Thread: As time goes by...

Its a new year... already growing old fast! I thought I'd post some new developments on the 'whittling' front...

I developed an 'eagle' pattern (of sorts) when I had been carving about 2 years. I thought it was great at the time and I've tweeked it over the years to make it better, but I was looking at it a couple of months ago and realised that it really wasn't very life like. I've been carving close to 9 years now and felt I could do better. Below is the result, with the first photo being one off the 'old' pattern and the rest off the new pattern.



I made four sticks with the new pattern, 2 staves and 2 canes. So far only one of the staves has sold.

Below is one of the staves....



Below is one of the canes...



At the same time as this process of re-visiting old designs was happening, I was also experimenting with finishes. I've become unhappy with just using grape seed oil on some designs in softer woods. The 'grubby' looking patina that developes looks good on some designs but not so good on others. I have been reading the posts on this (thank you one and all) and decided to try a sanding sealer before oiling. A friend recommended using a 'blonde' or 'white' shellac, thinned down to a 25% solution. I got some 'U Beaut' dewaxed white shellac and tried it. I was very happy with the results on jeutong but it made me think... why not use other tints of shellac to create a bit more realism with colour?...

Some years ago a neighbour/farmer of advanced years, showed me how to make a shellac out of Yakka (grass tree) resin. I hadn't used it much because it has a very strong rust red colour. I decided to thin this down to a 20% solution and try it on selected areas of the carving and the blonde shellac on other areas for contrast. I also added the judicious use of a pyrogrophy pen to get the result below.





While he may not be perfect..(I still can't get a handle on carving feathers) I'm pleased with the improvement. Constructive critisism appreciated.