Creative Woodworks & crafts 1999-04, страница 40

wmmm ImMM

DIANA DALE, WILD FOWL CARVER

by Dana Rich

Creative Woodworks & Crafts

sealed and then painted. For Diana, one method of painting isn't enough. First she airbrushes the entire carving to even out the tones in the wood and create a base color. Next she paints the details using brushes and acrylic paints.

And that's just the bird! Diana also carves all of her own bases. Over the years, she has mastered the look of stone, leaves, acorns, and fence posts to name a few. Her techniques include using thin copper for the leaves, modeling paste to create just the right texture on the stones, and using soldered brass rods for those hard-to-carve thin legs on the great blue heron.

Soaring into the sunset With her current collection selling almost completely out, and plenty of commissions for future carvings, Diana still manages to enjoy the other activities that make her happy. Diana notes, 'Tve just developed an interest in fly fishing, so I'm going to try some fish carvings in the future." To contact Diana Dale, write to: P.O. Box 133, Allamuchy, NJ 07820. i|

Learning to fly

Looking at her work, one would never guess that Diana Dale has only been carving since 1992. Her keen eye, attention to detail, and inventive style lead admirers to believe she has been following the carving scene all of her life. The truth is, Diana began attending carving shows only a short while before she, herself began carving. Diana remembers, wanted to see how it was done, so I took a few classes." It wasn't long before she had the confidence to branch out on her own.

Birds of a feather flock together Once she was hooked on carving, Diana joined the New Jersey Wild Fowl Carving Association, a group of local carvers who gather together for demonstrations, show and tell, and question/answer sessions. With the support of the club behind her, Diana began to develop a talent she never knew she had.

Keeping mainly wild fowl as her subjects, she tells us, "I've done a couple of other animals, but I like birds, they're my favorite." Her ideas come from a variety of sources including mounted birds and photos, but her main source of inspiration comes from nature itself. Her wood of choice is tupelo. Diana explains, "Basswood works well with hand tools such as knives or chisels, but I prefer using power tools. TUpelo has little grain, it lends itself to power carving."

A day in the life

Actually, Diana incorporates power carving, woodburning, hand carving, and painting into all of her pieces. The process is long, but effective. The first step for Diana is to cut out the shape on a band saw. She then roughs it out using a knife or sometimes a power tool. Next, she uses a detail grinding tool to shape the bird. The soft look of the feathers is created by first texturing, and then burning over the texture. The wood is

By carving the pelican in two se pa rat© parts, to create a look of real stone for the