{"product_id":"carving-the-acanthus-leaf","title":"Carving the Acanthus Leaf","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eby Mary May\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eYou can download an excerpt from this book \u003ca rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.lostartpress.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/carving-the-acanthus-leaf_excerpt.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eLearning to carve the acanthus leaf is – for carvers – like a pianist learning a Chopin étude, a young oil painter studying the genius of Rembrandt or an aspiring furniture maker learning to cut dovetails by hand.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eFor carvers, especially those who focus on Classical Western ornament, there comes a time they will inevitably encounter the acanthus leaf, learn it, master it and finally incorporate it into their own designs.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“Carving the Acanthus Leaf” by Mary May is a deep exploration into this iconic leaf, which has been a cornerstone of Western ornamentation for thousands of years. May, a professional carver and instructor, starts her book at the beginning. She covers carving tools and sharpening with the efficiency of someone who has taught for years. Then she plunges the reader directly into the work.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIt begins with a simple leaf that requires just a few tools. The book then progresses through 13 variations of leaves up to the highly ornate Renaissance and Rococo forms. Each lesson builds on the earlier ones as the complexity slowly increases.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eOne remarkable aspect of the book is how May has structured each chapter. Each chapter begins with a short discussion of how this particular leaf appears in architecture or the decorative arts, with photos May has taken from her travels worldwide. Then, you learn how to draw the leaf from scratch. Though you are provided with a full-size or scaled drawing of each leaf, May insists that drawing the leaf makes it easier to carve. Each step of the drawing process is illustrated in detail.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAs May explains how to carve the leaf, she augments each step with multiple photos and illustrations that show where and how each tool should move through the work. The result is that each leaf can have as many as 100 photos and illustrations of each step of the carving process.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIn addition to the intense instruction, May provides a short essay between every chapter that illustrates her journey from a young pumpkin carver to the world-renowned carver she is today. The overall effect is like apprenticing with a master carver, with both the demanding instruction and the personal experiences that make woodworking a rich craft.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“Carving the Acanthus Leaf” is manufactured to survive many hours of use in the shop. The heavy paper is glued and sewn so the book will lie flat on your benchtop without the pages coming loose. The pages are protected by cloth-covered hardboards and a tear-resistant dust jacket to protect its contents. This is a permanent book – produced and printed entirely in the U.S.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContents\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eForeword\u003c\/em\u003e vii\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/em\u003e xiii\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/em\u003e xvi\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e1: The Acanthus Leaf 4\u003cbr\u003e2: Getting Started with Woodcarving 18\u003cbr\u003e3: Getting Started 36\u003cbr\u003e4: The Basic Acanthus Leaf 58\u003cbr\u003e5: The Basic Acanthus Leaf With a Twist 74\u003cbr\u003e6: Acanthus Leaf on a Moulding 94\u003cbr\u003e7: Rosette 112\u003cbr\u003e8: Acanthus Leaf on a Cabriole Leg 126\u003cbr\u003e9: Acanthus Leaf on a Turning 144\u003cbr\u003e10: Acanthus Leaf on a Bracket 162\u003cbr\u003e11: The Italian Renaissance Leaf 186\u003cbr\u003e12: Italian Renaissance With an Added Twist 212\u003cbr\u003e13: Scandinavian-style Leaf 226\u003cbr\u003e14: The Greek Acanthus Leaf 246\u003cbr\u003e15: The French Rococo Leaf 266\u003cbr\u003e16: The Baroque Leaf 288\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAfterword\u003c\/em\u003e 312\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eBibliography\u003c\/em\u003e 315\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0306\/3197\/files\/dsc03816-e1530664790778_large.jpg?v=1536240250\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"444\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eMary May has been woodcarving since 1991. After discovering the beauty of woodcarving while traveling in England and Europe during her early college years, she returned home to Minneapolis, where she spent three years studying with Konstantinos Papadakis, who taught her the traditional, old-world techniques and styles of classical European woodcarving. She returned to Europe, first to Greece and then to the City and Guild's College in London, England to study from other carvers. Back in the U.S., she began taking on small commissions but grew to carve classically carved church furniture, fireplace mantels, period furniture reproductions, antique repair, and sculptures. She taught woodcarving at schools and woodworking clubs throughout the U.S. and in Germany. In 2012, she started \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/marymaycarving.com\/Home\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMary May's School of Traditional Woodcarving\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou can read more about Mary in our full \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blog.lostartpress.live\/2018\/07\/03\/meet-the-author-mary-may\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eprofile\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lost Art Press","offers":[{"title":"Book","offer_id":660310818835,"sku":"BK-ACANTHUS","price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Acanthus Book + PDF","offer_id":660316749843,"sku":"BK-ACANTHUS \u0026 PDF","price":67.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"PDF Only","offer_id":660316782611,"sku":"BK-ACANTHUS-PDF","price":27.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0306\/3197\/files\/carve.leaf2.jpg?v=1751312748","url":"https:\/\/lostartpress.live\/products\/carving-the-acanthus-leaf","provider":"Lost Art Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}