of the
acanthus carving
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You can use your wood carving tools to
cut away the clay or plasticine.
Form the scrolls by setting in each
shape with tool #4 and removing the
excess timber from around the cuts with
tools #4 and #12 (Photo.12).
In Photo.13 the overall shape has now
been formed or ‘roughed in’.
When you have the shape figured out
for the leaves and flowers, round over
each scroll with tool #4. Hold the tool in
the Fist position and practise the sliding
technique to create clean shapes for the
head of each scroll. Remember to finish
each cut by ensuring that you have removed all of the waste material.
Otherwise your work begins to look
very untidy if you leave splinters of timber
attached.
In Photo.13, note how a series of lines
has been created, flowing together without any awkward ‘elbows’.
You may often hear or read the term
‘clean’ or ‘flowing’ lines. This indicates
that the lines of the carving flow well
together.
These lines will form high ridges, so
take the time to ensure that they flow gently towards the centre line of the leaf and
ultimately towards the scrolls.
In Photo.13 you can also see how the
petals of the flower have been marked in
pencil and then set in using tool #4.
Begin by taking small slices towards
the set-in lines of the petal, to help define
each component. Carve each one as if it is
slightly overlapping the next.
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Notice in Photo.14 how tools #2, #3 &
#4 have been used to carve in between
the pencil lines on the acanthus leaves to
form a series of concave valleys. The pencil lines have become ridge lines.
Take time to ensure that the ridge lines
flow in the same way as the pencil lines
do. The sliding technique will be particularly useful as you will inevitably encounter awkward grain during the cut.
Note also how each flower petal has
been developed. Once you have formed
the first series of valleys and ridge lines on
the acanthus leaves, you can pencil in a
second set of lines.
Carve between the second series of
lines with tools #2 and #10. This process
will create another set of flowing ridge
lines to give additional depth, interest and
a sense of movement to the leaves.
Use tool #1 to divide the valley just
below the flowers and in between the
leaves once again. The idea is to form
small triangular shaped sections, that create the impression of stems being
attached to the flowers.
When you are happy with the final finish of your work, use a fine bladed pallet
knife to gently separate the work from the
board. Take care to release the edges of
the work around the entire perimeter,
before you push deeper into the centre
(Photo.15).
Carving the Back
To give the work a more delicate
appearance, you can refine the back of
the carving.
Turn the work over and place the carving on a soft item such as a work cushion
or cloth. Using the various tools from
your kit, remove the timber from the
underside of the leaves at a slight angle,
so that when you look at the carving
straight on, the thickness is hidden
(Photo.16).
Be extremely careful to ensure that
your fingers are well out of the way when
doing this work.
Always carve away from your fingers
and body and only try to remove small
slices with each cut, to ensure that the
blade is being used with controlled pressure.
You can assemble your own starter set
of chisels for this series of projects or your
can purchase the Record Power Carving
Tool & DVD Set specifically designed to
accompany this series of articles.
The Record Power 12 piece Carving
Tool Set with bonus Woodcarving Foundation Skills DVD and booklet (RRP
$132.00) is available from The Australian
Woodworker Mail Order Bookshop,
(pp.82-90, Ph: 02
4759 2844), or from
Record
Power
stockists.
Use the QR Code
provided to access
information on the
Carving Set and
Education on your
smartphone.
w QR Code Carving
Promo on YouTube