Woodcarvings by Jonathan Bastian

The steps, tools and painting I use vary. Each piece is carved by hand a band saw is almost always used to rough out the shapes of the carvings. Many of the pieces made are produced in an old world cottage industry style, simply put some are made in a limited numbers but production style. I make a pattern out of thin wood and cut out multiples of the same object. Often times since I buy almost exclusively 4" thick basswood (linden tree) the cutting out process allows me to slice the block into sections sometimes creating 2-4 blanks.