Illustrated Guide to Carving Tree Bark

Award-winning carver Rick Jensen, with the help of carver and photographer Jack A. Williams, helps you release the inner spirit from tree bark in this new book. The natural beauty found in a piece of weathered cottonwood bark provides inspiration and direction to create something new and original each time. Inside, you'll find step-by-step instructions on carving a whimsical tree house, plus detailed advice on painting and finishing your carvings. You'll learn about the various species of cottonwood and their particular carving characteristics, plus tips on where to find your supplies. Learn the bark carving basics, tools, how to sketch your ideas, and so much more. Follow along with a series of detailed patterns of a variety of wood spirits and be guided through each step of the finishing process to gain a soft, touchable finish by using a unique combination of lacquers, waxes, shoe polish, and paint.

Jack A. Williams is a commercial photographer working from his studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Photography was once a hobby for Jack until he discovered he could make a living doing what he enjoyed. He then needed a new hobby, so in 1973 he started woodcarving. His artistic talents have been demonstrated with a third Best of Show in the first National Caricature Carving Competition held at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri; a Best of Show at the Ward Wildfowl Carving Competition in Ocean City, Maryland; Peoples and Carvers Choice and Best of Wood Sculpture at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; and Best of Division at the International Woodcarvers Congress in Davenport, Iowa. Jack also won first place in the Flex-Cut Tool Internet Carving Competition in 2001. The year 2003 marks Jacks 12th year to coordinate the woodcarving show at Dollywood, which hosts The Great Pumpkin Carving Competition, and to coordinate the National Caricature Carving Competition. In 2003 Jack was elected to become a member of the Caricature Carvers of America and is President and one of the founders of the Tennessee Carvers Guild. Jack now spends a great deal of time photographing carvings at shows and for friends, and his photography appears frequently in many magazines on woodcarving and other subjects. Jack is a co-author of Carving Found Wood with Vic Hood and of The Illustrated Guide to Carving Tree Bark with Rick Jensen, both published by Fox Chapel Publishing Co., Inc.