Another 90 minutes down below and tonight I concentrated on one of the toughest parts to carve...from a brute strength perspective...the chest.
This is one of the toughest areas due to limited access...it's surrounded by legs and chin...not to mention all the conflicting grain directions and tough end grain.
This is a fairly challenging area, not only due to the points mentioned above, but also because of the amount of the material that needs to be shaped. The shoulders come into play here, as well as the lower protruding chest muscles and the blending of the front legs...not to mention the neck. That's a lot to think about when you hit that big gouge with a mallet. One false move and you could take a chunk off the chin...or worse. A slow and steady hand is key here. There's no rush. It's worth doing right as it's a highly visible area.
So far, it's coming together nicely...hence the slow progress in a 90 minute period. I also smoothed the neck with spokeshaves and started blending the neck into the throat to expose the gullet? a bit more.
I think my plan of attack from hereon in will be to finish shaping this front area and work my way towards the back, blending the neck into the back, rounding the swell of the belly and finally the "derriere" and rear legs.
I'm not too worried about the deadline yet...as long as my leather parts, horse hair and metal parts arrive from England in time. I couldn't order them from the shop in Cambridge, ON as Gord was out of stock and wasn't expecting another shipment until at least mid January. That would've cut things a little too close. So I went straight to the source.
Just in case I forget, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best to you and yours in the coming year. May you all be blessed with health and happiness...and an unexplainable urge to carve rocking horses!!!!
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