When I started my first DIY project, I looked at videos and tutorials, and started picking up basic skills. And this experience made me believe every art and craft can be learnt and mastered through Google and Youtube. Carving on wood is something I have been fascinated about and is one such skill, I thought, I can master by merely reading up and practicing. As a first step towards achieving this expertise, I BLINDLY bought a whole set of carving tools.
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| Wood Carving Tools |
My recent visit to a wood carving factory in Kandy, Sri Lanka came as quite a revelation to me. Much unlike the other sight-seeing locales, I took special interest in this item in our itinerary. The one hour made me realize that few proficiencies are not so easy to acquire unless some portion of it is already innate in us.
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| Carved Figurines |
There is so much that goes into a craft that probably is not entirely documented. And the amount of knowledge these craftsmen hold is absolutely amazing. The years and years of practice leading to perfection was so evident in the precision with which they etched every intricate feature. They were making a larger-than-life-size figurine out of a single log and naturally that made me wonder what if they make a mistake. To my amazement, one of them retorted with oozing confidence, “We don’t make mistakes”.
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| Craftsman at work |
I had a chance to briefly work on one of the statues that was in the making, and it was surely not as easy as I originally thought (Not that I thought it is any child's game anyway) it would be. I only wanted to learn carving to be able to make small name boards for the home. And this experience brought a new found respect towards every individual involved in some craft or the other, however big or small it might be. While everything may seem so easy from a distance, I realized, there is absolutely no short cut towards conquering an art form.
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| My failed attempt at carving |
For now, I am giving up my idea of getting to do any sort of carving. For someone who cannot get a 2D figure right on paper, 3D art is going to remain a challenge. Even if I were to undergo any formal training, I doubt if any carving spark is innate in me. There is a reason why some folks are considered gifted, and this inborn talent is just about one of them. Do you agree with me ? Leave your thoughts.
