cover image Tiny Whittling: 
More Than 20 Projects to Make

Tiny Whittling: More Than 20 Projects to Make

Steve Tomashek. Chicago Review (IPG, dist.) , $16.95 trade paper (112p) ISBN 978-1-61374-496-3

Just the word “whittling”’ conjures images of Jed Clampett whittlin’ on the porch in a Beverly Hillbillies rerun. But this is not your ol’ country boy DIY, as Tomashek, who runs the Web site Miniature Menagerie, takes a new generation through the basics of carving materials and on to more complicated projects, leading the novice through Ivory soap ducks to old ivory piano key creations. Along the way, he shows how to “cheat” on the hard stuff (like using a glued-on grapevine runner for a pig’s tail). The author, fond of polka-dotted animals, explains how to paint those spots, borrowing from aboriginal bark paintings, as well as showing how to make lines and gradations, and how to use scale in both painting and carving, with examples of what to expect from various wood grains. Color photos (350 of them) bring both tiny forest and barnyard to life, and detailed safety tips, plus drawing and sanding instructions right down to making Mr. Fox’s tricky tail round off a comprehensive book on a tiny subject. (Nov.)