Wood carving is a delicate activity that requires creativity, patience, and, of course, “golden hands” from a person. Therefore in rural areas The craftsmen who make friends with wood are well-known personalities. We can say that they are “one-off specimens” in the general “palette” of the local population. Therefore, when the chairman of the village council, Leonid Karpovich, started talking about creative, extraordinary people, he immediately mentioned the name of Mikhail Malyshchik, who lives in neighboring Zavelevye.
Having visited the man, DV correspondents found out about his activities and were able to see his work with their own eyes. Mikhail Nikolaevich has a lot of them. Large bison and miniature bison, a cornice with majestic elk antlers, bears... All these exhibits are the work of the skillful hands of Mikhail Malyshchik. He works from home, being an employee of the Brest souvenir factory “Slavyanka”. Moreover, the master’s creations can be purchased in stores throughout the country or, for example, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, where many tourists come.
– Tell us what led you to become interested in wood carving? – I ask my interlocutor.
He thinks for a couple of moments. And then he modestly answers:
– I remember that as a child I really loved making different boats and crafts. I liked labor lessons at school. Therefore, I dreamed of connecting my life with wood carving.
After graduating from school, Mikhail, on the advice of his cousin, entered the Kobrin School. There he learned all the wisdom and secrets of his current profession.
After a while, the man does not regret his choice one bit.
– You know, there has never been such a thing that I was disappointed in the profession. Why? After all, this is both a hobby and a job for me! Agree, it’s great luck when work brings pleasure and peace of mind! – exclaims M.N. Malyshchik.
According to him, one of the fundamental qualities of a wood carver is patience.
– How much time do you spend on the “birth” of a new bison? – I’m interested in Mikhail Nikolaevich.
– A large animal will take four days, no less. By the way, my monthly norm established by the factory is 3 bison per month. Previously, I spent more time on one exhibit, but over the years, as you know, experience is gained. I've already got my hands on it! – Mikhail laughs.
The man searches for material for his future creations on his own.
– I work with a type of wood such as linden. Sometimes I take material from our Brashevichi forestry,” says M.N. Malyshchik.
When talking about Mikhail’s creative path, it is necessary to mention his closest people. M.N.’s family Malyshchika is big. His wife Natalya gave him three sons - Mark, Ilya, David and daughter Yana.
The children watch their father's activities with interest.
“They are already trying to help me.” They often sit and watch in fascination as I work with wood. So a worthy successor to his father is growing up! – M.N. smiles. Malyshchik.
We can only wish him family well-being and success in the field of creativity. Creativity that pleases the eye and brings pleasure to Mikhail himself!..
Alexey NAUMOVETS
Photo by Anna GOLETA
Wood carver
Wood carving is one of the most popular artistic crafts. Since ancient times, people have decorated
wood carvings of their homes, objects of labor and everyday life. And in the north, where people were surrounded by huge forests, where all buildings and almost all household items were made of wood, and in the south of our country, where there were few trees, in cities and villages - almost everywhere people were engaged in wood carving.
But here’s the problem - carved wood, even with very careful storage, sometimes gets destroyed. And for many such works it is simply impossible to create favorable conditions. A huge number of them were destroyed or damaged during periods of natural disasters and wars. Modern craftsmen - woodcarvers - can restore lost beauty to people. Another direction of their activity is performing decorative work for trade and Catering, Wedding palaces and clubs, theaters, concert halls, museums, etc.
These craftsmen work in art and design factories, at folk arts and crafts enterprises, and in organizations involved in the restoration of ancient buildings and things.
Most often, a woodcarver works at a workbench designed in the same way as a carpenter's workbench. Work is done standing or sitting. Various devices can be used to fix large products during processing. In some cases, carvers work directly at the site of restoration or installation of wood carvings.
Carving is done mainly using various chisels. Straight chisels are mainly used for clearing backgrounds in relief carvings, but may be needed in other cases. Chisels with a straight blade beveled at an angle of 60-70° at the end are called cutters and are used for shallow carving of geometric patterns. Semicircular chisels are divided into flat, medium and steep. The shape of a semicircular chisel is determined by the bending radius of the blade and the width of the blade in a straight line. For sloping chisels, the bending radius of the blade is approximately twice as large as its width, for medium chisels it is equal to the width of the blade, and for steep chisels it is half the width.
