Human Figure Carving by John Adamson

John took us through his history of figure carving.

The voyage of discovery started in early 1970s when in answer to the perpetual question of carvers “What should he do next”, his wife said “Me and the dog – a dachshund”.  On a casual glance the figure looks ok, but John had problems fitting in the dog because the arms were too short.     He worked out the first of his Rules of Thumb – Elbows tuck into the waist and Arms are long enough for you to scratch your bum

Ann & Nicki
in Mahogany
9 inch high

The next carving started from the same question – “What should he do next”.   He sought the answer by tidying the garage and using the first interesting bit of wood.   This was a willow log with one end solid on the outside and rotten to the centre.     The  figures  are not realistic but suggestive of people round a bonfire.     This was the first carving design inspired by the shape of the wood – a theme that has proved productive.

Firelight in Willow
7 inch high

The design of the Jumble Sale was controlled by the cracks in the oak log which defined where the figures could be.    Logically a figure is better between the cracks, rather than have a crack running through the figure.      Not all spacing worked out!!     Some cracks were too close and a figure had to be turned side on.     Some cracks were too wide apart and more than one figure was needed.      Some cracks needed an extra wide figure and John had to work out where to add the fat to make the figure fit.     Later on John realised that the figures were all wrong as he had not realised that differences in people’s height are the product of the length of the leg, and that most actual bodies bum to shoulder are very similar.   Some more Rules of thumb – A hand will cover the face and Feet are as long as the head

Jumble Sale in Oak
10 inch high

Jumble Sale Base
9 in wide

The  Waiting carving  was made from a half round log of willow that had been cut from the top of the pollarding of the tree, and the individual branches (Outlined in pen) were identifiable being partly surrounded by bark.    This allowed John to find a route in to the block.   Learning from the Jumble sale, John wanted to get away from the parallel surfaces of the block.     Taking inspiration from flower arranging books, he cut the edge off one side only.

Waiting in Willow
17 inch high

Base of Waiting with branches circled
9 in wide

Taking the idea of using the shape of the wood to inspire the carving an extra step, John’s next carving was made from the roots of a hawthorn tree.    The figures he found reminded John of a BBC schools program where children were asked “To find a space and Imagine you are a ?”, in this case a tree.   John was hopeless at this exercise but there were girls who went to ballet classes who did it wonderfully.   There is amazing strength in the roots, and arms can be formed in ways that straight grained wood would not allow.

Imagine you are a tree
Hawthorn root
11 inch high

The final work was his current carving, based on the shape of a yew log that split into two branches.      After 50 years of carving human figures, John is still learning.   All his previous figes had arms below shoulder height.  The current figures  have their arms high in the air, and there are some movements of the bones and muscles of the shoulder that John is struggling to understand.

Housewife and Builder Dancing in Yew 15 inch high

Housewife and Builder Dancing in Yew 15 inch high

If you want to see more of John’s amazing work, look on his web site