The term “sculpture” refers to the art of forming objects out of a raw material. In order to create a statue out of wood the natural material has to be engraved and the superfluous wood has to be removed. The art of woodcarving is a very ancient technique through which the wood carver uses a piece of wood to give life to a total new object. Starting from the raw material – wood - and using the right the sculptor can create beautiful statues and reliefs.
Wood carving is a handicraft profession whose secrets have been passed on from generation to generation. Performing this profession means to create a new object out of a piece of wood. Woodcarving is likely to be one of the oldest professions, but still many woodcarvers are keeping this tradition alive while giving birth to artistic objects of great value. A lot of professionalism and experience, as well as, the use of the right tools make it possible for the artist to create a wide range of sacral and profane statues and figurines.
Woodcarving is a sophisticated art which requires a high level of understanding, a talent for handicrafts and some purpose-build tools. To start with, a suitable piece of wood - preferably maple or pine - must be procured. At this point, the actual work of the sculptor begins: once the right type of wood has been chosen, the carver starts to gradually engrave the wood with a scalpel until the final form of the object is achieved. The last step is the polishing of the sculpture: polishing paper is used to correct any little imperfection and to make the surface of the wooden figurine smooth. Nowadays part of the manufacturing process is being simplified by the use of modern machines. In those cases an expert uses a bronze template as a “pantograph” to carve rough figures that later have to be refined by manual work to elaborate all details. As a result each and every sculpture acquires an individual and unique touch.
The sculptures on the market are either “natural” or “painted”. In the former case the carved sculptures are not further treated and the grain remains clearly visible. In the second case the figurines are painted either with water colors or oil paint. In this case professional painters color the sculptures by hand, giving them an additional individual touch. Water colors do not totally cover the surface of the wood so that the grain remains partly visible, while oil paint completely covers the surface of the sculpture. The final step in the creation of woodcarvings is the treatment with oil or wax, which serve as a protecting layer.
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