Another type of chisel is tsaraziki; in their shape they are very similar to narrow semicircular chisels, but in cross section, in addition to the sharp bend of the blade, they have like walls. Carrots are used to cut veins.
V-shaped chisels are used to cut lines and veins. The angle is formed by a sheet sharply bent along the length, each side of which is 5-15 mm.
Cranberries are any chisels with a very short blade and a long neck curved near the blade. They are used to make deep bas-relief carvings.
The quality and speed of the work depends on the correct selection of chisels. Some carvers who carefully assemble their tools have several hundred different chisels at their disposal.
Much in the work of a carver also depends on the selection of material. The tree is very diverse in its properties.
Let's get acquainted with the wood stored at the workshop. Let's pay attention to a thick stump of some light wood that has no noticeable texture. Let's run our fingernail along its surface. The wood is so soft that a fingernail mark was clearly visible on it. This is linden, perhaps the most commonly used tree by carvers. Linden wood cuts easily and cleanly. Works made from it are less susceptible to cracking and warping. Next to the linden tree is a huge butt of a yellowish-brown tree with a large, pronounced texture. Here we have oak - a hard, very durable tree that acquires a beautiful dark tone over time.
By chance we hit some trunk, which responded to us with a clear, distinct sound. So we found a maple tree. It has light, slightly yellowish-pink dense wood. When working with maple, the carver has to exert significant physical effort, but this material conveys the finest movements of the tool.
Next we saw wide planks of wood of a distinct reddish hue. This is mahogany (mahogany). It cuts well, but requires care, as if handled carelessly, some part of the image may break off. And here is another, slightly reddish tree. It turns out that alder wood has this appearance; It is very soft, cuts well, and warps a little. Alder can be polished and painted to imitate mahogany or ebony. Next to the alder is a block of brownish wood. This is a nut. For a carver, walnut is a fertile material: it cuts well in all directions, rarely chips, and conveys the finest carvings.
Now let's see how the cutter works. Here is a carver making a floral ornament. When starting to make a pattern with high relief, the master must choose a chisel whose curvature would correspond to the curvature of the part of the pattern from which he intends to start working. Having placed the chisel on the outside, tightly against the line, and holding it with such an inclination that it slopes towards the outside, he, pressing firmly with his hand or confidently hitting the handle with a mallet, “goes along the contour” and at the same time makes sure that the chisel does not crashed too deep into the tree. Once the outline is made, the carver takes a nearly flat, grooved chisel and carefully cuts away a layer of wood from the entire background. Usually he does not immediately cut the tree to the background level in one place, leaving other areas untouched, but passes several times over the entire surface.
The carver then turns to the relief of the ornament. He holds the chisel in right hand, and places the fingers of the left hand on its blade at a distance of 2-3 cm from the cutting end, pressing them while working on the surface of the chisel. For ordinary cuts, he simply pushes the blade forward; with curved cuts, in addition to translational movement, lateral movement is also performed. And bending is the third movement in direction. These three different movements are combined into one and applied simultaneously; This summed continuous movement produces a curved cut.
To ensure that each cut is distinct, the carver carefully removes the wood without leaving any nicks. To achieve this, he follows the direction of the grain of the wood in the place where he cuts; Is it longitudinal or transverse? When cutting along the grain or slightly obliquely, any wood is cut better, with less tendency to nick. The direction in which the wood is cut more smoothly is determined by the carver immediately, based on the results of several cuts. If it turns out that the tree is prone to getting rough, then the craftsman cuts it from the opposite side, using his left hand instead of the right, and if cutting in the opposite direction is inconvenient for him, he turns the product over on the workbench.
Until the overall modeling of the sheet is completed, the carver does not smooth the surface. Having completed the work, he begins to remove marks from the tool. He does this using a chisel, tilting it at an angle of 45°.
The work of a carver requires high precision movements. He needs to feel the resistance of the tree, the pressure of the tool and the direction of its movement. Well-formed motor skills and highly coordinated hand movements are the basis for moderate, artistic work.
Accurate differentiation of the spatial arrangement of thread elements, direction, width and length of the lines being processed at the moment, determination of the proportions and pattern of the parts being performed, high level spatial concepts, developed imaginative thinking and good aesthetic taste allow the carver to embody artistic ideas in the material.
The formation of the image of the future product is facilitated by preliminary sketches in clay or plasticine, sketches on paper. Many carvers are good at drawing and modeling. Success in these activities may be one of the prerequisites for choosing this profession.
