This week we decided to set up a reading nook for @tamarynart in the basement (which will eventually be curtained off). I threw together this little table to go next to her new chair. The top is a walnut log I got for free down the road a few years ago (cut for power lines) and the legs are a spalted white oak log I picked up from the in-laws yard in NC last year. I had zero designs making this and built it on the fly, guided by that gorgeous feathering after I cut the log in half. I’m pretty happy with it for having essentially started as 100% firewood!
I’ve been slowly accumulating garden seeds, both leftovers from this spring, and harvested seeds (for example, I ferment a couple tomatoes every year to collect for next year). I had a large dusty ziplock of them just sitting in my shop and decided they needed to go into a dark, dry box in our basement pantry. This was a great excuse to use up some cherry logs I got from my boss, which are completely filled with bug holes and not very usable for most things. But they’re perfect for something that will be hidden for ~363 days a year and only be seen by me. So why did I waste time on that power-carved walnut leaf top? Because I’ll still see it once a year. Also, I wanted to practice cutting some dovetails. I also through some dry rice in there as a desiccant.
“Momo”, 2020, wood intarsia, no paint/stain, except the eyes.
My niece @dorky_artista recently convinced me to watch “Avatar: the Last Airbender”. I had already been considering it since I’m a huge Dave Filoni fan (Clone Wars, Rebels, now head of Lucasfilm animation, and was involved in Mandalorian), who got his start with Avatar.
Let me just say that, despite being a show “for kids”, it really lived up to the hype in terms of superb emotional storytelling and character development. I became an instant fan. Such memorable characters!
As I was watching I randomly had the thought “I have to make Momo for my niece!”. I didn’t even initially intend for it to be a birthday present. It was gonna be a “just because I love you present”. But I saw her bday coming up, and thought “perfect!!”.
Then as I designed it I thought “this is too cute. I have to make a matching one for me too.” So I made two of them. 😂
Made from holly, maple, walnut, ebony, yew, elm, and a cherry background. @chestnutproducts Spirit stains for the irises.
Wooden intarsia art. 23 species of wood, no paint/stain.
Im happy to finally post the final shots of this piece devoted to everyone’s favorite Vampire familiar/slayer!
After watching “What We Do in the Shadows” (@theshadowsfx) on @fxnetworks, this idea randomly hit me one day and it was one of those “well I guess I have no choice but to make this now” deals. I felt compelled. After I began, I must admit that a big motivation came from the Guillermo actor himself, Mr. Harvey Guillén (@harveyguillen). It turns out, Harvey is a pretty rad guy in real (virtual) life and gave me tons of private encouragement and funny little quips he’d rather I not share for reasons that would be obvious 😜. Needless to say, my inner geek was pretty stoked to be chatting about an artwork with the actor who inspired it! Harvey is easily 1 of the 4 funniest characters on the show and everyone should watch it. 😜
The best part? Harvey Guillen himself now owns this piece!!!
This piece is is roughly based on a promo from FX marketing. I wanted to add a little more detail to highlight the duality behind Guillermo’s loyalty as a familiar/desire to become a vampire and his apparently inherent penchant for slayage. The sun, fire, and door represent his first hilarious kill. Of course I added the stake bandolier and a crossbow. But astute fans will note that the bandolier also contains his trusty “Tide to go” pen for clean-up duties. The promo had the bat wings as sort of a looming presence. But I see them here more as Guillermo’s desire to become a Vamp and “BAT!” away with Nandor (@kayvan_novak). The font is based on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.
I’ve been wanting to make a wooden Bandit ever since I started creating intarsias. But as some of you know, Bandy hasn’t been doing so great lately. In fact, while making this, he began coughing a lot and was subsequently diagnosed with congestive heart failure (So far the meds seem to be working, though they will exacerbate his kidney disease). He’s almost 14 and already has chronic kidney disease, 1 blind eye and 1 deaf ear. But he’s had a pretty sweet life and almost zero health problems until the last couple years. @tamarynart got him as a gift from her ex when she was 19!! And I’ve now been his daddy for half that time. And he’s been the absolute best fur-son I could ever have hoped for. He pretty much has to be cuddling one of us at all times, and I’ve never met a friendlier dog.
Made from sycamore and crab apple. This is the second time I‘ve actually stained one of these pieces. But I wanted the colors to be pretty close to correct. I used @chestnutproducts Spirit Stains.
Oh, and just to preempt: I’m not particularly interested in doing pet portrait commissions. Unless you’re like super rich, then maaaybe. 😂 But @ingrainedmoments_woodcraft makes amazing pet portraits a step or 10 above mine!
