DIY Network

Carved Mare-and-Colt Chaise, Part 1 From "Woodsculpting" episode DWDS-103

	Livingston, Montana-based woodsculptor Amber Jean.
	Amber Jean worked with collaboratively with another regional artist, incorporating her relief sculpture into a chaise lounge.

In this episode of DIY's Woodsculpting Workshop, we meet Montana-based woodsculptor Amber Jean and gain some insights into her creative process as she creates a relief carving depicting a mare and colt. The finished piece is incorporated into a chaise-lounge design and entered in a prestigious art and design show.

Materials used in this episode:

Chisels
Hand-held router
Pneumatic tools and attachments (grinders, etc.)
Air compressor
Sharpening stone
Drawing paper
Carbon paper
Pens
Dust mask
Goggles or protective glasses
Gloves

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	Amber Jean's hillside home in the mountains of Montana.

Amber Jean

Many artists find a vital connection with their surrounding region or landscape and draw upon it for inspiration. For woodsculptor Amber Jean, that connection is with the mountains and valleys of Montana. Amber Jean grew up in the Bozeman, Montana and the beautiful Montana valley, studied fine arts for a year in Europe, returned to attend Montana State University, and graduated in 1994 with a BFA and an Honors Degree of Distinction.

After graduating, Amber worked as a wilderness ranger and lived, for a time, in a mountain-top cabin with no road-access, electricity or water. That contemplative and outdoor lifestyle seemed to have served this artist well as she created her distinctive sculpture pieces, ultimately gaining national notoriety with her award-winning works.

Each of her large-scale works are one-of-a-kind pieces. Though she states emphatically that it was never a deliberate intent, her wood sculptures have a distinctively western feel, depicting both the land and spirit of the region. Today Amber continues to draw vitality and inspiration from wilderness, wildlife and open spaces -- living in a remote cabin near the top of a mountain in Paradise Valley. She has studio and gallery in Livingston, Montana, and her carved pieces have been featured in the Simon and Schuster book Cabin Fever, Chase Reynolds Ewald's Cowboy Chic and several national magazine publications.

Mare and Colt Carving

This episode focuses on Amber's work preparing a carved piece that would ultimately be combined with another artisan's work to fashion a chaise lounge -- a functional piece of furniture that is also a collaborative work of art. The piece would later be entered in the Western Design Conference competition in Cody, Wyoming. Amber Jean's carved relief (figures A and B) forms the back panel of the chaise lounge. Here's a basic summary of the work process.

Figure A

Figure B

• The process begins with the drawing stage. The artist works out a basic design on a large piece of paper mounted on a wall. Once the design is complete, she transfers the drawn image to the surface of the wood using carbon paper (figure C).

• She then uses a hand-held to begin carving out the basic shapes on the wide wood surface (figure D). With the router, she establishes the outline of the colt and mare, and removes the background.

  Figure C

  Figure D

  
  

  	Figure E
  	Figure F

• Once the basic forms are visible, she begins carving the details on the body and faces of the two horses (figure E) using chisels.

• She uses wide-bladed chisels, with a small amount of curve, to create texture for the open spaces. Later, when the piece has been stained, the subtle chisel-marks that are left will pick up light and shadow.

• She focuses first on such things as general shape, orientation and foreshortening. It's important to work out the areas that will remain highest early on in the process since the other sections will be based on those.

• She then moves on to finer details such as the colt's ear. Through the alternating process of drawing, carving, re-drawing, carving and so on, the forms take shape (figure F).

  
  

• Hair, such as in the manes of the horses, is carved in large shapes and curves -- rather than trying to emulate individual hairs -- that also serve to suggest movement (figure G).

• Amber continues to work with chisels carving out details (figure H) before moving on to power-grinding and smoothing tools.

  Figure G

  Figure H

  
  

  Wilderness and wildlife are dominant themes in Amber Jean's work.

The Outdoors as a Creative Muse

Aside from carving, Amber Jean is active in rock-climbing, mountain biking and other outdoor activities. "My life outdoors really keeps my life in the studio sane, and they kind of play off each other," she says. "When I've come back from some big outdoor adventure, I take that kind of spirit back to my work in the studio and it reinvigorates that 'guts factor' or 'fear factor' of being an artist."

RESOURCES :

Fox Chapel Publishing Co.
Publishers of
Woodcarving Illustrated magazine and numerous books on woodcarving.
1970 Broad Street
East Petersburg, PA 17520

Websites:
www.foxchapelpublishing.com

Fox Chapel Publishing, featured authors

Special DIY page at www.woodcarvingillustrated.com

Woodcarving Illustrated magazine
Website: www.woodcarvingillustrated.com

Cabin Fever
(featuring the works of woodsculptor Amber Jean)
Simon & Schuster (1998)
Author: Rachel Carley
ISBN: 0684844222
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Cowboy Chic: Western Style Comes Home
(featuring the works of woodsculptor Amber Jean)
Author: Chase Reynolds Ewald
Gibbs Smith Publishers (2000)
ISBN: 0879059621
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

GUESTS :

Amber Jean, wood sculptor
Livingston, Montana
Amber Jean bio
www.amberjean.com