Back in the 1990s, my Dad was a serious carver. His specialty was little Santas called Tomtes. He had a couple of carving buddies and they traded patterns and carving books and they all made the same projects. My dad would make the blanks on his jig saw. There's still a huge hunk of bass wood (about three feet tall and 8-9 inches square) in the garage.One of the projects the buddies did back in 1993 was hunting dogs. A LOT of them. My dad gave me one of them, which has been on my shelf for years. After he passed, I found a whole box of unfinished dogs and one small finished one. I asked my mother why Dad never finished the dogs and she said he got bored with them. He prefered to carve people--characters. (Hmm...like I prefer to write about them!)
I brought the box home and asked Mr. Lorna (who has a steadier hand and is a painter in his own right), if he'd paint them for me. He was reluctant to do so. In fact, they sat on his desk for more than six months gathering dust.
So I decided to finish them myself. (Here are three in various states of completion, which my Dad did.)
Thank goodness for white paint. If I mess up, I can cover up and start again. So far, I've only finished one dog (because he was almost done anyway). But I've given two others noses and eyes, so at least they aren't blind with no sense of smell anymore.
(The little guy on the left still has his rough edges. Not sure I want to tackle actually carving him, but we'll see.)
(The above are two my Dad finished. They're my guide.)
I'm going to take on this project slowly because I don't want to mess them up.
I'm not sure what I'll do with them all when I'm done. I'm reluctant to give them away to family and friends because I'm not sure anyone would love them as much as I do.
First, I need to finish them. Then we'll see about (maybe) finding them new homes.
Have you ever taken on a project someone left unfinished?
I would love them! They are adorable!!
ReplyDeleteYour dad did beautiful work. They are precious.
ReplyDeleteI did finish up an old quilt that my neighbor started many, many years ago. I couldn't find matching fabric so the pieces I added complemented her original intent. She gave the quilt to her first great-grand child.
After my mother passed, the 5 of us girls were going through her things and came upon a large piece of leopard print polar fleece. Mom was going to make herself a vest to wear when she and dad went camping. She never got to it. My sister handed it to me and said I should use it to make my son a Halloween costume. Like you, after losing Mom, it was hard for me to look at pictures of her, and things that reminded me of her. (By the way, it does get easier.) I just missed her so much. But one day, I was in the mood to create, and I opened my fabric closet and pulled out the leopard print. I rummaged through some patterns, and found a blazer/jacket pattern that looked easy and fun. I found some lining a friend had given me that had also been banished to the closet. Before long I had a fall leopard print blazer, hat, and mittens, and all I had to buy were the buttons. Each time I wear it I think of my Mom and my friend. The memories and the jacket keep me warm. Thanks for the opportunity to share this story.
ReplyDeleteThose are so precious. I am glad you are finishing them.
ReplyDeleteI love them :-)
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