carving I did last year

[Mike]

Here is an carving I did last year when I decided to try to learn how to color. It was my second one based on the Silva Fox instructional DVD.

What do you think? I still have this one and the original that I did.

Here is my first attempt:

[ClayB]

Hey Mike,

You did a great job on that! I love that picture, and learned a lot from the video. Did you email a picture of your completed one to Silva? I bet she'd be proud of you.

Here's is my first attempt at that picture. I'd like to try it again someday too.

[Mike]

Not too shabby, Clay. What did you do with your picture? Mine are stored in a portfolio with a couple of other things I've done. I can't afford to frame it yet.

I think I emailed Silva with the results. I'm on a different PC now and would have to go boot the other one up to see.

BTW, after I did this last year, a thistle grew up in my yard. In over twenty years out here, it was the first, I took several pictures of it but it was pretty chewed up by grasshoppers and doesn't look near as nice as the one that Silva did. I keep waiting for another to grow up that I can try to protect from the bugs but no dice.

[ClayB]

Hi Mike,

The guy that used to own the ranch west of us worked in a saddle shop many years ago. When I started making saddles, he asked me to bring a couple of them down for him to look at. While I was there, he went into a different room and brought out a box of old stamping tools. They were from the shop he had worked in probably 50 years ago. He had the tools at home working on something when the shop burned down. When he took them back to the boss, the boss told him to keep them, he didn't plan on re-opening the shop. Well, he said he hadn't used these tools in a really long time and didn't think he ever would again, so he told me to take them. There were a dozen old Hackbarth tools in the box along with a few dozen early Craftools, and a few hand made tools. I tried to pay him for the tools but he wouldn't take any money. I dont think he had any idea what the tools might be worth, maybe it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I gave him the picture as a gift as a thank you for the gift he gave me. I still got the best end of the deal, but he seemed really happy with the picture.

The thistle story kind of neat. Weird, huh?

Clay

[Billsotx]

Hey Mike,

If you're serious, no thistles around Quinlan, remind me next spring and I'll get you some thistle pictures if you're talking old wild and wooly Texas thistles. Probably a Scottish thing (lol) but I got more than I want.

later,

Bill

[Mike]

Yeah, you did good. I wish I could trade work for tools or leather. I got stuff here I need to clear out but no one to sell or trade it to. If you look at my website, what I don't list as gone is probably sitting around here. Several years ago I had ulnar and carpal nerve surgeries and couldn't carve for awhile. I was tempted to give my stuff away. It's only been the last couple of years that I have tried carving again.

On the thistles, I'm pretty sure it was a Texas thistle. Normally I just get dandelions but this was larger and got real fluffy after the flowers had been there awhile. Real spiky/thorny. The ends of the leaves were sharp. Bugs love em. You can probably make some neat patterns from that and similar plants. Like Silva Fox did for the video pattern. If you got pix, I'll be glad to have some copies. I try to use photos or living plants when I make my patterns.