Colour

Gosh! Look at all the cobwebs round here!

Yes I have to admit that my IT frailties make for a poor blogger but never mind, I'll keep chipping away at it and find more time when I retire from work. I've been experimenting with a little colour on the handles of my carved treen though I'm only in the early stages of experimentation.

I bought a job lot of artists oil paints earlier this year so I have started with them; though you can also use acrylics, milk paint or even mix your own oils with linseed oil and pigments. I must admit first off that this post is primarily a photo catalogue of the items I've made this year whilst I still have them in my possession, though they may be of interest to readers.

        First off though is a pair of servers that have a bit of subtle decoration made with pigment and epoxy resin. personally, I  prefer colour to be subtle rather than 'in your face'

The following pieces are little teaspoons which are decorated with neat oil paint straight from the tube just to give me an idea of the finished hue; of course oils can be mixed to form infinate hues. I did notice a marked difference in the drying rates of the various colours, and exposure to strong sunlight seemed to speed it up. Don't expect any of the to be fully dry within a month though. After completing the carving I oiled the spoons before painting because of fear of bleeding into bare wood. You may notice that I lightly sand the handles after the paint has dried to reveal the knife cut facets and 'antique' them before oiling the whole piece for a second time.

Some more various patterns of spoon. As you can see I have also been experimenting with letter carving; which I will go into detail with in subsequent posts. Suffice to say I have improved since these!

Finally some handled serving bowl patterns I have been working on and am quite pleased with. 

Here's a butterdish that arose out of a bowl the developed a split whilst drying; hopefully you can see the antiquing effect on the handles.

 A little detail to show the finished handles.

Finally for now I've been really busy learning some new songs on the banjo:- e.g....I've Endured, Little Birdie, Dink's song, I am Weary  etc etc

John M

Mice!!

Well I've been out for lunch today at a local pub for some traditional fayre. Nice food and lovely Oak furniture that got me inspecting the construction. But, hang on, what's that on the table leg near the wife?

On closer inspection it looks like a mouse!

Come to think of it, as I look round the room it doesn't seem to be the only one!

There's even one managed to find it's way onto the bar!

And also onto this beautiful chair with thick hide seat and back.

 Strange?????