11 Backcutting

Backcutting is literally that: working from the back of the carving.

A lot of backcutting entails finishing off the previous undercutting (which work we did from the front). Always start with undercutting even though you know it will only get you so far and you'll have to turn the carving over to complete.

Caution: Although this should be obvious, do remember that  the carving, especially the middle part is relatively weak. To give the elements strength, I 'tied' parts together and aligned the grain in the design. However, a pierced relief is by its nature missing a lot of support. So we must make sure we provide it!

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