Potato Wood Review by Steve Tomashek
(Website)
I like wood, some of my favorite
trees are made of it; so when I was approached to try a new carving
material made from potato starch my first thought was: what’s wrong with
wood? Now I’m pretty sure there are some fundamentalist “whoodlers”
out there who will never try the stuff but I’m attracted to shiny new
things as much as the next bird.
Rooster and Chicks
The smartest feature of this stuff is
that water acts like glue for it. When wet, the surface becomes first
slippery, then sticky, and in a matter of 15 minutes there forms a
glossy bond that is slightly harder than the material itself. Carving
it is a breeze; the light and uniform layers form a grain that is
surprisingly strong in all directions.
Rainbow Person
Called Schnitzstärke; it is dyed
with food coloring that can be layered in the production process.
Essentially it is edible though it’s not recommended you subsist on it.
Remarkably the density can also be manipulated. The batch I used was a
little lighter than your average basswood (Linden) which made popping
out an idea something akin to doodling in a sketchbook.
Coral Reef
It’s a nice material for beginners
because it is more forgiving than wood. It’s easier to carve and if you
accidentally break something off you’ve got glue right there in your
mouth.
As an experienced carver I could see
myself building models and maquettes for more complex woodcarvings or
larger public art pieces. The speed at which you can carve could allow
someone to do live 3D protraits. Perhaps some day there will be
speed-whittling contests using it. Stranger things happen.
Lion
The company that has started to produce it is Carving Colors (carving-colors.com). It is a new German business, their website is in Deutsch and the product, Schnitzstärke, is available at Amazon in Germany. Maybe some day they can bring you a droneload.