When carving wood, it is necessary to constantly take into account the characteristics of the material and shape of the product. Therefore, the carver needs to be able to concentrate. A lot of labor goes into making wood carvings. Persistence and perseverance, emotional stability, the ability to devote oneself entirely to the carving process itself and to work calmly, without fuss, are also necessary for the future carver.
Another prerequisite is the ability to withstand the fairly significant physical stress that can be associated with a number of types of carving. Therefore, the choice of this profession should not be recommended for people with severe cardiovascular diseases.
You can get a specialty as a woodcarver at secondary vocational school No. 61. Mostly young men are accepted. A further school could be the Art School named after V.A. Serov, Higher Art and Industrial School named after V.I. Mukhina, Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I.E. Repina.
Artistic processing of wood products. Wood carving.
Professions.
teach how to draw up a technological map and use it to manufacture a product. Strengthen the technique of using a cutter.
develop spatial thinking when compiling a module.
develop a sense of taste and the ability to do work correctly and accurately.
Equipment: thread sample, technological map, compass, ruler, pencil, parts blank, working box with tools.
Technical means: video.
Form of training: individual, frontal.
^ PROGRESS OF THE LESSON
I. Organizational moment.
II. Theoretical part.
– What do you know about the artistic processing of wood products?
– Carving is one of the types of artistic wood processing. The carving technique requires the performer to have a lot of attention, spatial thinking, fluent use of the instrument and high artistic taste. There are many types of wood carvings. They can be divided into the following main groups: flat or recessed, flat-relief, relief, slotted or openwork, sculptural or volumetric, house (ship). When working with your module (part), I suggest using a through geometric thread, which is classified as a slotted thread.
^III. A situation of success.
Students are asked to remember what happens to wood when making any carving with a chisel.
Student. When making any carving, the wood is cut with a chisel rather than chipped.
Teacher. What are the safety rules when working with a cutter?
Student. Do not touch the edge of the cutter blade with your hands. When working, move the cutter slowly and confidently, holding it with your free hand. Perform the work with a well-sharpened tool.
Teacher. What should you use when doing work and why?
Student. For the correct and consistent production of parts and products using the right tool in each technological transition it is necessary to use a technological map.
Teacher. Why is the pattern on the routing sheet a geometric thread?
Student. Because this sample is based on a geometric figure - a circle.
^ IV. Problematic situation.
Teacher. We have to find out what shape and what size the model should be made. To solve the problem that has arisen, to complete the module, we have defined the first stage. What else do you need to know to complete the module?
^ Student. You need to mentally create a product, select a module and depict it on paper in the form of a sketch.
Teacher. What sizes can the parts be made in?
Student. The dimensions of the modules indicate the different cross-sections of the workpiece, and the number of elements and modules will depend on the choice of products.
^ V. Discovery of new knowledge.
Teacher. It is necessary to draw up a technological map of your module, observing the dimensions according to the sample.
Students make sketches of their modules and draw up a technological map for manufacturing the part, putting down dimensions and showing their creativity. The teacher checks the completion of the technological map and the dimensions of the parts.
A little from the history of the profession... Beautiful modern furniture and antique wooden looms, carved frames wooden houses and the wood decoration of modern living rooms, carved furniture by old masters and modern wooden boxes, artistic panels, etc. - all these are the creations of the hands of craftsmen, whom we call carpenters..
JOINTER is a multifaceted profession, including a wide variety of professional skills.
The production of wood products is one of the oldest. The first products appeared during the transition of man to a sedentary lifestyle and the development of agriculture. The equipment of the dwellings began with the manufacture of primitive chopped stools and tables.
The profession of a wood carver is interesting and fascinating. It requires God's spark and the talent of an artist, the ability to love and feel wood, to find beauty in an unsightly blank. All this helps to “revive” the wooden blank, makes it “speak” and “caress” it with the warmth of its design. Most engravers-artists and stock assemblers receive a second profession - a woodcarver, so that the gun they create is executed in unity of style and composition: in the handwriting of one master. Sometimes an engraver entrusts the carving to his favorite student.
^ PROCESSOR OF AMBER PRODUCTS
1. General characteristics of the profession
Amber is the fossilized resin of coniferous trees. Ambers are known to be black, bluish, greenish, and cherry in color. Experts count up to 350 of its shades. Sometimes there are various inclusions in amber, like flower petals, blades of grass, and insects preserved in it. This amber is amazingly beautiful.
