Woodcarver Ezine
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Bill Judt has followed the successful release of his first eBook Relief Carving: Revelations with a second volume of the same name. Subtitled Secrets of a Professional Carver Revealed, Judt picks up more or less where he left off with Volume I - more relief techniques explained with great examples and more new projects.

Like the first Revelations, there is no paper hard copy here; the book arrives on a CD with 200 electronic pages (up from 160 pages in the previous CD). The ebook is again in Portable Document Format (pdf) and is viewed on your computer using Adobe Reader or Apple Preview. The pdf format and large photo files allows you to really zoom in on the detail. This volume also is NOT an introductory book with discussions about tool selection and other newbie stuff - like the first it presents more advanced techniques and projects.

The chapters include:

1. About the Artist
2. Introduction
3. Backgrounds
4. Bulrushes
5. Leaves
6. Clouds
7. Flowers
8. Rock
9. Stamping Tools
10. Carving The Sun
11. Tree Branches
12. Palm Tree
13. Hummingbird
14. Transparent Letters
15. The Cube - Three Approaches
16. Map of Canada
17. Map of USA
18. Butterfly
19. Open Book
20. Jesus Portrait
21. Repairing a Cupped Panel
22. Patterns

For a peek at some of the projects, click HERE (close window to return.)

As with the original CD, however, there are more revelations than just the technique discussions. The introduction to Revelations II starts with a visit in photos and text to Judt's studio at his home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (Find Glasgow, Montana on your map and go due North.)

A brief discussion about "Sermons in Wood" follows; you'll find it interesting reading.

Judt closes the introduction with an intriguing discussion about talent, including both the "gifted" and learned components. He suggests that while many can learn the skills and techniques that are a part of "talent," only a lucky few are "gifted" with that "God-given ability to do what others cannot." Judt closes with the acknowledgement that "Most of us are not gifted, yet we manage to find endless hours of enjoyment and productivity in relief carving." (The one nit I would pick would be to generalize the statement by leaving out "relief.")

Like the original volume, I found Revelations II to be both interesting and useful, even for someone not primarily a relief carver. Judt has produced another CD that is well written, clearly photographed and nicely laid out. If you liked Revelations I, then you'll want to add this volume to your carving reference collection. This CD is quite reasonably priced at $24.00 US (shipping included.) More screen shots and order information at Bill Judt's web site HERE.