Irish Hare Wood Carving

I recently completed a carving in butternut wood of an Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus). According to the Hare Preservation Trust:

“The Irish hare . . . is the only species of lagomorph [which includes hares, pikas, and rabbits] native to the island of Ireland. Carbon dating of cave fossils has shown that hares were present in Ireland as far back as 30,000 BP. This species is now thought to have continuously inhabited Ireland since before the last ice age.”

The design was based on a sketch I did a number of years ago that I never developed into a painting, and when I came across it I realized it would be the great beginning for a carving design. I reworked the design and found a perfect piece of butternut wood that was originally harvested in Canterbury, NH, and headed for a friend’s wood stove! There is an nice variety in the tone and grain of the wood, and I am pleased with how that ended up contributing to the final finish of the piece.

The photographs below document the process of creating the carving. Click on any of the images to launch the slideshow and read the descriptions of the process.

The original sketch on the left and the full-size design drawing in process.

The cut-out of the carving next to the finished design drawing.

The first rough stage of shaping the carving.

Refining some of the details on the head and ears.

Shaping the body.

Roughing out the shape of the body and legs.

Further refining of the overall form of the hare.

Working on the details on the feet.

Adding details to the torso and legs.

The spiral tail.

Adding finer details to the body.

The swirl of the spiral on the haunch – adding the final details.

The finished carving freshly oiled, bringing out the subtle variations in the grain.

The completed Irish Hare wood carving.