Finds - Telephone table

I thought it was cold yesterday (-14 F) - This morning it is -21 F. Yikes! I haven't been able to get into the shop in a few days, my heater won't take the chill off with these temps.

One of my favorite things to do is to Recycle wood pieces. Taking an old grungey piece and refinishing, refurbishing or repurposing it is so satisfing. The first piece I did was this telephone table. I pick it up at the Salvation Army for ten bucks. The top was split and the front was warped so badly you could slide your hand into the drawer while it was shut. It took months to get the warp out of the top and sand off the blackened layers of paint, stain and old finishes. The original drawer pull crumbled to pieces as I unscrewed it from the drawer front. It was in bad shape.

I carved an apple blossom fron pine to replace the drawer pull. The top and front were burned with apple blossoms. The rest of the piece was layered with polyurethane. I sold it for $65.

Scrollsaw Nativity Puzzle

     It is so cold here in Northern New York. Brrrr....

Years ago my husband bought me a scroll saw and it sat there, along with the router and other power tools.  They were intimidating.  I had never really used them before.  In school I took shop and had to use a band saw.  My pieces were not shaped evenly because I feared the powerful machine that ate through hard wood like it was butter.  I was sure my fingers were next.

Well I have overcome that fear thanks to a ScrollSaw magazine and Steve Good's website.  If you are new to scrolling you must check out this site.  Steve has a catalog of free patterns that range from down right beginner to much more complex.  He also had a daily freebie and video how- tos.

You can find him here: http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/

 These are some of my attempt at his patterns. 

 

I am thankful to Steve for getting me cutting on the scrollsaw.  Once I got going I felt more at ease and began to tackle more challenging material.  Below is a project that took me over a year to complete.  The pattern was free from Steve Good, but I modified it. 

 

                                                                                             The first thing I did was to size it and print two copies, one of which was flipped so the images were reversed.  Next I got rid of the puzzle shape areas.  I then designed a tri-layered setting for the pieces to sit on.  Then came the cutting, shaping, and lots of hand sanding. (After this project I bought sanding mops and other sanding tools)  Once I was satisfied with each piece they were stained and dried.  Each figure was then glued together and mounted to the scene.  The background areas were chosen for the wood grains so they would look like layers of sand dunes.  

 

 

 

I hope you like it.

-Take Care -

 

Blue Heron on a Log

     Yesterday I spent a long time playing around with my Blog's design.  I learned so much about adding gadgets and changing attributes.  Fun - fun - fun!

     Today I want to introduce you to Blue Heron on a log.  This beautiful bird was stalking his prey when we saw him across the river.  My husband was floating around in his Kayak and let himself drift downstream toward this heron.  He was able to snap several pictures.  This is the one I chose to turn into a pyrography piece.

The lighting and time of day were not studio perfect, but I loved the depth in this particular photo. Using enhancement software I sharpened and lightened up the picture. Next, I erased the elements that I was not going to include in my wood burned piece.

 

        

 

                                                                                 

Then next step was to render the photo to grey scale.  Shading and Lighting in the fore, middle and background were tweaked before I had the program find the edges.  A bit more tweaking and then I had a usable trace patterns. 

    

 Transferring the outline onto the birch ply board was accomplished using carbon paper.  The cons to using this method is that the lines are not easy to get rid of.  They don't erase or wash off well and when you burn a heavy inked line it is dark and not always the shade or width you might desire.  Sometimes you can sand away the offending area, but not always as the heated ink absorbs into the wood.  For this reason I try to minimize the amount of details I add in this step and then use a pencil and sketch in more details to burn using the outline and other pictures as a reference. 

 

     When I am wood burning I take it one section at a time and completely detail it. My favorite part on this piece were the feathers - especially on the wings. They seem daunting for there are hundreds of tiny lines on each feather - but - Wow! As each feather is finished they are so beautiful, and as more are finished the bird just seemed to appear. (I admit I get tunnel vision and time slips away from me as I work.)

 

  

 

     This piece is currently listed on my Etsy Store if you are interested in owning it.

 

That's all for today.

