[cobalt]

Now the winter is here have to complete the remaining hiking pole toppers.

Have decided to use fixture that allow the carved toppers to be interchangable so to save room, and also sell them quicker.much easyer just to srew one on and change it ,it allows people a wider range of choice.This will allow me to customize the lengh of the shank for people

Storage is a bit of a pain but the working rack is useful but need one of a better quality for shop display purposes

This is where i am at at the mow.

 

[Rad]

Interesting -- you've got quite the Gaggle there!

 

[JJireh]

Looks great! What process do you go through when someone wants to buy a stick? Do they pick their topper then shank? Do you let them pick their spacers as well? Do you epoxy them in place and send them home with it, or do you have them come back?

 

[cobalt]

1st i offer a stick already made,but if they want a custom built stick they have to tell what they want, i explain to them that i would have to research the subject.time consuming.but if i like the idea i would do it.

Sometimes asked to do a dog if i want they have to send me pictures of the dog .this must in clude both sides front and top

make templates up.let them choose a shank ask what colour eyes the animal has,ask what type of collar they want the topper fitted to then insert a steel rod into the shank and topper fixing it with epxoy resin,or offer the a screw in top so they can change the topper if they wish..

It depends who asks me sometimes there so fussy i wont do it,for me it has to be fun to make without any hassle

 

[cobalt]

during some of my recent travelsi have seen some stone carving . We went on a cruise down the nile visting some amazing temples which provide some stunning carving,. Also vistited Florence, Rome and Pompa and Barcelona cathedral is amazing in barcelona its a great building its not finished yet but inspirational .So i went a bit mad on on modern and ancient sculpture .

All provides future ideas for stick making but getting time to follow them up is not so easy.Mayby now that winter has come it will allow me to design some of the image have photographed

I already have some designs done from a trip to greece and the ancient gods are interesting images.

Also have a couple of books on ships figure heads i want to follow up but one step at a time

So not yet in progress but when i get some templates designed i can do what i like best carving

 

[cobalt]

Following up the carving gargoyles havnt even tried to fish existing jobs , just a bit more tidying up to do on it, not sure how i am going to finish it yet.

 

[gdenby]

The gargoyle is looking good. One of the problems I'm having adapting to stick carving is the small size of the work. I see the layout sketches, but don't know the scale. Is the green grid centimeters?

The only gargoyle representations I've seen have been in blackened limestone. I read that the gargoyle figure is of the class "grotesque." So maybe blackened base w. greenish smears, or vice versa?

 

[cobalt]

Yes size is a problem when carving.

I cannot claim credit for this design ,i just saw it in a book, and have made modifications to the design for it to fit better on the staff The origanl design is 14" x 6"x 4" The one i am carving is 5" x2.5" x 1.75" approx

I have removed the feet and base of it to sit better on the shank.Allso being smaller i just see what i could do but keep the basic shape

the book it came from i s carving gargoylese by Shawn Ciipa,. A 1st rate book with great photos

it gives some history of folk lore with 12 designs

I usually carve in the traditional manner 1st then use rotary tools and knifes,, burrs are very good for helping with detail,then i oftern use ceramic cutters to sharpen up the image .They oftern clog ,just brush them with a very stiff brush

Yes the cutting mat is in centimeters, but the book is imperial mesurements. Most people use metric

The topper is carved from lime( bass wood you know it as)'

Although i oftern use historical figures for design i usually find my own finsh its up to you.

Like stickmaking there is no perfect desgin, everyone has a different idea thats the advantage of carving your own

Most americans carve the the wood sprit it probable came from the European version the green man but it is found all over the world in diffrent forms .The green man was a Druidic god-form of tree worship representing the unseen power of nature

The gargoyle i am carving is traditionally a water spout

 

[cobalt]

If you want a lot of small detail in a carving use a woodburning pen ,then brush it with a stiff brush before you paint it.

Most decoy makers ues this way for feathers /wings etc

 

[cobalt]

Got some more done on the gargoyle decided to do some woodburnimg on ,it havnt been doing any carving been busy with other things .Need to varnsh it yet will post some pics when complete

 

[cobalt]

about complete just to fix it to shank

Although lime is a nice wood to carve it dosnt have the character of a lot of woods oftenr very bland and needs some embelishment

 

[cobalt]

To market to market not to buy a fat pig but hopefully get rid of some hiking poles.

Attending a art and craft fair organised by my daughter she makes and sells jewellry .The fair is being held in a 700year old church in the town and should attract some attention.

good job my daughter is selling her wares there i am not a sales man just taking all the poles there for her to sell

as this would be a market day traditionally one would take there best stick and not the working one its like getting dressed for church on sunday.

The stic

 

[cobalt]

new project started a couple of days ago .

based on images from Shawn Cipa ,had to reduce size and change position of the wingss to make a hiking pole topper but getting there

Griiffin templtes

griffin woodburnt

dragon design

 

[cobalt]

Reworked the template for the dragon felt it to small.

textured the griffon breast friend criticism was that it is more like a ceremonial staff than a hiking pole in other words he thougt it to big mm perhaps hes right.still i will finish it and clean it up and have another look as to i mount it on a shaft it is still in a crude form but that will change

 

[JJireh]

Looking good Dennis! Can't wait to see it atop a some hazel. Ceremonial or hiking...does it really matter

 

[cobalt]

Think your right

.It is the biggest one i made apart from a toucan`s head.

Hows the nut going? interested to see what you did with it,

Going a bit mad on drawings at the moment every time i sit down usually grab a pencil and old note book and doodle, Have started carrying a small note book around all the time now so when a idea pops into my head just sketch it out quickly.

for a referance

 

[cobalt]

A couple of hours work this afternoon ,getting reay to mount it on a hazel shank with a silver collar , just need to clean t up and paint ,considering putting glass eyes in?mayby that of a eagleyellw with black pupil or red ones?

Basic shape cut out

spade drill allows me to cut back wood to where it will sit on shank drilled a 8mm hole for threaded bar ready for attachment

about in the round

adding detail

 

[cobalt]

just about finished the dragon head ,but not sure to texture the neck yet , been looking at different animals for in inspiration ,birds feathers, snake skin, crocs,and the komo dragon or mayby leave it plain with a tint of colour?

Have to look at harry potters dragons and look at some paintings of dragons

 

[cobalt]

New project under way things have to finish will have to take a back seat

Have to get the horse complete for a friend he has given me some glass eyes to insert in it .He wanted this as a market stick i am just going to finsh the topper the rest he will do.He is going to put the black buffalo horn spacer in when he mounts the peice on the shank

The wood pictured is from a 800year old yew tree that had fallen in the storms its one of the branches so hoping to get a nice topper out of it proving its sound. The rest of the tree had gone when i foud out about it some one had cut it up for firewood .A tree like that used for firewood disgraceful

 

[MoroCreek]

Wonderful grain in that slab.... It's gonna make a pretty carving!