Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Box Elder Burl with Horses
Molly Winton
>I oriented this natural edge to look as if an artifact had been broken, and then burned in the horse design. The broken illusion is known to be effective with 5 year olds. My daughter came up to me and said, "OH MOM, how did this get broken!" The burning is done with a stippling technique. The interior has also been charred after leaving it unfinished/sanded and adding a few additional turning marks. It is approx. 7"x6", and finished with Danish Oil.
Re: Box Elder Burl with Horses
Mike Schwing from Md.
>Super work Molly! I like them both, but this one especially since the horses are subtle and look like bark until you examine it more closely. Very cleverly done.
Re: Box Elder Burl with Horses
John Lucas
>Molly I like that idea it gives the impression of being very old. I prefer to break the outer edge the old fashioned way, with my gouge in about 2 milliseconds.
Re: Box Elder Burl with Horses
Paul Porter in Phoenix, AZ
>Very nice, Molly. I really like the concept of bleeding the graphic off the edge to make it look like it's broken. Nice simple graphic, too.
Re: Box Elder Burl with Horses
Gary in Zirconia,NC
>Molly, How did you burn the inside of this? I just did a sycamore form and burnt the inside with a propane torch. It is about 3/16 inch thick. I am not happy with it. I had a couple small cracks and the black comes off when touched. Any suggestions?
Re: Box Elder Burl with Horses
Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(
>What a really neat idea! Is this something that you thought of? Really should drive the future archeologist whack-o eh?
Good work Molly.
Todd O.
Re: Box Elder Burl with Horses
Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey
>Nicely done, Molly.
Have you looked at the "Spirit Figures" done by Aussie Abnoriginals? If not, take a glance or two; very powerful images.
M
Re: Box Elder Burl with Horses
Molly Winton
>Hi Gary, I also burned this with a propane torch. It has about a 1/4" thickness. The burning didn't cause any cracking, but when the piece has an existing crack or insect hole (as in the Mahogany Horses) I tape over the hole/crack on the outside of the piece with blue masking tape, then when I'm finished burning I burnish the inside with oil. The burnishing removes any loose soot, and seems to seal the char. I burnish it right after the burning, so I don't know whether the added heat helps with the sealing process. It's a real mess, but it works. Use LOTS of paper towel. Which oil I use depends upon the finish I'm going to use on the exterior. I've used both walnut oil and Danish Oil.
Re: Box Elder Burl with Horses
Gary in Zirconia,NC
>Thanks so much Molly! I'll try the oil. The cracks I got are very small.
Re: Box Elder Burl with Horses
RevDoug
>I think I like this one even more than the mahogany. Just wonderful. thanks
Turn 'em round,
RevDoug
Thanks Rev!
Molly Winton
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