Whenever I walk in the woods I pick up sticks or interesting pieces of bark, or anything else that looks like it will have either an interesting texture or a wonderful pattern or shape. Many of these become textile pieces further down the line. But some are just so lovely as they are that I have created a group of them called Pick Up Stix. I take the original piece of wood, clean it well and then coat it with a graphite solution made from powdered graphite, denatured alcohol and shellac. You paint it on (usually 2 coats) and then rub it with another stick or a coin to get the graphite to take on that beautiful gray sheen. I have added gold paint into the cracks for contrast and definition.There is something so satisfying about the feel of these pieces.
When I was in design school in the 60's!!!! we had a project in our first year to make a "feel good". You were given a hunk of metal and then you had to cut, file and sand it until it felt good in your hand. Let me say that sticks are easier then metal.
5 comments:
These are beautiful Barbara. Thanks for posting.
wow...those are amazing, Barbara!
Gorgeous
Marvelous! So tactile and appealing.
I saw you pick up some of these. It’s great to see your vision realized! ConnieT
Post a Comment