Another simple carving project: Carving a comfort bird

Recently I stumbled across a really great tutorial on YouTube, by The Maker Experience (Awesome guy, go check him out!) 

And of course I tried it out! It worked a cinch, although I did some of the steps in a different order.  

I made some in hazel and some in cherry, hoping to add a bit of my own flavour to the idea. 

Projects like this are really awesome.  You can accomplish them with a simple Swiss Army knife. 

Have a cuppa, sit in the woods, listen to the birds and whittle away.  

It doesn't need a lot of your time, just a half of an hour is enough for some nice results. 

 You can always do better, as you can see in the picture, and you will make some good progress relatively fast.  

And there is a punchline, of course.  Because, while not on a primary level, making pretty and good things is political. 

Why that, you ask? 

Woodcarving and greenwood work is scientifically proven to be beneficial for your mental health (https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/project/to-investigate-the-mental-health-benefits-of-green-woodworking-in-therapeutic-settings-for-veterans et al). It offers a sense of calm, of self-empowerment, and of achievement.  In a world that floods the zone with horror and bullshit in order to keep you in a state of learned helplessness in order to steal your sovereignity, your dignity and human rights from you, everything that enables your resilience is resistance.  Add to that the soothing effect of being in nature, and it can really help you heal. Try it, you won't regret it. It certainly helps me keep what little sanity I still have, and it never fails to soothe my soul.  

Maybe it can help you, too.  

Take good care, and thanks for dropping by, as always! 😊