Something Fishy

Hi all,
I have mentioned before that once I get an idea for a project I tend to draw it. Firstly, because I'm at that age where my brains cells are not at their peak, therefore I can forget any inspiration that comes my way in a flash. The other reasons I like to draw my ideas is to see what they would look like on the object I and doing and for a little practise in drawing the chosen subject.

Anyway, I had this idea to turn a small lidded box from lime wood and decorate it with a shoal of small fish. Here is my drawing, which I did to see how it would look. The box would have an inserted lid with a knob, so that the view from the side would be uninterrupted.

The waving reeds would be draw at an angle to give the impression that the fish are swimming against the current. I was pleased with the drawing, so after turning the box and lid it was time to set about the pyrography.

A problem soon arose; there are fifteen fish swimming around the side of the pot and, because it was supposed to be a shoal of fish, they would all need to look pretty similar in shape and size.To do this by drawing them onto a curved surface was not a good idea because of the difficulty it would involve.

So I took the easy way out and made a fish shaped brand out of some Nichrome wire.  It only needed to be the outline of the fish because I could easily put the fins on after. To make the brand, I drew a fish shape on a piece of cardboard then cellotaped it to a piece of wood. Then I knocked nails in on the corners to give me something to shape the wire around.
Here's a pic.

Once the brand was made, I screwed it into my Peter Childs pyrography pen and it looked like this.

Then I did a few test burns on a piece of scrap wood and modified the shape a little to fit the curved shape of the box that I'd turned.

So that was it, I then used the brand to randomly burn fish onto the box. It was quite satisfying, not only because it was saving me time, but it made me feel like I was a cowboy branding young steers somewhere in Wyhoming. Thoughts of Bonanaza, Waggon Train and Rawhide filled my mind.
 After the branding, I did the fins, then the reeds and the gravel bottom. This is how it looked.

Nice enough, but I wanted to give it a bit more contrast so that the fish popped out. So I burnt in the background which was by turns both tedious and therapeutic. Here is the finished pot, your comments are welcome.

By the way, if you are interested in fishing. One of my books, "Carp Rustlers"

is available for a free download from today, 7th of April until the 9th. Please grab a copy and have a laugh.