Customer Reviews

How to Carve Folk Figures and a Cigar-Store Indian (Dover Pictorial Archives)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would have to say that this book is a good tool for the beggining sculptor. The book is informative as well as easy to follow. Most of the questions and doubts that I had were answered as I read from project to project. The book is not too overwhelming but rather simple and to the point. The book starts with a good section on selecting and caring for tools. Then briskly moves on to the wood needed and follows through to the projects in the book. Overall, I was pleased with the information gained from this book.

Good buy! I carved one the hardest projects right off the bat and it came out great. One my first attempts too. Good price and shipping was fast.

** if you read nothing else, please read the last few lines of this review **

this book holds such promise : the beautiful cover photo of a ''cigar-store Indian'' and the title all seem to indicate that this will be the main thrust of this book ... but no, it is not. there is no such focus.

the book's contents are as follows :

- selecting and caring for your tools - 5pp ... selecting is of no use, sharpening information is good
- selecting the right wood - 1pp ... no helpful information here ... experiment with local materials !

these are the chapter / projects

- bust of an old man - 4pp
- grandpa w/cane - 4pp
- granny sweeping - 4pp
- bust of a young girl - 5pp
- little girl w/rag doll - 5pp
- barefoot boy w/pet frog - 5pp
- retirement fund (a bum begging) - 5pp
- concertina player - 4pp
- Indian bust - 5pp
- cigar store Indian - 5pp
- additional carvings by author (9 photos, 3 pages)


each of the above project has the following sections (one paragraph each) :

- tools used (not really very useful, consumes too much of each project)
- preliminary carving (shows drilled/band-sawed ''roughed out'' block of wood)
- detail carving (shows finished carving)

each section is composed of a photograph, and a paragraph of text stating the obvious. my hope was that there would be insights into the carving of a historically accurate cigar store Indian (based on the book's title and cover photo this still seems a rather obvious conclusion to draw). however, the bulk of the book is spent on projects no one today would want to do - these are hackneyed projects from the 50s, 60s and 70s which our friends and relatives would not be impressed with (nor are you likely to want to display any of them in your house). the only project missing is ''sad clown''

equally as sad, the steps between ''roughed out'' and ''finished'' are all encapsulated in a paragraph or two of text, which is not nearly as useful as a few more photos would have been. from time to time, during the writing of the book, the author apparently thought of something like ''how to fill-in cracks'' and included that as an additional paragraph within some randomly selected project, making it difficult to locate the information later (in the unlikely event one would want to do so). if it matters to you, the cover photos are color, while every other photo is B&W

this book seemed to have such promise, and yet any copy of a modern carving magazine has more information. no, i am not kidding - read any recent copy of ''woodcarving illustrated'' and you will be far, far ahead of this book in terms of instruction on roughing, carving directions (with tips/warnings), finishing paint, etc., all fully illustrated (in color, FWIW)

now you have the information that would have kept me from wasting money on this dated book - money that would have been better spent on any copy of a carving magazine from the local newsstand. mostly i am sad to have gotten my hopes up



** EDIT **

i should add that this review is in no way meant to be a harsh critique of Harold Enlow - he seems to be a talented person who can very likely teach carving. the quality and format of this book, however, are to blame - not to mention the horribly misleading combination of title and cover photo