- Take Care -

Monarch on Clover

Last night I couldn't get this Blog off my mind; I wasn't sure if I really wanted this.  In the light of day I realized that it will be good for me.  I have always loved to write and, in fact, have several stories penned out.  Add to this my need to connect with others out there who like the same things I do and possible find a collector or two to give my Art a home; I need to give this Blog thing a fair shake.

 

   In the February/March issue of Professional Artist, Carol Marine wrote about jump starting her stagnant Art career by taking some sage advise (do art daily) and get yourself out there (blog about your work).  Of course, she was much more eloquent, and I highly recommend reading her article.

So here I am - getting myself out there. 

 

 

Today I am introducing Monarch on Clover.  This was the first piece I started from a photograph.   This monarch's picture was snapped in the yard years ago with a new Digital Canon Eos Rebel.  Mind you it is not the newest on the market today, in fact it is obsolete, but back then it was state of the Art.  The clever thing about digital photography is that we didn't have to wait to see if the picture would turn out well.  It was stunning.  I stumbled upon it when playing around with a new photo enhancing software program that came with my laptop, and had a great deal of fun changing it around.  The thought came to me to create and outline of the key elements so I could make a template to wood burn.

 

 

 

First, I erased the background and other parts of the picture.  This process allowed me to get rid of distractions as well as keep a color palette of those shades in the butterfly, flower parts I was going to burn.  Second, I modified the image to grey scale and then played around with the lighting.  Third, I created a posterized picture with seven colors to use as a reference for shades of brown when burning(this photo is not represented here). The Last step was to go back to grey scale and find all the edges.  Once again I played around with the light, shadows and such to get the details I wanted.

The outline was traced onto a slab of birch ply board and then the wood burning began.

 

Few of my pyrography pieces get colorized.  This butterfly and the clover screamed to be bright and vibrant, so I used oil paints mixed with other ingredients and made stain.  Applying the stain was tricky as it tried to bleed into areas I  didn't want it.  (This is why I went with oil paints over water colors)  I am very pleased with the end result.  So was my Mom - Happy Birthday Mom.  In July this Monarch found a home at my mother's house. 

 

I think about making another Monarch wood burning, but I haven't yet.  I am not one to do something twice.  I am usually so full of new ideas and have so many things going at once.  But, I can see myself doing this one again.

 

- Take Care -

 

Welcome

January 20, 2013

     This is my first entry on my first blog - and I am finding it a bit intimidating.  I will try hard not to babble as I do when I am nervous.  The mission of this blog is to introduce myself as a Artist and to get myself out there.  I am new to this Artist business, even though I am getting on in years (the Big 50 in November). The past couple of years have been tumultuous, filled with many ending and beginnings. 
     During one of the life changing moments, I stumbled upon a Pyrography Magazine, published by Fox publishing.  Within its folds I learned the term pyrography, and that this was an ART form - writing with fire.  The idea that my hobby was an artform was a concept that - well - itched.  It niggled at me and I twisted it around in my head for a long time.  Up until this time I burned some boxes for fund raisers, and did some paid work for a carpenter friend, but I didn't think of it as artwork.  But what I did do was try out the techniques and I began to create more pieces. 
     My work improved, but it still wasn't where I knew it could be.  Then Christmas came.  My loving husband's gift changed my pyrography work immensely.  A professional, variable temperature, interchangeable pen, pyrography machine.  With heat that was instant, constant and changeable, I was able to get the shading, depth and quality I was looking for.  I still have a long way to go, but with these tools I am excited about the journey. 
     In this blog I plan to introduce one of piece every day.  Please share with me your thought and opinions.  You can always email me here: TerrysNiche@gmail.com 

 Here is Morning Glory Coffee Table.  This was a table I picked up at a second hand shop.  It was stained walnut brown and had seen better days.  Strippers and sanding revealed this beautiful wood grain.  Water damage and stains became rich soils for this flowering vine to spout from.  The transformation was amazing, and the affirming comments were so uplifting.




To own a Terry's Niche original you can go to my ETSY shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TerrysNiche
or you can bid on one of my Ebay auctions here: http://myworld.ebay.com/315parky3?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

     Have a Great Day!