Carving Venus, the Goddess of Love

Ian Norbury is recognized as one of the world's leading wood sculptors, with works in Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London. Here this living master provides one-to-one virtual training for aspiring woodcarvers, as he carves and explains his techniques for producing a finished piece. The disks include plan drawings, still photographs and 2 hours of step-by-step video instruction.

Ian demonstrates his method of portraying Venus after her liaison with Mars, the god of war. She is carved from limewood, with some copper and silver embellishment, mounted on a 12 inch/30 cm diameter marble sphere. This challenging carving requires a very systematic approach, completing certain stages in order before attempting the next stages. It is quite difficult to access certain areas, and requires some ingenuity in the use of holding devices.