The next three carvings at Newport Primary School were to have reference to the school’s “values”: “Reach for the Stars”, “Love to Learn” and “Work Together”, each with a design incorporating something from the children’s books “The Gruffalo” or “The BFG.”
I started with “Reach for the Stars” and the BFG; the wood looks pretty uninspiring when the bark is stripped, with the timber quite stained and messy, but once the carving begins the crisp whiteness of the poplar is a lot more pleasant.
The classic Quentin Blake illustrations for the Roald Dahl book are instantly recognised, but it was slightly tricky giving them some depth and making them work as a carving as they are rather “flat”.
I reversed the image to make it sit more comfortably on the shape of the log, and made Sofie, the little girl, a bit bigger otherwise she would’ve been almost invisible.
Starting on the upper body, the whiteness of the wood showing through once worked on.
The finished log, complete with Sophie and the lettering.
“Love to Learn” next, and this time with the Gruffalo being the main subject.
For the final log, it was another Gruffalo theme ~ the mouse on this occasion, with the words “Work Together” above.
It’s quite tricky to draw the design on this surface; once the bark has been stripped the wood is still “green” and so pretty damp.
Again, once underneath that top layer the wood looks bright and fresh.
With the lettering finished and some Danish Oil, the school values are complete.