Basically, the process of artistic processing of amber comes down to the following stages. First of all, a preliminary selection of raw materials is carried out based on color, degree of transparency, and ability to be polished, that is, the quality of amber is determined by external signs. Then the master opens the washed and dried amber with a special knife with a curved blade - removes the oxidized crust from it to see the true color of the amber hidden behind it, and lays it out for further use. Sometimes before the carving process, amber is thermally treated - calcined, that is, clarified in special cabinets at high temperatures or, if necessary, painted in different colors, obtaining amazingly beautiful colors. After this, depending on the creative task at hand, the appropriate equipment and tools are selected. Manually or on special stone-cutting machines, the master makes adjustments - calibration of the amber, bringing the workpiece as close as possible to the shape of the future product. It is important to process the amber with minimal losses. After preliminary calibration of the product, the master performs a secondary rejection - he looks for cracks, voids, chips in the workpiece, and determines the possibilities for further use of the resulting material. If necessary, the carving process can be multi-operational, but sometimes the master only needs to emphasize with a chisel a motif, an image already embedded in amber by nature itself.
An amber carver can perform complex sculptural, relief carving, cut complex-profiled parts, that is, perform all work related to the processing of colored stones. The only difference is that amber is a soft, fragile material, and this must be taken into account when working with it. Amber processing occurs manually and on machines using various devices and instrumentation. After carving, the master grinds and polishes the product using fine-grained abrasive paper, special skins, felt, felt, pastes and mastics.
2. Requirements for the individual characteristics of a specialist
Fine manual motor skills;
High concentration and stability of attention;
Visual-figurative thinking.
3. Medical contraindications
Various types of vision defects;
Diseases of the lungs and upper respiratory tract;
Neuroses and tremors can be an obstacle to successful work.
4. Professional training requirements
Anyone who wants to work with amber must master the skills of processing it, must know its physical and mechanical properties, and how to paint it in different colors. In addition, in schools that train processors of amber products, the basics of plastic craftsmanship are studied, and a lot of time is devoted to drawing and painting.
5. Paths to obtaining a profession
You can get this profession at an art and vocational school.
^VI. Practical work.
Students independently perform creative practical work, according to their technological maps, observing safety rules. The teacher provides ongoing instruction and checks the progress of their creative work.
^VII. Fixing the material.
Students repeat the sequence of work
Teacher. The practical and theoretical knowledge that you received in the lesson will help you complete the project better, and the part completed by you is the material for creative project.
VIII. Lesson summary.
Reflection, self-assessment, mutual assessment of students, discussion of mistakes.
Grading. The completed part is used as material for the students’ creative project.
wood carver
Decorative finishing public buildings(theaters, concert halls, museums, clubs, cafes and many others), household items, as well as restored works of ancient masters, all these are the results of labor carvers By tree.
Job carver requires developed imaginative thinking and good aesthetic taste. In addition, it requires well-developed motor skills and highly coordinated hand movements.
The formation of the image of the future product is facilitated by preliminary sketches in clay or plasticine, sketches on paper. Many carvers They are good at drawing and modeling. Working with wood sometimes requires a lot of physical stress. Persistence, perseverance, emotional balance, the ability to devote oneself entirely to the carving process itself and to work calmly, without fuss, these are the qualities that are necessary for the future to the carver.
More often cutter By tree works at a workbench, the work is done using various chisels.
Carving masters tree They work in art and design factories, at folk arts and crafts enterprises, and in organizations involved in the restoration of ancient buildings and things. In some cases carvers work directly at the site of restoration or installation of carvings tree.
You can get a specialty, for example, at the Art School named after. Kalinin in Moscow and at the Art School in Abramtsevo, Moscow region. You can continue your education, for example, at the Higher Art and Industrial School, the Art Institute named after. V.I. Surikova.
Related professions: wooden toy maker, wooden model maker.
Must know: The basic properties of different types of wood, methods of its harvesting, storage and processing, arts and crafts, rules for storing and handling tools, the basics of drawing, drawing, methods and techniques of all types of carving.
Professionally important qualities:
Qualification requirements: Vocational school (category range 3–6).
