statue making

The woodcarvers of Kerala are skilfulin making and carving STATUES of various shapes and sizes. The difference in the process of making a statue and furniture is that for making a statue, they only use hand tools. However, for making furniture, machines are used. This is a traditional art inherited from their earlier generations. They use the template only for outlining and the remainder is done from MEMORY. The process of making the statue is as follows:

Step 1 - Outlining:

• The outline is drawn on the log of wood using a template.

• The edges of the wood are CHISELLED as per the design on the template.

Step 2 - Carving:

• After tracing, the wood is carved at the edges with the HELP of wooden hammer and a flat chisel.

• For carving, firstly, the head of the statue is carved.

• Then, the other parts are individually carved.

• The individual parts of the statue are joined by using wooden pieces, nails and gum.

Step 3 - Detailing:

Detailing is done with the help of small Ulli (chisel) and a hammer, as the wood used for carving is very soft.