The Runner

Title
The Runner (details shots)

(part 1 of a 3-part sculpture, The Triathlete.
Click here to see plans (this piece is sold))

Although the carving portion of this leg is complete, it still needs to be mounted on a 24" x 47" back plate (black walnut), which will then be set, at an angle in an alcove (see plans). I will do this after I finish The Biker and the The Swimmer.

Date of Completion
November 2004

Wood
New York State Basswood

Carving Difficulty
Relatively easy. However, the log had only been cut for a few days when I started carving, so as it dried, and as I carved, it checked with a vengeance.

Size
Lifesize; this leg would belong to a male in the six foot range, with a size 11-12 foot. The piece of cloth would be part of his number (often worn on the waist)

Comments
It was great fun to carve an inanimate thing, i.e. a sneaker, especially the laces. I have never done anything like this before. But if you look at these laces wrong, they will break.

See this piece as it was being made

This is a double knot.

Although the back of the leg will not be very visible once it is mounted, I felt compelled to finish it anyway.

The cut in the last photo is a chain-saw cut, which will be sanded smooth when I attach the piece to the plate (thanks to S. F. Busche for this cut; I'm still not fluent in "chainsaw." I think I read too many Reader's Digest "I-cut-half-of-my-head-off-with-a-chainsaw-1000-miles-away-from-anywhere-and-barely-survived" stories when I was growing up. Also, my next-door neighbor (Garrett) and I were caught racing our dads' belt-sanders across the barn floor when we were around 10, so after that, anything remotely resembling a dangerous power tool was permanently off-limits--although by that time, we had already bored multiple holes into Garrett's barn with the power drill).


		Title The Runner (details shots) (part 1 of a 3-part sculpture, The Triathlete. Click here to see plans (this piece is sold)) Although the carving portion of this leg is complete, it still needs to be mounted on a 24" x 47" back plate (black walnut), which will then be set, at an angle in an alcove (see plans). I will do this after I finish The Biker and the The Swimmer. Date of Completion November 2004 Wood New York State Basswood Carving Difficulty Relatively easy. However, the log had only been cut for a few days when I started carving, so as it dried, and as I carved, it checked with a vengeance. Size Lifesize; this leg would belong to a male in the six foot range, with a size 11-12 foot. The piece of cloth would be part of his number (often worn on the waist) Comments It was great fun to carve an inanimate thing, i.e. a sneaker, especially the laces. I have never done anything like this before. But if you look at these laces wrong, they will break. See this piece as it was being made

		This is a double knot.




			Although the back of the leg will not be very visible once it is mounted, I felt compelled to finish it anyway. The cut in the last photo is a chain-saw cut, which will be sanded smooth when I attach the piece to the plate (thanks to S. F. Busche for this cut; I'm still not fluent in "chainsaw." I think I read too many Reader's Digest "I-cut-half-of-my-head-off-with-a-chainsaw-1000-miles-away-from-anywhere-and-barely-survived" stories when I was growing up. Also, my next-door neighbor (Garrett) and I were caught racing our dads' belt-sanders across the barn floor when we were around 10, so after that, anything remotely resembling a dangerous power tool was permanently off-limits--although by that time, we had already bored multiple holes into Garrett's barn with the power drill).