The final side of the village-themed sculpture, and the end of an enjoyable month in Scawby; I’ve made lots of new friends, met interesting people and been spoilt rotten by the villagers ~ who brought cake, ice pops, and even (on the last day) beer! With this VIP treatment and the lovely setting, I shall be leaving Scawby with very fond memories.
This side was similar to the first in as much as it featured another couplet from Scawby resident Greta Burkinshaw’s verse ~ but instead of carvings illustrating local trades, this time it was local features: the village water pump, St Hybald’s Church, the chimneys of Scawby Hall, and the old mill.
I started with the centre-piece of the sculpture, the name “Scawby” in raised lettering ~ the style of which was taken from an old postcard, used on the back cover of Greta’s book, “Stepping Back in Time.”
This was followed by the lettering across the top and bottom, leaving the space along the middle for the carved local features. I tackled the village pump first, and it proved to be the most awkward piece; the proximity of two large and dense knots threw the grain in unpredictable directions, and some cracks stretched over areas which made delicate parts of the carved pump very fragile. There ensued much muttering under my breath and many areas re-worked several times.
Next, and with similar issues regarding the timber and knots, I worked on the church.
The right hand side of the log face was a lot better thankfully, and a return to the easily-carved cedar I’d enjoyed earlier. The old mill was a simple image to carve, reminiscent of a chess piece in looks and no detail to speak of. The chimneys were a little trickier, firstly composition-wise in trying to make an interesting carving from the subject matter, and secondly the abundance of parallel straight lines called for a lot of concentration. I do prefer carving subjects from nature rather than architecture ~ more margin for error!
After a little sanding to remove the remaining chainsaw marks, and the final oiling, the Scawby adventure was over.
A huge thank you to all the dog-walkers, cyclists, hikers, families and interested visitors who shouted encouragement, expressed appreciation, stopped for a chat and even made regular special visits to check the progress of the carvings ~ it meant a lot!
