Root carving works are a way of artistic creation based on the spontaneous and distorted forms of roots. Carvers can carve simple roots into figures, animals, objects and other artistic images by means of conception, artistic processing and technological treatment. In my opinion, the art of root carving is the plastic art of discovering beauty and then exerting creative processing. Root carving is a combination of carving techniques and luck. That is to say, in the creation of root carving, the engraver will mainly use the natural form of the material to express the artistic image, and simple manual processing can only be regarded as an auxiliary measure. Therefore, root carving is also known as the art of roots.
In the production process of root carving works, in order to realize the author’s creative intention to reveal the natural beauty of the wood texture of the root artworks, it is often necessary to polish and polish.
Hand grinding
If wood carving is an art, what is grinding? Polishing a wood carving is a thankless practice. Sanding is more like physical work, less artistic and less revered than artistic creation. The vivid image and meticulous characterization of wood carvings have brought great challenges to the later polishing. Grinding is not an art, it is a technique, and it is the one with a high gold content.
First, you need to choose the right root material. Then, based on the shape of the root and your creative ideas, draw a draft of the piece you will create. After you have done these preliminary preparations, you can begin the formal carving. In the beginning, you can use a knife or Pneumatic engraving tool to remove impurities from the surface. Then, you can sand it with the right amount of sandpaper to make the roots look like they should. If necessary, you can make certain changes to the draft here.
Manual grinding of root carving is a traditional grinding method. I will briefly introduce the general steps of manual grinding of root carving.
1. You can choose from online stores such as Amazon to buy various sandpaper, files, scrapers, brushes, etc.
2. You should use a file or scraper to clean the rough part of the wood root carving surface to ensure that the surface is smooth. If there are some difficult to clean stains, you can also use a wire brush to remove these difficult to clean stains. Don’t worry!
3. You can choose sandpaper of different thickness and fix it on a flat surface. And then you can start to use your hand for preliminary grinding. My advice is to use thicker sandpaper at the beginning of the sanding process. In the grinding process, we should pay attention to keeping the grinding force uniform and in the same direction. This step can prevent damage to the work due to excessive polishing.
4. When you finish simple grinding with coarse sandpaper, you can replace it with finer sandpaper to finely polish the details of the root carving. In this process you can gradually replace the thickness of the sandpaper, you can use finer sandpaper until the desired smoothness is achieved. During the grinding process, you should also pay attention to keeping the force even and in the same direction.
5. After you finish polishing, you can use the appropriate oil or wax to touch up the work. This is a step you may often overlook. But I think oil and color can make the surface of your work more colorful and add luster.
It should be noted that the novice should remain patient and meticulous in the manual grinding process to avoid the uneven strength resulting in image deformation or damage. In addition, please pay attention to safety during operation to avoid accidental injury.
Mechanical electric grinding
Modern technology provides a more efficient work plan for complex wood carving. Every wood carving technician will collect a variety of grinding tools, large and small, thick and fine, electric and manual, which vary from person to person, and also provide more possibilities for artistic creation.
Electric sanding of root carvings is a more efficient method of sanding, and you can finish the sanding job quickly by using power tools. The following are the general steps of electric grinding of wood root carving:
1. You can buy high-quality and inexpensive electric hand-held grinders, grinding wheels of different sizes, brushes, etc., on websites such as Amazon.
2. As with hand sanding, you should first use a carving knife or file to clean the rough part and residue of the wood root carving surface to ensure that the surface is smooth. You can also use a wire brush to remove more difficult stains. Don’t hesitate to do this!
3. My suggestion is still that at the beginning of the grinding work, the engraver can give priority to using a coarse grinding wheel for grinding, and the grinding wheel is installed on the electric hand-held machine. You can then use power tools to do a preliminary grinding of the root carving to remove large bumps and burrs. It is worth noting that in this process you need to keep the hand-held machine perpendicular to the surface of the wood root carving and apply even force.
4. When the rough grinding is completed, it is the turn of the fine grinding stage! You can replace the thick grinding wheel with a finer grinding wheel to finely polish the details of the root carving. Similarly, you can gradually use finer grinding wheels depending on the needs of the piece until the desired smoothness is achieved. In this process, novices should take care to keep the machine perpendicular to the surface of the wood root carving and avoid excessive grinding.
5. As with hand sanding, you can use the appropriate oil or wax to oil the work, which can brighten the wood surface and add luster. According to the needs, some details are modified and decorated on the surface of the wood root carving, such as coloring and engraving.
Grinding is hard work. The sculptors suffered frequent injuries in the process. There will be a lot of wood chips during the carving process, and the slightest mistake can hurt the sculptor. However, polished carvings are not only more beautiful but also extend the life and artistic value of the object.