Welcome!

My obsession with power-carving began in March ’22 as a pandemic hobby, and it opened up a new world for me. A world of fascinating people, tools, techniques, and new ways of looking at nature and the “essence” of things. After 35 years (and still counting) in the working world, I can barely contain my enthusiasm for this newfound outlet! Please join me as I share my progress and love for carving.

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  • Adding AI to my creative process

    When I first took up carving, I had trouble finding patterns or references I could use to get the shapes and proportions of various animals right. It was hard to find multiple pictures of the same animal in the same pose from different angles, and it was also hard to discern the 3D shape from a 2D picture if the shadows were harsh or the resolution was low. One video solved these problems for me, and then some: Catskills Carver – A video about my process – Part 1.

    The first problem solved by the video was getting reference pictures, and he did it with Gemini AI and some very detailed prompts. The second problem solved was one I didn’t even know I had, which is how to optimize a log and create the perfect “billet” each time.

    My first application of Catskill Carvers’ methods was for a woodchuck project. Woodchucks are formless when compared to bears or cardinals, and making a woodchuck that does not look like a beaver can be a challenge. After many iterations of Gemini prompts, I was able to generate a triptych image that was “faceted” to better show the 3D form. I also followed his advice for plotting the form onto a grid so as to optimize the log, though my method used Photoshop and was not as precise as his. This is what I came up with:

    My next challenge was a totem pole. I’ve always wanted to create one, but I wasn’t sure how, and I didn’t want it to stray into “cultural appropriation” territory. I figured I could avoid that by making it cartoonish and cute, but it still needed to look like a totem pole. I wasn’t sure how to pull that off, so it was back to Gemini. Here’s the actual prompt I used, based on lessons learned from Catskills Carver:

    Unlike the woodchuck project, I was happy with the first picture generated by the prompt above. Here are the resulting images, and the finished product:

    I was pretty satisfied with the carving except for one crucial mistake: My cardinal was too “upright” compared to the reference picture, and this made it difficult to place the bunny on its back. Still, it worked out for the most part, just a little goofier and less stable looking. This pole is roughly 3 feet tall, and my ultimate goal is to create a five-footer. Often, I’ll start small like this, and I learned some valuable lessons with this one. I should add a 5th animal for a larger pole, maybe a woodchuck or beaver?