Medical contraindications:
Unified Tariff and Qualification Directory of Works and Professions of Workers (UTKS), 2019
Issue No. 61 ETKS
The issue was approved by Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated 03/05/2004 N 40
Wood and birch bark carver
§ 16. Wood and birch bark carver of the 2nd category
Characteristics of work. Manual carving of simple plot and ornamental designs on birch bark. Marking the main lines, drawing the contours of the picture and simple compositions.
Must know: techniques artistic carving on birch bark; techniques for drawing outlines of simple drawings; methods for determining the suitability of birch bark by quality and color; folk artistic traditions of crafts.
Work examples.
1. Burachki.
2. Boxes.
3. Bodies.
4. Caskets.
§ 17. Wood and birch bark carver of the 3rd category
Characteristics of work. Manual carving of birch bark of medium complexity of plot and ornamental designs and creation of ornamental compositions characteristic of folk traditions fishing. Contour and volumetric carving on wood by hand, simple designs, shallow cut lines with background processing. Chopping or filing and roughening the flower, cutting out the lead, arranging the pins. Repair flower.
Must know: techniques of artistic carving on birch bark drawings medium difficulty and simple drawings on wood; techniques of volumetric flat-relief carving; elements of ornaments; properties and types of wood and birch bark; rules for using the tool used.
Work examples.
1. “Squirrel with a nut”, “Woodpecker on a tree”, “Chickens pecking”, “Bird at the feeder” - artistic carving.
2. Spoons of different shapes - artistic carving.
3. Salt shakers made of birch bark - artistic carving.
4. Flowers: light rose, light blue, light yellow - artistic carving and primer.
§ 18. Wood and birch bark carver of the 4th category
Characteristics of work. Hand carving of complex plot and ornamental designs on birch bark with the introduction of elements of folk ornamental traditions. Wood carving by hand, in-depth notched, staple-notched, three-dimensional designs of medium complexity.
Must know: techniques of artistic carving on birch bark with complex patterns and medium complexity wood patterns; techniques for drawing the contours of complex designs on birch bark; methods for determining hidden defects of birch bark; types of wood for making flowers; flower carving methods depending on the purpose of the design.
Work examples.
1. Sculptural items such as “Flight to the Moon”, “Bear Dancer”.
2. Chickens, cuckoos, guinea fowl, owls.
3. Upper piano frames.
4. Birch bark tuesok.
5. Flowers of Turkish and Viennese designs without a set of picots, dark blue, dark yellow, light greens.
§ 19. Wood and birch bark carver of the 5th category
Characteristics of work. Manual carving of particularly complex plot and ornamental compositions on birch bark with the introduction of images of human figures, animals, birds and various architectural motifs. Wood carving is manually notched, flat-relief with an oval and with an optional background of complex patterns with their full elaboration in relief. Volumetric carving with tinted elements. Cutting out figures, obtaining a shield with a pattern copied on it; cutting off or sawing off a flower, inserting figures into old flowers or replacing them with new ones.
Must know: techniques of artistic carving on birch bark for particularly complex designs and complex designs on wood; the basics of constructing national ornaments; methods for making flat-relief and through threads; rules for constructing compositional solutions; basics of inlay; requirements for the quality of highly artistic wood products with various types of carvings.
Work examples.
1. First aid kits - openwork carving.
2. Sculptural products such as “Bear in a Wheelchair”, “Bear at the Telephone”, “Bear with a Barrel”, “Bear Bends an Arc” - artistic three-dimensional carving.
3. Brushes - Kudrin carving.
4. Doll furniture, pencil cases - relief carving.
5. Viennese flowers, dark Ukrainian flowers, Turkish flowers with a set of wire peaks - carving.
6. Boxes - geometric carving, tinting, polishing.
§ 20. Wood and birch bark carver of the 6th category
Characteristics of work. Wood carving by hand of particularly complex ornamental and thematic compositions, volumetric, flat-relief and through with a selected background with full sculptural, bas-relief elaboration with a highly in-depth background. Fine geometric carving, a combination of carving and inlay. Carving in the traditions of national carving. Seating of manners according to a sheet copied from the drawing.
Must know: techniques of artistic wood carving of particularly complex designs; basics of drawing and plastic anatomy; rules for constructing compositional solutions for sculpture; the basics of complex inlay - intarsia.
Work examples.
1. Sculptural items such as “General Toptygin”, “Skier with a dog”, “Carrier in a boat”, “Fisherman with a fishing rod”, “Russian Troika” - artistic three-dimensional carving.
2. Boxes and caskets - Old Russian carving.