Real-Life Communication
Carvers need to work with their hands, but they need to be good
communicators as well.
"Good communication skills are going to help
with selling," says Eric Bunn. He works with a woodcarving school. "Good carvers
usually go on to take students. If they're good at what they're
doing, then they can very often end up teaching."
It's important
to be able to communicate and demonstrate your skills.
You're
teaching an intermediate soapstone carving course. You choose this stone because
it's soft and can be worked on with traditional tools such as a chisel
and mallet. You've decided that one of the first projects will be for
the students to carve one of three birds: a cardinal, a mountain quail or
a common merganser.
The students will be able to portray these birds
in any fashion they choose. For example, the birds could be in flight, nesting
or hunting for food. The carvings must be accurate depictions, however.
In
preparation for the class, you bring in photos of the birds, but also do research
on the animals so you'll be able to assist the students. This is what
you find:
Cardinal:
The cardinal is 7.5 to nine inches
long. The male is a bright red, with a crest, black face and throat and a
conical red bill. The female is olive-colored, with some red on its crest,
wings and tail. They nest in loosely built nests in bushes and thickets. These
birds are ground feeders, eating in thickets and gardens and often visiting
bird feeders.
Mountain Quail:
This large quail is 10.5
to 11.5 inches long. It has a gray head, neck and breast. The chestnut throat
patch is outlined with cream color around the forehead and along the side
of the head. The back is brown, with white diagonal flecks. Both male and
female quails have a black comma-like head plume. They nest hidden among rocks,
logs and in shrubs, and live in dry mountains and brushy wooded areas.
Common
Merganser:
This duck is about the size of a mallard duck. It is
generally 22 to 27 inches in length. The breeding male has a black and white
body and wings with a shiny green-black head. The female is gray. These birds
live in mountain and sub-arctic lakes and rivers. They nest in tree holes,
but have also been seen in rock openings, roots, on cliff faces and along
coastal streams. This diving duck captures its prey, such as fish and insects,
underwater.
These are some questions your students ask you before beginning
to carve:
- Alison wants to carve a merganser nesting in a tree hole. Would this sculpture
be accurate?
- Jamie wants to carve a male and female mountain quail. He believes that
he should not give the female a head plume. Is he correct?
- Marie wants to carve a cardinal resting on a bird feeder. Would this depiction
be accurate?
How do you answer the students?