wood carving. dead animal, fish, heart, skeleton key.

Dead Animal Wood Carving.
I kinda got into carving some skeletons...well i've done a few skulls over the years but i started doing the rib cages and then vertebrae and sticking on arms. I haven't finished any of those yet..so they aren't here yet..but this guy i did out of one branch/ piece of wood and was easier to finish. The  natural shape of the limb forced me to curl his limbs up and he really looks like the a dead animal. you often find animal corpses and skeletons in this position because of the muscle tightening at some point in decay. nice huh? 

This fish is some white pine i pulled out of the woods in PA a year ago. I forgot about it but when i found it it was ready to carve. some pine species are okay to carve and some are awful. All must be dried  or the sap will be overwhelming. He's got an interesting look because i  buffed him on a high rpm wheel. He is stained as well. 

I've carve a few little hearts like this. This wood is some of my favorite wood. it's got so much character and I found it on a good day in good times. As time goes by the wood becomes more and more magical. This is about the size of a quarter with a jump ring and a little hemp string for accent.  It's a red oak wood i think. 

Yet another skeleton key. it's hard to make these look good in photographs. They are so small in real life that they are bound to show flaws when blown up. This is similar to the one i wear around my neck. They get better and better after wearing them. they smooth and develop great patina.This one is some kind of mahogany or walnut.