GreenMan

Hi all,
When I started doing the greenman plaque, that I showed you partly complete last week, I didn't realise how big a project it was going to be. There was so much detail in it the whole thing took ages and it set my carpel tunnel syndrome off something shocking. That meant I had to keep stopping to give my wrist a break. Still it kept me busy and contented for a week and that's not a bad thing. If somebody is willing to pay me for my efforts that will be even better. I have just listed it on Folksy so we'll see how it goes.

I guess you are just aching to see the finished article so here it is in all its glory.

In last week's post I described how I went about creating the pattern for the image, so please check that post out if you interested. With regards to the burning process, the image was all done with a spoon tip. Care was taken to keep all the contour grain lines of the wood close together but not touching. When shading the leaves I did them slowly on a low temperature and blew cold air on the tip every tip I reconnected the tip with the wood. If you have done a bit of pyrography you will know that this is when you can get some horrible dark spots.

I particularly like the way the grain contours have turned out and the glint I have manged to capture in the eyes, which was done by very careful shading.

Now then, I said earlier that the pyrography had given my carpal tunnel some gype. Well I've decided to do something about it and hopefully kill two birds with one stone.

If you have been doing any pyrography you will know that wooden blanks can be expensive. Boxes can be found cheap but there is a reason for that, they are made from cheap wood. So, I have invested in a scroll saw and I'm going to start making my own wooded items, many of which will be decorated with pyrography.

If all goes well, I will get to create my own blanks and boxes and also give my wrist a break from repetitive strain. In my next post I'll show you the scroll saw and what I've done with it so far.