Wood carving – what is it, history of occurrence, features of different types of this art

From ancient times, a person uses a tree in everyday life. Courts were built from it, they built houses and temples, made furniture, dishes and toys. Artistic wood carving was distinguished by special warmth and comfort. The work of masters in this area is now fascinated by beauty.

What is wood carving?

The decorative and applied art of wood processing, in which an aesthetic object is created, is called wood carvings. The most common type is an artistic wood thread in which the pattern is performed using an ax, chisel, knife or other tools. In this way, in the old days they made household items, furniture, dishes. Wood products are now found in everyday life. From wood can be found both whole houses and toys.

Wood carving history

The use of wood is mentioned since primitive times in different nationalities in almost all ends of the Earth. The origins of wood threads originate from the moment of using the techniques for processing this material and the emergence of wooden architecture. The first find made of wood is the idol discovered in the territory of the present Yekaterinburg. The estimated date of its creation is attributed to the VIII century BC. It was established that the torso of the idol covers the geometric thread on the tree, and it symbolizes the connection between the underground and heavenly worlds.

As human society develops, the use of wood in the rites has lost its meaning, new techniques for working with a tree appeared, and tools were improved. People began to use a tree to decorate household items. Since the 16th century, manual wood carving has become universal fishing, the first workshops appear. Skillful masters adorn temples, royal palaces, the houses of rich people with skillful original carvings.

Our ancestors were very closely connected with nature and considered the tree a conductor between the sun and people, and wooden products were a symbol of health, prosperity and longevity. They also knew the valuable qualities of a tree, such as water resistance, thermal insulation, the variety of textures and wood drawings, the convenience of processing and blanks. The tree was used in all areas of life: in the construction of defensive fortifications and houses, in the manufacture of dishes and tools.

Types of wood carving

Modern woodworking techniques do not have a clear classification. In one product, several types of wooden threads can be combined. Art processing of a tree can conditionally be divided into the following types:

1. Plant -free threadWhere the background is a flat surface, and the pattern is created from the recesses of various shapes.
2. Plant -relief threadWhere the pattern is created using the background sample.
3. Relief threadwhere there are no flat surfaces, there is a deep drawing of the background and a detailed sample of elements.
4. Slezing threadcharacterized by the absence of the background. The pattern turns out to be openwork, lace.
5. Sculptural threadDistinguished by a voluminous image. In this technique, toys, figures of people and animals, wooden columns in architecture and so on are made in this technique.

Plant -free wood carving

In this type of wood processing, the background is a flat surface of the product, and the pattern is created due to the recesses of various shapes. Decorative woodcarving in a flat -minded technique, depending on the nature of the recesses, can be contour and geometric:

1. Contour thread In wood or plant, similar to metal engraving, but is performed by other tools, and the lines are wider and deeper. This technique is simple and can be made on a faner.
2. Geometric thread It has this name thanks to the ornament that is depicted using this technique. These are mainly geometric elements: rhombuses, triangles, circles.

Flowering

This technique of decorative processing of wood is one of the common. Manual wood processing in this case consists in the background sample around the pattern, and as a result, the pattern is uniform in depth for the entire composition. This technique depict animals, people, plant ornaments. It is used in applied creativity and in architecture.

Wood relief thread

Expressive and picturesque technique. It is distinguished by an abundance of lighteners and the three -dimensionality of the image, the details of the elements are worked out to the sculptural. Depending on the embroidery of the exaltation of the pattern above the background, there are:

1. Bas -relief threadWhen the pattern rises to half of the thickness of the entire composition.
2. Gorgery threadWhen the pattern appears more than half.

As a plot for embossed threads, geometric shapes, images of plants and animals, symbols can be used. The expressiveness of the product depends on the material of the wood. For this technique, beech, birch and oak are most suitable. Openwork woodcarving (or differently, slotting thread) in combination with contour, geometric and embossed techniques gives extraordinary airiness and tenderness to the product.

Wood

In this type, woodworking from the canvas is completely removed by a file or chisel. In another way, this species is called as a through woodcarving. It is mainly used in the furniture sphere. Large -scale products are used in the decoration of the facades of buildings: in the decor of balconies, platbands, cornices and named as “house carving”. For slotting equipment, the wood, alder, birch, or aspen, usually 1-2 mm thick are used. Nowadays, this thread technique is used to decorate arbors and country houses.

Sculptural wood thread

This technique of manufacturing products differs from all the workpieces listed by processing from all or more sides. Various tools can be used, but the main knives are knives and chisels. This type of wood thread in architecture is used (when creating columns, bald pillars, carved pillars of balconies), in the manufacture of legs of expensive furniture. It is very beautiful and realistic in this technique – the sculptural thread on the tree turns out figures of animals and people.

Work workplace for wood

The creation of wood products is a time -consuming, painstaking, garbage and noisy process that requires sufficient place to accommodate blanks, tools and ready -made paintings. Here are the basic requirements for the place of work of the woodcar:

1. Room. To work with a tree, it is advisable to equip a separate dry, bright room.
2. Lighting. The place for work should be moderately lit. The light source should be on the left and in front. Sunlight is excluded.
3. Desktop. To work with small details (souvenirs, spoons, small sculptures) you can use a simple table. To work with large details, for example, in the technique of house carving, a vehicle table is needed.
4. Tools And the devices should be as close as possible from the workplace and at the same time not interfere with the work. It is advisable to fix the chisels and other tools in special holdings. For turning work, a woodcarving machine will be required. With a slotted technique, an electrician and a sawing machine will also be needed.

Wood carving tools

Devices for artistic woodworking can conditionally be divided into the following categories: basic (knives, chisels), additional (axes, shirts, saws), auxiliary (power tool, spray gun). The modern market is a wide range of carving tools. You can purchase them separately as necessary, or you can buy a set for wood threads, where the necessary tools are professionally selected.

Let us dwell on the main types of tools in more detail. For wood carving, knives of various purposes and structures are distinguished:

1. A cut knife is the main tool of any cutter. The length of the handle and blades can vary, but the main angle of the cutting part should be 35º.
2. A kosyak knife is used in the technique of slit and flat-relief threads.
3. For a sculptural thread, Bogorodsky knife is used.

To create various samples, chisels are used, among which common:

1. Semicircular. The main type of chisels used for any woodwork.
2. Direct. Used for auxiliary work.
3. Klycarza. They have two bends of 120º. It is necessary when harvesting round bends and deep hollows of the relief.
4. Corner or flights. Designed for contour cutting and creating a V-shaped groove.
5. Oblique. With their help, create longitudinal grooves and carry out initial work with the workpiece. The blade of these chisels is brazen at an angle of 45º.

Wood carving – products

For many centuries, people and trees are inextricably linked. Wooden products carry warmth, comfort and harmony. Currently, art or figure carving for wood is popular. Among the striking examples of products can be distinguished:

1. Original decoration of kitchen boards.



2. Massive and at the same time the original bench.



3. Picture with the image of a historical moment.



4. The box, completely decorated with wood carving.



5. Original souvenir for lovers of military equipment.



6. Decoration of the railing for the stairs to the second floor.