Master carver, Ian Norbury, provides a detailed guide for all craftsmen to discover the art of creating facial expressions in woodcarving.

There's nothing like culling hand-carved magic from a beautiful piece of wood, thanks to Alec LaCasse's Carving Faces from Wood! This fully illustrated, A-to-Z guide synthesizes LaCasse's hard-earned tips, shortening the learning curve so you can start carving a face in wood in no time. Thanks to its beautiful layout, this book presents wood carving faces at every stage--from selecting your tools and outlining a basic shape to smoothing out the texture of a face's fine hair. You'll even see which types of wood work best for carved wood faces, including the advantages and disadvantages of each. Or master different face types to suit your preferences. It might otherwise take years to learn how to carve a face in wood. But thanks to LaCasse's step-by-step instructions and photographs, you'll soon be finishing the detail of every nose, ear, and beard like a lifelong expert.

A Revolution in Wood celebrates the magnificent gift of sixty-six pieces of turned and carved wood to the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum by the distinguished collectors Fleur and Charles Bresler. Illustrated in lavish detail, works by this country's best-known wood artists highlight the growing sophistication of American craft's youngest medium and the expressive capacity of its most organic material. Masterpieces by the field's pioneers, including David Ellsworth, William Hunter, Mark and Melvin Lindquist, Edward Moulthrop, and Rude Osolnik, demonstrate the extraordinary range of expression achievable on the lathe, the medium's foundational tool. Compelling recent works by Ron Fleming, Michelle Holzapfel, Hugh McKay, Norm Sartorius, Mark Sfirri, and many others reveal the advent of new techniques, including multi-axis turning, the incorporation of secondary materials, and a strong focus on carving. A wide-ranging essay by Renwick Curator Nicholas R. Bell examines contemporary wood art's historical roots and its rapid growth since the 1970s. Particular attention is given to the medium's development outside the studio craft movement and how that dynamic has shaped the current field. An interview with Fleur Bresler by former Renwick Curator-in-Charge Kenneth R. Trapp offers a window on the collector's passion and highlights her twenty-five-year dedication to wood and to the artists she considers family. The final section, “Wood Art at the Renwick Gallery,” illustrates in color over two hundred works by more than one hundred artists, making this premier public collection available in print for the first time. From James Prestini's original gift of twenty pieces before the Renwick's opening to experimental works by current artists, this guide to the Smithsonian's collection will serve as a reference for years to come.

Can traditional arts improve an older adult's quality of life? Are arts interventions more effective when they align with an elder's cultural identity? In The Expressive Lives of Elders, Jon Kay and contributors from a diverse range of public institutions argue that such mediations work best when they are culturally, socially, and personally relevant to the participants. From quilting and canning to weaving and woodworking, this book explores the role of traditional arts and folklore in the lives of older adults in the United States, highlighting the critical importance of ethnographic studies of creative aging for both understanding the expressive lives of elders and for designing effective arts therapies and programs. Each case study in this volume demonstrates how folklore and traditional practices help elders maintain their health and wellness, providing a road map for initiatives to improve the lives and well-being of America's aging population.

· Learn how to carve realistic faces in wood from America’s leading caricature carver, Harold Enlow · Provides expert woodcarving tips and techniques for carving a female face, a cowboy face, a Santa face, and more · Also includes expert instruction on how to achieve detailed eyes, lips, noses, hair, and ears · Offers step-by-step instructions with coordinating photography throughout for complete guidance