by Stephanie Staples | photos by Leah Gray –
I don’t know when the thought of sitting on the beach whittling a stick felt appealing to me, but when I found out that local woodcarver and 13-year veteran of the craft, Doug Philp (of DCCP Creations) was offering up lessons for absolute beginners, I was all in!
In his cozy carving shop amidst the wonderful smell of shaved wood, surrounded by some of his stunning creations in various stages of completeness, I was witness to a master sharing his craft and I was brought back to somewhere we all need to go from time to time – the beginner’s mindset.
The sign of a good teacher is making the complex seem simple and making your student believe that they can create what they think, at this moment, is impossible.
Lesson 1: Safety first. “I’m not teaching you this so you can hurt yourself,” Doug says seriously. He goes through the safety equipment, shows how and why the Kevlar gloves work, and points out a few scars from when he learnt a lesson the hard way. This is not the most fun part of the day, but it is perhaps the most important. As he shows, demonstrates and allows me to practise with each tool: knives, chisels, gouges, V-tools – each designed for a specific task – I can already see a trip to Lee Valley in my future!
We discuss wood grains and sharpening the tools and talk about the “six easy steps” of wood carving: deciding what you want to carve, making a drawing or plan, finding the right wood, roughing out the piece, modelling, detailing and finishing. I think the word “easy” is in the eye of the beholder as I imagine carving the equivalent of a stick man out of wood but nonetheless, Doug’s belief that I can do this seems stronger than my belief that I can’t.
I confess, holding that smooth basswood in my gloved hand and practising the half a dozen different types of cuts that will apparently allow me to carve both a spoon and a Tree Spirit felt amazing. I felt like I could have just carved all day without caring if I made a thing! Many senses were stimulated – sight, smell, touch, even a little sound – and a small bowl of chocolates would have really rounded out the occasion!
Lesson 2: Let the carving begin. I am both excited and nervous to be working on my first project. Doug has sketched the smiling Tree Spirit (as opposed to the serious one, at my request) into the wood and now it is time to execute the cuts that I learned last week. It requires my total focus and while I am expertly coached, I take each cut very seriously – it’s not like you can glue the wood back on! (Well actually, I found out you can – but let’s not!) The 90 minutes fly by and as I examined my block, it definitely looked like … something!
Before my final lesson, I found myself at the Nanaimo Museum. I was drawn to the carvings and totems like never before. I touched each piece and looked closely to imagine which tools the artist used to create the details. I had a whole new appreciation for the art that I would never have had if not for taking my lessons. I realized that even if I never carve another thing, this experience has already been worth it.
Lesson 3. Well, I don’t want to brag but at the conclusion this piece of wood actually looks like something – it even looks like a Tree Spirit! It may be a little asymmetrical, it may be a little imperfect, but it definitely doesn’t look like a block of wood anymore! Under Doug’s caring guidance, I did, as the carvers say, carve away everything that wasn’t the Tree Spirit. With a little bit of varnish and maybe a Santa hat, I would have my first home-carved holiday decoration!
While I’m quite certain you will not see any of my creations at the ArtSea Gallery, that does not diminish the pleasantness of this art for me. The pure joy of turning nothing into something, watching someone shine as they shared their passion, and the meditative focus that cleared my mind as each shaving of wood dropped to the floor, is success enough for me!
For more information or to inquire about lessons visit www.DCCPCreations.com.
