Xu Wen began to prepare for the carving.

The materials provided by Jiangnan Guanfang are all white elm, which is a log.

Elm wood is large, has a good texture, has a small deformation rate, and has moderate hardness and strength, and is usually used mainly to make furniture.

It is not a hardwood, although it can be used in some carving occasions, such as openwork and relief, but due to the lack of hardness, it is relatively limited.

And its logs have not even been removed from the bark, and the wood fibers are full of water, so they cannot be used directly for carving.

Therefore, before the official start of construction, it needs to be dried.

Generally speaking, the treatment of wood is mainly divided into artificial drying, natural drying, simple artificial drying and so on.

Artificial drying requires a special environment such as a steam room, and the project is very large, and natural drying uses air circulation to take away moisture, which takes a very long time over the years.

The only thing these candidates can choose is simple artificial drying, which mainly uses charcoal fire baking and water soaking to remove wax, which takes a relatively short time, but it is easy to produce side effects.

If you are not careful, the wood will be too fragile and crack, which is real waste wood.

To avoid this side effect, the main thing is to control the heat and the processing time.

To master this, it is necessary to have a deep understanding of the properties of wood.

Next to the workbench are small charcoal stoves and small iron pots, specially made for processing small wood.

Soon, the charcoal fire ignited, and the water vapor steamed, reflecting Xu Wen's face a little blurred.

His breathing sounded a little heavy in this small space, but his hands were as steady as ever throughout.

There are two kinds of simple artificial drying, the first is to dry the moisture inside the wood with fire, and the second is to boil the resin components in the wood, and then put it in the air to dry or dry.

Xu Wen took the second type.

The flames evaporated, and after passing through a special barrier, the flames disappeared, and the surrounding heat was very stable, but still high.

Xu Wen used tools to fix them in specific positions, carefully observing the color and details of their surfaces, and constantly adjusting the fire.

Immersed in water and roasted, the changes in the wood are very subtle and difficult to observe and determine. Xu Wen is now the time when his eyesight is at its worst, but the movements of his hands are not affected at all.

For them, such an adjustment is too basic.

Finally, the dry, hard wooden parts were neatly laid out at his hands, ready to start.

It should be to match the form of the bird, the carving on the flower window is mainly based on auspicious clouds, curly grass, cockaches and other patterns, the form composition is relatively simple, and there are more repetitive parts.

The first step in wood carving is embryonic beating.

According to the design, the craftsman saws off the excess part of the wood, and then uses an axe to split the block surface according to the general shape of the work, which is called "head over embryo".

The second step is to put the wooden billet on the top and gradually chisel out the shape structure, which is the "two embryos".

The third step is to further cement the work, which is called the "three embryos".

The whole embryo pays attention to playing the virtual and retaining the real, from top to bottom, from front to back, from the surface to the inside, from shallow to deep, and advances layer by layer.

In this step, attention should be paid to the whole first and then the part, so as to leave room for further in-depth development.

There is a folk saying: "If you keep fat, you can change it small, but it is difficult to regain fat if you are barren." The inner distance should be small but not large, remember that engraving is subtraction. ”

The rough embryo is the basis of the whole work, it seems simple, but in this step, the whole idea has been summarized using geometric figures, and the subsequent work is all contained in it, and it is on this basis that changes are made.

If anyone else notices Xu Wen at this time, they will find that in this process, his eyes are still half-open and half-closed.

This is actually quite surprising.

Engraving is one of the most delicate and eye-consuming aspects of the process, and most people are bound to pay full attention to the tip of the knife and the material when doing it.

But Xu Wen seems to have a bamboo in his chest, and it seems that his whole mind has been connected with the wood in his hand, and the shape to be carved has been deeply presented from the wood, and what Xu Wen has to do is only to express it.

"Look at Xu asked. ”

The two examiners were patrolling the examination room at this time, talking to each other while walking, and suddenly, the examiner Lu noticed Xu Wen, pulled his colleague, and reminded him in a low voice.

Examiner Xian looked at Xu Wen.

He had actually looked at the other side before, but as soon as Examiner Lu spoke, he immediately headed in the exact direction without hesitation at all.

"What's wrong?" Examiner Xian didn't see anything wrong at first, and asked suspiciously.

"Look closely. Examiner Lu didn't explain, but just said softly.

Examiner Xian didn't ask again, but stood still, completely turned his head and stared at Xu Wen's direction.

Gradually, a surprised expression appeared on his face, and his eyes became solemn at the same time.

From their direction, it is impossible to see Xu Wen's eyes, and therefore it is impossible to see whether his eyes are open or closed.

Xu Wen was now sitting on the maza, his body slightly bent, and his hands were slightly stretched out, and he could tell from his posture what kind of work he was doing. And it is this gesture that reveals something that is indescribable, but which can be clearly felt by veteran craftsmen like them.

"It's settled, yes. Examiner Xian said in surprise.

"Yes, that's right, ...... young age," Examiner Lu said softly, with some unclear meaning in his words, and he couldn't tell whether he was envious or emotional.

"Good luck. Examiner Xian said.

"It's a bit of a shame. But the examiner said.

When craftsmen are working, there is sometimes a phenomenon of "entering the set".

This doesn't necessarily happen to old craftsmen, sometimes new craftsmen will run into each other.

This is not something that happens to a single carpenter, but also to craftsmen of other disciplines.

It is difficult to fully explain this phenomenon, but it is manifested in the fact that the craftsman empathizes with the materials in his hands and the work to be done, and devotes himself to it.

It's a bit of a mystical feeling, and it's something that many craftsmen have been pursuing. Because every time this phenomenon is encountered, the finished products produced by the craftsmen will be higher than the ordinary level, and there are sometimes masterpieces.

It is said that the top master craftsmen can enter the state of concentration anytime and anywhere, and the magic hand can be a good work.

Middle- and low-level craftsmen, even half-apprentices like Xu Wen, who have only just graduated from the school, will occasionally run into them, which is usually regarded as a "flash of inspiration" and a collision of great luck.

Xu Wen was able to enter the state of entry during the hospital examination, of course, luck is good, the two examiners speculated that this is mostly related to his physical state.

When people enter a desperate situation, they can often burst out with stronger energy than usual.

But it is because of this physical state that the examiner Lu feels "a bit of a pity".

When you settle down, it's just that your spirit happens to fit the material, and your hand perception is sharper. But what your physical condition is, it is still the same, and it will not get better.

Today is only the morning of the second day of the college examination, and there is still more than a day and a half before the end.

Xu Wen's body is in their eyes, and his health is visibly deteriorating.

Now, it's still a question of whether he can make it to the end, let alone come up with an excellent work.

It's hard to get into the set but can't be presented in the best state, it's really a pity to think about it!