A Whole New World

Well, as you can probably guess, I've been a little busy lately...  Ever since the Christmas season hit, I've just been playing catch-up with orders and requests.  However, this has led to a new and exciting venture!  My wood burning has expanded to include doing business signs!  Two orders have been filled, a third is in progress and I just got an inquiry for a fourth!  The first you should be able to see soon in downtown Corvallis in the window of Browsers' Bookstore.  The second, you'll have to attend some Renaissance Faires to see, as it has gone to a corset maker's business called 'Damsel in this Dress'.  The third could possibly end up being in more than 100 offices if they so choose to order that many.  Once I get the first one done, I'll find out how many more they want!  Whew!  So much happening!

I'm keeping up with events as well.  I've already done the Oregon Logging Conference this year and this Saturday, the 23rd, I'll be at the Clackamas Tree School event at the Community College.  The summer will of course be packed with Renaissance Faires including the Canterbury Faire in Silverton Oregon in July and the Shrewsbury Faire in Kings Valley Oregon in September.  I'm still waiting to find out about the Sherwood Fantasy Faire in Sherwood Oregon and the new Oregon Renaissance Faire in Hillsboro Oregon.  For that last one, it all depends on whether or not they'll let me vend for just a few of the weekends, as it runs for 6 in a row!  Could be fun, though!

I'm still taking special order for smaller pieces, it just may be a little bit more of a wait than it used to be.

So there you go!  All updated with the new and exciting adventures in wood burning!  I hope to post here somewhat regularly again, but I can't make any promises. :)  So, if you want to keep up with what's going on in the wood burning world, you can visit my Facebook page at 'Great Jesspectations' or go to my new website at www.greatjesspectations.com

Holiday shopping

Well, the Christmas season is definitely upon us and the day is closing in fast!  Thank goodness I managed to get all of my orders done!  Of course I can't post any photos of them until after the holiday for obvious reasons, but trust me, there were some fun ones!

Ooo, and as it turns out, the Art Center in Brownsville is planning on staying open for the weekend after Christmas too!  That means that you can still get that special something for that special someone and even have them pick it out!  Here's a great gift idea: Make a little gift certificate for a piece of art, jewelry, or handmade trinket, and have your loved one open that on Christmas day.  Then take them to the Art Center and have them select their special item!

I was really impressed with what we have at the Art Center.  Mugs, hats, scarves, paintings, prints, jewelry, sunflower stalk walking sticks, cards, wall sconces, pottery, soaps, preserves, chutneys, and of course wood burnings. ;)  

One thing I will share with you, even though it's not a wood burning, is a painting I completed for a good friend as a gift this year.  (Don't worry, they've already received it.)  So here is another pursuit of mine, oil painting.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!  I look forward to another year of creating!

At long last!

After far too long, I am finally posting the finished show piece!   This was from a photograph I saw and fell in love with by photographer Terry Donnelly.  It's of a Mill Pond of Creagh Gardens at Skibberdeen.  I contacted the photographer and was granted permission to use the photo for this piece.
It took 42 hours and measures 16x20" and I've put it into the wonderful frame I was lucky enough to find!
It is currently on display (and for sale) at the Brownsville Art Center in Brownsville Oregon.  It will be there at least through December 22nd, and possibly through the month of January.
Ta-dah!

I wish I could have scanned this piece for a clearer image, but I'm afraid my scanner is not nearly large enough.
I hope you get the chance to see it in person!  I anticipate it coming with me to all of my summertime events, like the Sherwood Fantasy Faire, the Canterbury Renaissance Faire and the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire.  That is, unless someone buys it. :)

The Unveiling

Time for the reveal of my big project!

I had some wood left over after cutting my piece for my upcoming 16x20" show piece, and decided to make this for my mom and stepdad.

It's a cabinet and holder for toilet paper.  Their house was built in 1861, and so I chose designs for the wood burning that suited that time period.  The design on the cabinet door is of a late 1800's staircase baluster that would have been a piece cast in iron.  On the top I chose a honeysuckle motif that was popular for use on dishes, wall decor, embroidery, etc.

 Which, for some unknown reason, my computer has decided to rotate counterclockwise no matter what I do.

I finished the structure with a polyshades stain and coated the burned portions with mineral oil.  I had attempted to seal the entire thing with urethane, but after putting a coat of it on the backside of the door, I discovered that it turns the laminated pine yellow.  Unfortunate, but other methods will work.

So there you have it!  A large piece I built from scratch!  Now that's a sense of accomplishment!

Leave you wanting more

One big project this week and one smaller.  Just to string this out, I'll share the smaller one with you now.... and make you wait to see the big one!

Centerpiece

So I found this really cool wood frame that's rustic and natural looking and is deep enough to fit a piece of wood or a canvas.  So now I'm on the hunt for the ideal picture to wood burn and put in this frame.  I've got to choose carefully, though, because it's a 16"x20" piece!  I want it to be able to fit in at any and all shows I do, so I need to choose a subject that appeals to a wide audience. 

I posed that question on Facebook, asking my friends for opinions on what I should burn for this show piece.  I got a lot of really cool ideas... and some interesting ones...  I think the most interesting one was 'A surfing unicorn with a bear on its back holding a shotgun.'  As entertaining as that would be...  I don't think anyone would buy it for the price I'd have to put on such a large piece!  But you never know!

The options I'm most strongly considering are either an animal, probably a horse, or a castle or a forest scene.  I'll do some more research to find a photo that really inspires me and see what I come up with!

Born to be cute

The sea turtle craze seems to have died down a bit, but I have a feeling these cute little guys might find a home this holiday season.