Some great floral carving examples

[Johanna]

And the memories come flooding back...do you realize this thread is over three years old? Yep, Billy could tool. He tooled with regular hammer, "The Assassin", and the noise was deafening, the tools were mashed in and the results were spectacular. I met him the first time at the IFoLG show in Springfield Mo in 1995. He won a lot of the awards. LOL

Now he lives in England near his daughter and her family, and because of his health, he had to put down the hammer.

You can get Billy's video here.

[gtwister09]

Johanna,

He is certainly missed! Him and that assasin. He took a lot of ribbing for those mushroom shaped tools.

The date of the original emails was 10/2003.

Regards,

Ben

[Storm]

Storm,

I will include the email trail for this picture. The size was 14 X 9 inches. You will also get an idea of his flair and style in his writing also. Unfortunately we were photo size constrained in those days severely....so nothing bigger. Enjoy!

Regards,

Ben

First email....

Good evening All,

Well this really did take a while....apart from all the intricate details...I had a number of unrelated interruptions ! However here she is...the composition is made up of three different source pictures, the Sheridan 'scrolls come from some great material that was kindly sent to me from Ben Cox, the central rose laurel came from the cover of a calendar of 'old english' roses and the central lady is the well known classic by one of the old masters.

I thought by way of a change, Iwould go for a more neutral 'sepia' look rather than the original brighter, truer colours....the cental figure and the rose laurel are quite heavily embossed. I think the whole thing worked out ok. The whole piece is approx 14x9ins. Regards, 2-shews.

Second email....

G`mornin` All,

Well, well...I`ve just woken up, switched on and seen all your wonderful comments on Lady-Rose. Thankyou so much...wot a loverly way to start the day!

Dierdre...no, I very seldom use applique...prefer to keep it all one piece...but now you`ve got me going, I`m on my way to the Gallery and I will start undercutting the 'florals' should be finished by lunch and if it works ok, will take a new set of pics and send them this evening, [afternoon on your side]

Cathy...thanks for that, the whole piece from concept, composition through to completion took 6 plus 8...total of 14 hours.

I am thrilled to say that after all this developement I have finally found a producer [video/cd/dvd] and have started the making of 'The New Colour Transfer Technique' I really hope to have it done and released by early December....believe me this will be unlike any 'instructional video' ever produced...and will include all my other funny little techniques that have been born over the passed 25 years ! I personally guarantee that every leatherworker in the world [from total novice to serious seniors] who follow what will be shown in this video....will be achieving exactly the results that you have seen from me since I started sending pics....

Depending on the results and the length of this production, I`m hoping to keep the end price to somewhere between $50 to $80 plus postage. So all of those that 'chose to chance the rapids...and dare to dance the tide' will now have the means to actually do all of those impossible projects...with the absolute confidence that failure is no longer an option. Have a great Friday, regards 2-shews.

Third email.....

Hiya Guys `n Gals,

....after a relatively hassle free day under the African sky....sheeesh that sounds like the start of a Wilbur Smith novel... I`m sending the final shots of the work done today, showing the effectof the undercutting...using just a no. 11 scalpel blade and holder. It always adds a final dimension to any piece that lends itself to that sort of 'lifted' look. Works well on things like fur, fangs, feathers, foliage and folds in clothing... that takes care of all the ' f ' words, well almost!

In view of the outstanding response of this 'piece' I thought it would be appropriate to expand on the source of the composition....as I mentioned earlier the piece was made up from three different sources. I will send attachs. of the Lady and the Laurel of Roses....the background [sheridan carving] comes from material that I recently aquired from Ben Cox.

I think that the same composition done as it was [colour-wise] would have worked well....this result in sepia was certainly an interesting experiment and I think more gentle and neutral on the eye. I am thrilled at the response to my potential video and simply assure you that all your questions and more will be revealed. I would ask for your indulgence and patience....progress reports will be frequent and I hope to have the video available for early December. It will be well worth the wait. Thankyou All for your heartwarming comments so far, it certainly keeps the afterburners at full throttle....regards, 2-shews.

Wilbur Smith!?!?! God I thought I was the only one who read him! HA! This carving is beyond anything that I have ever seen. It makes me want to strive harder and to perfect the skills I have. Just the wreath of roses and the lady are one thing but the entire background thown in makes for stuff that legends are made of. Now I know I must work harder and hope that Imight obtain but a fractio of the skill that it took to create such a masteroiece of carving and color. This is fine art!!!

Thanx for sharing

[ClayB]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane Ben. Remember how many of these Billy did? Seems like there were times when he'd post 2 or 3 a week for a while, the finished piece and several in progress photos to show us how he did it. And he'd always answer a pile of questions after each one.

We really miss you Billy!!! I hope England is treating you well. If you get a chance, I'd really like a mailing address. I'd sure like to send you something back as a small token of my thanks for that beautiful picture I got from you (by way of Johanna)

Take care my friend, you are in my thoughts often.

Clay

[gtwister09]

Clay,

He was a whirlwind of activity, inspiration and creativity to say the least.

Regards,

Ben

[GAP]

Holy Mackerel!

That is some fantastic work! Just thinking...I had never been inspired by coloring leather until an article in leather crafters journal, that I think (Paul Burnett?) submitted. Seems like it was a long free flowing redhead with a moon phase in the background? I'm gonna have to dig it out and do some slobbering again. Seems like he had plugged the leather too? both of which is something I've never experimented with. Need to give it a go?

This site constantly amazes me, and I can get so lost in here! I'd best get my butt in gear, and go beat the tar out of some dead cow. Thanks for posting these pictures!

Gary Parrish