Contact Lara
This form does not yet contain any fields.
    Administration
    Monday
    01Mar2010

    One man's trash....

    The first round of coasters are complete - they have been sanded, stamped, stained, and varnished.  There are ~35 of them.   I also carved two more stamps, a hawk and a tulle elk.  I had some trouble with the elk, one of his front legs looks a bit peg-like.  I'm considering cutting him down to just a bust.

    While on a run I discovered a beautiful branch in someone's trash.  I believe it is Japanese cherry.  It's significantly heavier than the pine I've been using.  I'm looking forward to seeing how different it is to work with hardwood.  I think the cuts will be more difficult but cleaner which means a lot less sanding and a lot less clean-up.

    Tulle Elk

    Sunday
    21Feb2010

    (roller)Coaster

    Animal coasters in progresThis whole coaster project is finally coming to fruition.  I began stamping the wood slices en masse today and am pretty pleased with the results.  The next step will be applying thin layers of polyurethane, and sanding with a fine grain paper in between coats.

    In other news, I'm looking forward to receiving my copy of The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line.  Working on my coasters and researching vendors and artists for our wedding has given me a newfound appreciation of Etsy, blogs, and craft.  How great would it be to actually make some kind of income doing something I not only love but do anyway.  Today coasters...tomorrow the world!

     

    Tuesday
    16Feb2010

    The flock is growing...

    The love of carving continues.  I've added an owl, quail, and squirrel to my team of woodland creatures and Ben got in on the action and carved a trout.  I ran into some problems with the squirrel - too many tiny details.  I made several mistakes and he just kept getting smaller and smaller.

    Hand-carved woodland creature rubber stamps

    Wednesday
    10Feb2010

    Stamp Carving and More Coasters

    Last night I carved a second stamp for my silhouette coaster project.  It's a simple bust of a buck but I'm pleased with how it turned out.  I'm still getting the hang of the carving tools which are not as forgiving as I would like.  Below is a photo of the new stamp, the impression it makes, the back of my bear stamp, and the tools I used.

    Stamp making tools

    As a side note, the coaster in this picture is unfinished, please forgive the inconsistent application of stain...

     

    Monday
    08Feb2010

    Update from the Studio, February 2010 Edition

    Coasters in Various States of ProgressA few weeks ago I was trolling Design Sponge and came across this DIY project that used cedar slices to create customized silhouettes, and I thought hey, those would make great coasters.... but where do I get the wood? Meanwhile, my month-old Christmas tree sat sagging in the corner and voila! - a project was born!

    Using slices of the pine tree, a stamp carving kit, and various types of stain and polyurethane, I'm working on creating an army of coasters.

    Army of CoastersThe first image to the left is a close up of one coaster pretty far along in the process.  The second photo is of the gathering army.

    Ben

    The next three images are paintings in progress.  The first two paintings were begun months ago but never taken much further than the inititial color blocking, so I'm re-working them, trying to bringing in more colors and depth. 

    The last image is Kim.  I've addd a few more transparent layers of color but what it really needs is a few days of serious work because all of the transparent layers have caused it to lose some of it's structural believability.

    Looking at these paintings makes me realize two things - 1. I need to work on a big painting in which the subject is not front row and center and 2. My next portrait cannot be of a person looking to their right.

    Ariyele

    Kim