New wooden owls

Here are my latest hand carved wooden owls.   I made them from reclaimed wood using various carving tools and painted them with acrylics. They are finished in a thin coat of wood wax (not shown) Tomorrow I will take these up to Edison, WA.

My latest wood carved owls. 

This owl had a sideways view

This is the largest of the bunch. 

This one has eyes like a barn owl. The design of the owl is inspired by European, Northwest Native American,  and Oaxaca design motifs. 

These wooden owls look afraid of the sander....

I paint acrylic in light washes so that it stains the surface of the wood, then I go back over them in thicker paint to add details.

Here are the owls while being carved.  I draw what I want to do in charcoal.  I use hatchets and chisels to shape the pieces.  Recently I switched t a rubber mallet, because the wooden one tears up the handles of the chisels.  I'm self taught at woodcarving so sometimes I learn through trial and error.  

Owl in progress with flannel and clog selfie.  Some of the chisels once belonged to my great grandfather Frank Swanberg SR., a Tacoma carpenter.

Pieces of wood ready for carving into whittle owls

Various pieces of wood that I have collected for carving.  The ones on the left are "whittle" owls

Here I have placed them outside , before applying the beeswax wood oil coating.  It will darken the surface of the wood and protect it from splitting.  The smaller carved owl on the left is decorated using a torch burning process.

Owlware

                                Owlware

  In addition to making sculptures I enjoy making pots on a wheel.  Lately I have made a series of cups, bowls, and vases with owls depicted on them in underglaze.  The pots are made from clay bodies that fire at cone 6 and cone 10.   At Alki Beach where I teach classes, we use clay and glazes that fire at cone 6, because we only have an electric kiln.  I make pots from a porcelain body called ckk6, another yellow stoneware called Vashon White, a Vashon Brown, and a Kalama Red.  Some are also hybrids from various bodies mixed together.   At Kirkland Arts Center we use cone 10 bodies.  These are generally more hard, and have more color due to reduction firing and heavy iron in the clay.  We use Laguna B Mix as a white stoneware.  In some ways it takes on a porcelain consistency.  I also occasionally throw Columbia White, Dakota Red,  and Rod's Bod--  a gritty iron heavy clay.

Cone 6 porcelain teacup

cone 6 porcelain, bronze glaze, underglazes, clear gloss glaze

Cone 10 stoneware, Bryan's Matte white glaze with black stain on eyes and talons

              
Some owl ware is carved.  I like to add texture and carving is a way to add detail. I carve the pieces when they are leather -hard.  I like to use repetition to create pattern. Numbers play a role.  Sometimes I like to count as I carve, other times I'll look for mathematical meaning within the work, as crazy as it sounds.

Owl Vase 6" tall x 6 1/4" diameter

Coffee Cups

Porcelain with black glaze, under glazes, and a clear gloss glaze

Earthenware extruded owl with majolica glaze and stains

coil built owls L to R:  eartheware with majolica and stains,   earthenware with clear gloss glaze,  Mid-range stoneware with various glazes

Owl Jar Coil Built with glazes and stains

This owl's head fits well as a lid to the jar.

Stoneware Owl Vases
7" tall X 6-8" Dia.

8 1/2" tall x 6 " dia

more coffee cups

textured brown cups

Brown Owl Vases

Pinch pot owls with stain and underglaze applications