Entry #13: Adding and subtracting

Well, We're coming near the end of the 20% project and things are wrapping up nicely. Nothing new has happened besides me just trucking along with the totem pole. I started to work on different patterns of designs (shown in the picture) using different ideas given to me from pictures. I'm just excited to finish the project because it's taking a long time to complete and finish. What bothers me is how i'm going to present the product as a whole because it's pretty heavy. I might i just pictures of different angles and close-ups of the patterns. Above all, pretty happy with my progress and with the amount of effort i'm putting into this one thing. Nothing really interesting happened last week because everything has just been going according to plan. Later in the week i'm going to add some more patterns and smooth out the wood. Definitely coming a long way from what i had in the beginning of this project.

XSiiANA. "Tongan Patterns by XSiiANA on DeviantART." Tongan Patterns by XSiiANA on DeviantART. N.p., 30 Mar. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Entry #12: The Totem Pole

So the moment you guys have been waiting for, the revealing of the totem pole. Well, first of all, i haven't finished it but it is a work in progress. I started on the nose and it is a big pain in the butt to do all of this carving. From doing all of this, i have a lot of respect for the people who have a patience with this because there are numerous times where i just want to quit. Especially when i accidentally make dents where there shouldn't be any dents at all. Quite obviously, i'm not ready for doing this totem pole because of lack of practice with the chisel and hammer but i know a lot of the basics. This is my main concern with the whole project at the moment but what still remains as the thing that makes me happy is the fact that i'm actually trying to finish this project. I'm having a lot of fun with it and no matter how frustrated i get i still continue to work on it.




(My totem pole nose will be similar to the beak of the beard, but more round rather than pointy)
Harrsch, Mary. "Tlingit Totem Poles at Saxman Native Village near Ketchikan Alaska (15)." Flickr. Yahoo!, 25 May 2007. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Entry #11: New Tools

Previously on the last entry i was skinning the log with a knife instead of a chisel. Well, today i found a chisel to use! I use a chisel and a hammer, but the hammer isn't the right one to use. Nonetheless, It made things a whole lot easier and stuff went a whole lot faster than before cause i finished skinning the log in a matter of hours. The log is nice and clean, ready to be chiseled and shaped to my will. I'm pretty excited because i started to make the nose right away, mainly cause its the easiest part. Man, was the wood easy to get through. I was really worried that i would not be able to get through it but it actually went through really easily. Pretty happy with what i got at the moment and will continue to work with what i got. Last week when it was raining, i was worried that the log would get soaked but it actually stayed really dry which was weird to me. That's an interesting thing that happened to me.



(similar tools that i use for my totem pole)

VCU Libraries. "Mastoid Chisel Set." Flickr. Yahoo!, 11 Aug. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

(simi

Entry #10: Finally some progress

Alright, after one accident and several attempts to finding a wood piece to work on, I finally found one. The best part about it is that  i found it in the forest when i went to a cabin for the weekend. It has quite an ancient look on it but i like it a lot. My biggest excitement about this is that i can finally start on my final product and attempt to make it amazing. Of course the plan is to make a totem pole, but instead i decided to make the bottom part of the totem pole and maybe over the years just add on to it or have other people add on to it. Above all, I am genuinely happy with my find and was happy to start skinning it to work on later on. Interesting enough, the way i found this piece of wood was as if god had sent it himself. I was just walking around looking for fire wood and there it was, already broken from a tree. At first it was a big pain to carry back to the cabin but all in all i think it was worth it.


Elzey, Richard. "Small "Cabin in the Woods"" Flickr. Yahoo!, 7 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Entry #9: Nothing Much

Nothing new has really happened in the past week that i updated this. I'm still trying to find wood on my free time and my mentor has been missing in action for the past few days. I took a break from my projects for a bit because i was getting a weird bump on my finger and i don't know if that's normal or not. Also, I stopped because the knife i bought broke so there's a waste of like $5. It was a knife you use to cut fruit and i found it pretty good. I found it pretty good up until the point it broke at least. Although, i'm still surprised that i haven't cut myself even when my knife broke so at least i have that going for me. Otherwise, everything else in the project has been stagnant and i'm unhappy about that. Tomorrow i'm going to start looking at replacement knives and possibly a place where i can get some good wood pieces. 

• Website Title: Flickr
• Article Title: Broken Knife
• Publisher: Yahoo!
• Date Accessed: March 25, 2014

Entry #8: Nothin'

What's up? Nothing much really, i have just been working on a mini project ( A spoon ) and trying to find a good enough piece of wood for the final product. Still haven't started on it, but i have a idea of what i'm going to do. Since i can't bring an entire totem pole to school, i decided just to make the face of one and hopefully it'll turn out well. Over the past few days, the one thing that has kept me motivated is the fact that when i feel sad, mad or anything negative i have that one thing that'll let me project it onto. I found it really relaxing to just put it all out on an object. Although i would really like to start on my final product, it has been a tough time finding a good wood piece even though you could just go to Orchard Supplies but it has to be easy enough to cut through.


(The piece of wood that i don't have)

Amber, Undeclared. "Log of Chopped Wood." Flickr. Yahoo!, 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Entry #7: The Update

I'm making progress with whittling and learning more about turning negative emotions into something positive.

I will not be mentioning a whole lot of resources because i didn't use a lot. My main confidence in my update is the fact that i'm progressing in my 20% project and slowly becoming better and better at whittling. Looking back at my past projects, they weren't all that great but now you can clearly see an improvement. The concern in my update is whether or not i am able speak clearly without messing up or getting nervous. Even though i can sort of talk in front of people, when i'm put on the spot, in front of everyone, it's really easy for me to get nervous. Another concern for my update, regarding whittling, is if i can actually find a wood good enough size to turn into a somewhat decent totem pole. My mentor has been trying to find a good size but he's busy with work and can't really dedicate a whole lot of time into it.