Here is a hummingbird with a flower. The  bird and flower are one piece. I am still learning how to make the flowers curl more with the petals. The white cedar does not seem to cooperate in the matter. I have done it before with spruce and had much more success. I guess I will just have to keep at it.

This pair of “love birds” compliments each other with equal number of feathers. Note the subtle differences in the feathers on each bird.

I just wanted to show/say what I do for cedar blanks. I have been getting cedar logs from a co-worker of mine from fallen trees in northern Michigan. A 3ft, 10″ diameter log goes a long way. So, I often wonder what other fan carvers do. I know some people keep the cedar sealed up in the freezer which will preserve it for a long time. Unfortunately, I never know when I am going to carve so waiting for the wood to thaw is not for me. I processed a log last November  (2015) and have kept the blanks In a 5 gallon bucket filled with water, trying to keep any air out. I periodically change the water out about every 2 months. The oils from the wood leach out and develop a slimy film on the wood. It is a bit cumbersome, but I rinse the film off and add fresh water to the bucket. So, 8 months later, the wood seems to hold up fine. I store the wood in the basement where it is dark and cool.Here are some exciting pictures of my blanks in the bucket and laid out on my daughters picnic table to take some inventory. I have about 80 blanks ready for creation…

I was happy with how the last angel turned out, so I gave it another go.in the process of making this angel, I had a few scrap  pieces. These scraps distracted me from the angel because I said, “hey, I can make some little birdies out of these.” And so I did. 6 to be exact. So here is the result. All of these pieces are from the same blank of northern white cedar. Keep in mind, it is difficult to get everyone to cooperate for the photo while shooting.

So I have been working on this design for an angel where the wings and the gown of the angel are fans. I made an attempt a few months ago to see if the layout would work. This time I find tuned it a little. My first go at this carving, I had 2 fans for the gown (1in front and 1 in back). It looked good from the front, but from the side it looked like the angel was kneeling.  

Not the look I was going for. I was going for the flying/floating look.  After studying the angel for a bit, I thought the front fan could come off and the angel would look more streamlined. With a little surgery, I was successful. Here are the results…