Genius Hour 1.1

      

 Week one of whittling has been an adventure. I spent last week's Genius Hour researching whittling techniques, reading forums, watching videos, and pinning ideas. I found out there is a very specific wood type needed for best whittling results, so I set off on a mission to find it. After going to the lumber store, Walmart, and looking further online, I finally came to the conclusion that Amazon would be my best bet. I ordered basswood blocks, as well as some carving tools. When they arrived on Tuesday, I realized I had no idea where to start.
        I spent fifteen minutes on Pinterest and Google trying to find something to go off of or to spark my imagination. I grew increasingly frustrated as everything was appearing to be too difficult for a beginner like myself. Finally, as I was just about ready to give up, I saw a small gnome that someone had carved, and decided upon that as my first whittling project. Holding the knife and the block of wood, I again hit a wall. Where do I begin? Should I draw an outline or just go for it? Why on earth did I choose whittling out of everything else?
        I decided to sketch a simple outline of the gnome's body and just jump in. The basswood cut like a charm and the knife was sharp as can be, but I was hesitant to make the slices out of fear that I would a.) cut too much wood b.) cut the wrong areas c.) cut my fingers off. However, slowly but surely, I gained confidence with my knife strokes and my gnome began to take shape. I free handed my gnome, not even looking at the original picture I got my inspiration from, so it really was a learning curve having my first project be totally my own. My hands were cramping, my knife slipped multiple times, coming very close to slicing me, and my gnome was looking more like a shank than a gnome, but I continued on.
        Even in just my first experiences with whittling, I've learned many new things. Patience, perseverance, how to sharpen knives, and how much time flies while you're focused on carving a gnome beard from a tiny block of wood. (You don't realize you've been sitting in one position for three hours very intently shaving at a gnome until your mom points it out). There is still some work to do on my gnome, and a very long way to go until I will consider myself a successful whittler, but I am content with my first week and look forward to accomplishing so much more.

 The knives and tools that I am using to whittle so far

 The original block of basswood I carved out of.

 The basic outline sketch of my gnome.

The basic carving of my gnome. He still has quite a bit of work to be done.