Official Carving Styles

[Bob Blea]

I wish there was a book out there that showed all the different styles and talked about the different elements of each.  I've never found one nor have I found much written about what defines a particular style. I've tried to collect bits and pieces about what defines the various styles but much beyond Sheridan and Northwest, I can't tell you much.  Most of what I know seems pretty subjective, and there really doesn't seem to be hard and fast rules.  As others have said, within each style there were individual traits of the person carving, so it comes down to how much of you goes into your carving style.