Mr. Harris, I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. You may have said somewhere and I missed it. What kind of epoxy putty do you use? I’ve tried the dorsal fin technique you used and have more gap than fin in some places.
I use Apoxie Sculpt. I usually have a gap to fill but it also use it to blend the whole fin to the body. I have yet to master a clean fit and finish on fins 😜
Thank you much. I really enjoy your work and appreciate your help. But I will say you have cost me a considerable amount of money. Wood, sanding sticks, air brush apoxie sculpt…..😂
Great job Danny! I try (or will try) to use a lot of the techniques you demonstrate in my carving. You have been a big help. On a different note, what category are you going to enter in the World Championship Carving contest in Iowa? You got a feel for how good the carving was in each category last year. I feel like you should enter the Open category (I assume that is the highest level). You have such great attention to detail that I think you will score very high!
Thanks I appreciate the kind words and I’m happy I’ve been able to share what I’ve learned these last 3 years. Yes the open is the highest level and the only level they will choose best in world from. Right now I’m learning towards intermediate but I may change my mind when I get there. I was told by a couple of the judges that I should have entered intermediate last year, That both my pieces would have still placed 1st and 2nd. They have a couple of show officials that will look at your work when you check in and will recommend what level you should enter. I didn’t do that the first time because I had my mind made up that I was entering the novice level. So I may yet enter the open. I won’t know for sure until I get there😜
If you would have won Intermediate last year, then that goal has already been attained. Go Open, and don't second guess yourself. Winning and competing are not the same. Stack yourself up against the best because you are good. I think your biggest issue is going to be the base that holds the fish because, if I remember correctly from your video, that is what the judges judged you hardest on. Who knew? But you are an artist, and you will come up with something creative and worthy, and your weakness will become a strength.@@Danny_Harris-Arts
Yeah the bases have been my weakness and they are you can have the most accurate and detailed carving on the table but if the base doesn’t meet their artistic criteria it won’t get high marks. I plan on putting more into bases this time around. But you are right about winning intermediate. After our conversation here I may go for broke and enter open. If I was a younger man I wouldn’t mind working my way up through the ranks but I don’t have the 20-30 years experience behind me like most of the masters that enter the open. I still have at least 3 more projects I’d like to finish before the competition next August so I need to buckle down and pay attention to every little detail if I’m going to enter the open class.
Detail is your strength Danny. And, correct me if I am wrong, but so is creativity. The base will come to you, and you will make it excellent because that is who you are. Think of a bluegill lake environment. What does the bottom of a blue gill lake look like, and what grows in it or ends up in it? It will all come to you.@@Danny_Harris-Arts
@@danreed2189 it’s not so much of not being able to come up with the idea of what I want to do it’s more of- I’m lazy and the base isn’t as much fun to build as the subject. 😝 One of seminars by Bob Berry at the last world competition was on the habitat base, and Josh Guge had an extensive part on bases in his seminar as well but they both talked about the importance of the base as being an artistic flow of the main subject. They both discussed designing and building the base “first” thinking of it almost as the main subject. My problem is when I started carving 3 years ago the base was always an afterthought. I never even considered what the base was going to be and was always a last minute thought after the fish was completed. Since the competition I’ve been trying to change my thought pattern and and workflow by at least thinking about what the base will look like. I’m determined to build the base first on my next project to try to get in the habit of doing proper habitat base design and construction.
