I love how you've captured the soulful art of whittling with your use of black & white photography. I think I'm going to go get myself a stick now.

You really are a wellspring of enlightenment about so many things. You’re right about your stick; it looks just like a gar fish. Gar fish are ugly. You are beautiful. You are not a gar fish. :)

You never said you could whittle FISH!! I'll take two!

Chase: Whittlin' is indeed a deeply emotional artform. I highly encourage you to try it yourself! :)

heather anne: Well, aren't you the sweetest thing?! Thanks, doll! (And aren't gar fish creepy-looking? So prehistoric!)

shari: With whittlin', you can't really dictate what you're going to create. The wood and the knife guide your hands, not the other way around. It's almost zenlike. So while I'd love to commit to two fish for you, it's up to the wood to decide.

Few people are so true to their word, Jen....you're the best.

Dear Jenny,

Will you please whittle me some Gar Fishies to act as center pieces on the tables at my wedding reception? I can pay you in cake.

Sincerely,
Dustin

Wow, Jenny, that makes me want to wander the woods, looking for sticks to send you. And since I generally like my Nature like I like my monkeys, ie on the other side of the glass, that's saying something about the Power Of Whittlin'.

Jenny, first you have to discover which way the wood grain is going. Once you have spotted the wood grain direction, cut downslope, ALWAYS. Get yourself whittable wood (tupelo or linden). Your cutting tool has to be as sharp as possible.

Get this book:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9781579902483&pwb=1&z=y

Nicely done. My whittlin' efforts of yore resulted mainly in smooth sticks. I even have one still somewhere in storage. Enjoyable to do nonetheless. Perhaps I'll take it up again.

Jess: Thanks! Just wait until I tell you about my next project...

Dustin: Is it chocolate cake? The currency exchange is like this: chocolate cake = 5 gar fish, yellow cake = 3 gar fish, carrot cake = 0 gar fish.

Tracy Lynn: Why does that suddenly make me think of Blair Witch Project - you in the woods, searching for sticks, getting lost, sacrificing some people... :)

piktor: This wood-carving is complicated stuff!

claire: Nothing wrong with a smooth stick. It is kind of therapeutic, isn't it?

Carrot cake equals zero gar fish?! I am so sorry that our friendship had to end this way.

Dear Jenny,

I find your gar fish very Buffy.

Love,
Vivian

Jenny, the dictionary description of "whittle" is "to cut SMALL shavings, to pare down...".
The photos you posted show deep cuts, not light shavings. The whittling process is slow, gradual and using light pressure. If you can peel a potato, you can whittle, that's a fact.

Aww, you made a fish stick!

It looks more like an Erkerversenlerson, an antique slotted Norwegian flute known for it's inability to span one complete octave. But, well, OK, it could be a gar fish. Or a fireplace match.

Pffffftt, you think we'd let actually let carrot cake anywhere within 500 ft. of our wedding??? KJ loves chocolate like Americas love reality TV...to a degree that borders on obession.

If you must know we are indeed having chocolate cake, but the real treat will be the 3 (count them one, two, tres) chocolate fountains. When KJ originally brought up this idea I foolishly asked why 3 were needed. Her response "Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, and White Chocolate...duhhhh!"




Can you spell "chocolate-dipped-chocolate-cake?" I can "Y-U-M-M-Y."

Am I the only one who doesn't like chocolate? Carrot cake RULZ!

Jessica - And this is why Vivian will never love you.