Artistry in Chip Carving / Craig Vandall Stevens

Ranch visiting faculty Craig Vandall Stevens is the executive director at Philadelphia Furniture Workshop. He studied furniture making at College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking program and went on to design and build one-of-a-kind furniture professionally for nearly 30 years. He is the author of his book, The Fine Art of Marquetry.

Drawing from the ancient art of Asian brush painting, Craig Vandall Stevens introduces a unique form of chip carving to the hobbyist. With clean flowing lines the knife creates delicate images in wood, relying on the play of the grain and light to bring the images to life. These make beautiful wall hangings on their own, or can be used as a decoration on plates boxes, and screens. Craig goes step-by-step through the carving, beginning with an introduction to the tools and the wood. Two projects are included with clear color photographs and concise descriptions of the carving technique. The patterns are included as is a gallery of variations and applications.