Learn the basics of hollow vessel carving to make fun, organically shaped forms and spoons using gouges, scrapers, rasps, and files.
We will be working with basswood, which is one of the softer hardwoods and is great for learning to carve using hand tools, especially if you don’t have access to woodworking machinery. With just a few hand tools, and your imagination, you can transform a block of wood into an interesting, colorful, and even useful object!
Topics Covered:
- How to lay out your design
- Safety when working with carving tools
- Understanding wood grain and how to work with it, not against it
- Types of scrapers and how to use them
- Using sandpaper efficiently (and thoroughly)
- Shaping wood with rasps and files
- Wood finishes – oil & wax, milk paint
- Overview of gouge and scraper sharpening
All skill levels welcome. No prerequisites. All you need is a computer and a good internet connection!
WOO is a non-profit safe space for training underrepresented genders in our field. As such, enrollment is limited to non-binary, trans, and woman-identifying people over the age of 18.
If you’d like to work along with us at home you can buy a kit for this class, by picking either a member or non-member registration titled CLASS WITH KIT MATERIALS.
You will need additional tools in order to complete your carving, all of which are readily available at your local stores/internet shops, and listed below.
**KITS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE UNTIL WEDNESDAY MARCH 17TH AND THEY WILL BE SENT OUT 14 DAYS BEFORE CLASS. PLEASE ALLOW 1-2 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY. And just because the postal system is a little wacky right now, we cannot guarantee that kits will arrive before class (but fingers crossed.)**
Materials included in the KIT:
- Basswood block, some are 2.5”x7”x9” & some are 2”x6”x13”
- Klingspor Sandpaper ½ sheets, one each of 80, 120, 180, 220, 320 grits
- Milk paint – about 2tbs. each of 2 colors
- 0000 Steel Wool Pad
Optional additional materials , to be purchased by students, can be found in the PDF below.
DIG IN supply list.pdf
No prerequisites, all skills level welcome. All you need to follow along at home is a KIT, the additional materials above, a computer, and a good internet connection!
Karen Ernst is a Professor in the Art Department at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, where she has been teaching all levels of Woodworking/Furniture Design since 2004. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and has over twenty years of woodworking and design experience.
The furniture and sculptural objects she creates have been exhibited across the US and are included in many private collections. She is currently the Vice President of the Board of Trustees of The Furniture Society.
See more images of their/her work below, or by visiting their/her website karenernstdesign.com or on their/her instagram @ernst.karen
