First, the coupon code OCTOBER is still effective on my Etsy store though the lowered pricing has ended.
Wormy Wood I am considering for a project
We have been trying to finish projects around the house this week and next so I have one of those to show.
Wormy Wood, other side
It is a cat tree built into the corner using a favorite branch of a couple of the cats. There is a small red shelf midway up for them to play on. I left short branches for them to grab and hang from since they love that.
Also there are several drawings from my notebook. These are pencil.
Jewelry and furniture are the major pieces in process this week. I also have a 5 painting set in a single wood frame I am working on, and a larger canvas acrylic I started. Painting and mosaic have been the major focus this week.
My first wearable art original painting pendant is now finished and posted.
Big Bend National Park sunset acrylic original painting pendant for a necklace.
Initially, I began 2 oil paintings on canvas to use for this project, but the humidity recently has prevented my first layer from drying for over a week and I cannot proceed on those yet. So, I did an acrylic. Big Bend National Park is a favorite place for my husband and I; the image I painted is a sunset there. I love the colors in the sky and desert there.
unmounted painting for pendant
Mosaic work was on the wormy wood desk I started last weekend. I laid the tile, though it is not grouted yet. I also decided to cut a piece of heavy tempered glass to cover the top when complete and that will be framed in.
mosaic tile set but not grouted or covered in glass yet
The painting series is a 5 part set sunrise to evening, each of a different tree around Texas. I have finished the sunrise and started another. I also have the frame and matting ready for the 5 postcard size paintings in acrylic.
I just love the shape of this piece with perfect branching.
Though I am still working on what day each week I will post, or if I want to specify that, I have been working on a couple of new projects that will be available in my Etsy store when I am finished. I enjoy working with raw wood and discarded wood to create furniture. I love the back-and-forth development of design and creation as you go through the wood to find the right pieces then update or redo the design to work with your primary pieces then the other parts as you find and prepare them. I began this type of work years ago, my mother had several of my pieces that I had offers for but designed for her.
These are pieces of 2 furniture pieces I am working on
Currently, I am working on a Wormy Wood Laptop Desk or end table with shelf and mosaic tile, and on another one that will either be a coffee table or another small desk, I have not chosen all of the wood yet and am still developing that one.
I am Cleaning and prepping the wood. Currently, it is a little dark from the treatment to make sure nothing lives in it now. Wormy wood is a lot of time and work.
The base piece of wood has perfect branching for a drink shelf and for a paper shelf.
the base for the tile is also a reclaimed piece, but from a remodel job not raw wood.
The
The other piece I am working on is not a pedestal style and has smaller legs as you see above. I am cleaning the wood and prepping it by hand. I use as many old, often antique, hand tools as I can because I not only enjoy them, I respect the tools and the quality of work.
I made this box for a friend while we watched Doctor Who recordings the other night. The designs are burned in, then I stained it.
Top, this one is much more intricate than my previous one.I did the sides as well.Back, I like the simplicity of it actually.I drew basic shapes in pencil but did most of the design with the burner.I think this is my favorite side.The designs were mostly freehand.I tried to keep the designs going around the curve and across the lid edges.The inside is stained but not burned. I signed the bottom, also burned.
This is my original drawing, done in Sketch-Up.This is an art rendition done in GIMP and Photoshop.
I designed this unit off a modular shelf unit I saw some time ago. I used gears instead of tubes and designed 3 possible shelf sizes to fit however is needed into the gears. Each gear can be added or removed separably for reconfiguration of the unit. The units are 1 foot in depth and internal diameter but could be any size, even mixed sizes, because they are gears, they can be fitted more solidly than tubes. You could do the gears out of metal and the shelves in wood or reverse.
Redraw and coloring done in GIMP and Photoshop combined.
Many of my furniture designs are done taking a piece of material or a piece of furniture I have or see and modifying it to fit my idea or a theme. This one is just a small wood spice shelf, seen in the center of the piece. It could be done with that piece or be redone in metal in the same color or tone. I have been redesigning pieces we have to fit the Steampunk Alice theme. I have not really been able to work on making them yet, but will have all the designs when I do. Not sure why the sides look so Klingon but they kinda do. The lines and the idea of the lines came from a gate or castle in Alice I think, not that it was like this at all, just where I went with it. Somewhat of the mirror mirror tone looking at it now isn’t there? Lots of influences and things blended. Maybe not strictly Steampunk but the materials and lines fit so it goes.
Today’s pieces are all developing ideas. They are complete pieces in themselves but based on drawings by others. Probably the storage shelves are the least recognizable from original. However, I chose these because they each inspired drawing or images in my mind I want to develop more before working on. The shelves use the Chinese influence that was growing in Victorian times because of the newly acquired Hong Kong. I also want to do some using the other influences that were entering the design and furniture heavily at the time and nearby. I quite enjoyed studying those influences in design classes. These influences appeal for several reasons: one, the styles tend to be dramatic and interesting, and they go well with steampunk. Two, the travel and incorporation of things from other cultures and places really fits my approach to life and Steampunk. Three, the influence of a newly emerging global society and the impact on life, science, design, economy, and more fascinates me and is a very helpful study when trying to understand people, culture, economy, and more. Four, they are interesting cultures and designs in and of themselves, and the aspects from their history that have similarities to Steampunk are work finding. without further ado…
The brass and wood with sinuous details fit the Steampunk feel and it is a Victorian base. I added those and the somewhat Chinese Lacquer feel.This is just a developing idea based on an image from the Doctor Who Facebook page. I want to do a drawing and Photoshop it completely from scratch. I did not do the base image.Yes, its fairly simple and has only subtle links to the topics at the moment, but it is an idea I want to do from scratch both on computer/pencil and an actual table or model.
I drew the design mostly in pencil, then used a soldering iron to burn the image. I will stain when I do the sides in another project.To get an idea what it will look like stained, I uploaded into GIMP and colored.
Wood-burning and leather-burning are something I have always liked and wanted to do more of. Lacking an actual wood burning tool, I used a cheap soldering iron I had to burn the design into the box ( see right), top only. I wanted to see what it will look like stained, so I uploaded into GIMP. I like it. I will stain it as part of another day’s project, when I do the sides I think. The soldering iron’s single tip took a bit of getting used to and practice to get the strength, depth, thickness, and tone I wanted in each line.
I really like the combination of working by hand and computer for some things. I think I may do a version of the recent pieces in my art programs as well.
On a side note, I used my metallic paint to continue the painting I started the other day. It really is becoming a long term project.
Metallic paint going on, hat is now purple, cards are white. Most other things are temporarily covered awaiting the paint and redesign of them.
Writing, art, Business, and practice, any medium is fair game.
Art's Folly 