Arum Lily

Come spring, one of my favourite indigenous plants of Great Britain is the Arum Maculatum; partially because of its exotic looks (similar looking to the tropical pitcher plant) but if I am honest, mainly because of its huge number of unusual common names which range from Cuckoo Pint and Lords and Ladies, to the frankly bizarre Snakes Victuals and my personal favourite Kitty Come Down the Lane Jump up and Kiss Me. In all it has around 100 common names. This lily is 8.5 inches, 21.5cm high and could be displayed on a shelf. However, the plans, that I have provided for download, could be enlarged or reduced to suit ones individual wishes. Wood Choice As this is a nice simple shape with smooth, flowing lines it provides a perfect opportunity to select a wood with some beautiful figuring (this is the pattern observed when viewing the side grain). In this case I chose to use a piece of black walnut that was left over from a larger project, but other suitable timber choices would be: Ash, apple, cherry, sweet chestnut, maple…. In fact almost any timber with interesting figuring. Preparation Once you have got hold of a suitable piece of wood the initial bulk wood removal is readily achieved if the timber is squared off first, so that the width, depth and length relate to the relative template projections. I do advise leaving a couple of inches extra wood attached at the base, this makes it much easier to grip in a vice while the work progresses. Once the templates have been reproduced to the desired scale ,carefully cut out each projection. If you have a band saw, great, this will make the process a bit quicker. But if you don’t have this kind of equipment, it is still easily achieved using a hand operated coping saw, or by using several straight cuts using a standard carpentry saw. Follow the video below, as well as the printed image sheets, relating the numbers on the images to the relevant section of text (that you can also download and print). Happy carving.

Top Tips

With the smaller carvings it is still very important to consider how the piece is to be held securely during the carving process. Leave a “tab” of wood attached to the carving that can be held in a clamp which is removed after the bulk of the work has been done.

Keep tool marks as clean and sharp as possible. This cuts down on time consuming and “detail obliterating” sanding with coarse abrasives.

When using a scalpel take great care during use as there can be a tendency (during periods of high concentration) for the fingers to slide down the handle and be sliced by the rear section of the blade. This is particularly the case with the #26 blade.

Wood Carving Studio members can download the complete set of original templates for the “Little Owl” carving using the link below. I’ve also included step-by-step photos to accompany the video, along with a written instruction sheet to guide you through the project. All materials are available for full members to download below.