I’ve been trying to get back into making my staves and hiking sticks – I seem to always make a few, then fall out of it again.
But, I’m back at it once more and here’s another solar system themed stick! It’s got your basic planets plus Pluto and its moon, Charon; I also included Earth’s moon, a radio satellite, Sputnik, and a UFO. It stands at 55.5″ and is made of one of my favorite and underrated woods -sumac- which is lightweight, yet surprisingly sturdy. I used gel pens for the illustrations, a spray sealant, and finally some boiled linseed oil for some extra protection and an added sheen.
I believe this is my third fossil staff, but it has a slightly different style than the first two as I’m working with a new pyrography machine. On the previous iterations the fossils came out solid black rather than outlines and although I like the way it came out, I’ll probably try some of the other tips on the new machine to replicate the previous style.
This is another piece made of sumac wood which is great to work with: it grows fast, has an almost ivory like color and texture, is surprisingly sturdy, but soft which makes lets the wood burner cut through like butter. The height comes to just under 52″ and it depicts the fossilized skeletons of three dinosaurs: Tyrannosaurus rex, Edmontosaurus, and Stegosaurus from top to bottom. The staff itself is sanded smooth – made easier by the type of wood- and varnished with boiled linseed oil for a deeper sheen and protection from the elements.
I’ve been wanting to try to make this one for a while now and it came out pretty good. There’s a few processes and tecniques I might do different next time, but overall I’m very happy with the result. It’s fairly tall for a staff standing at 67″. The staff itself is made of semi-rough oak and the pyrography depicts images of 5 Ancient Egyptian deities along with various hieroglyphic motifs. The gods from top to bottom are Ra, Thoth, Anubis, Sobek, and Hathor. On the top of the staff is a band of Djed pillars aside star glyphs, the bottom banding depicts the Ankh, Wejda, Seneb (an Egyptian blessing meaning Life, Prosperity and Health) above the Djed, Nefer, and the Feather of Ma’at, with the connotations of Strength, Beauty, and Divine Justice. Below those six hieroglyphics is a field of stars – a sacred realm of the gods. The wood is also coated with boiled linseed oil for protection from the elements. Perfect for ceremonial purposes or just hiking through the forest!
Starting to return to wood burning by trying out my new pyrography machine and made this wonderful piece!
It displays a textured Viking serpent which historically had multivalent meanings, both positive and negative depending on context. The serpent is coiled around a 5’5″ piece of strong Rhode Island maple wood without being burdened by too much weight. The surface is smooth to the touch and finished off with a varnish of boiled linseed oil.
This staff depicts a tendriled Viking serpent coiled all the way up and down the length of the staff with the set of Elder Futhark runes inscribed within its body. It stands at just shy of 63.5″ and is made of sumac wood which is both lightweight and sturdy. It is also coated with boiled linseed oil for some protection against the elements.
It took a lot to finally get the dragons looking how I wanted them to look. Part of me wanted to color them, but at the same time I didn’t want to wash out any of the detail from the wood burner. So I decided to keep it simpler this time.
As you can see, this staff depicts three winged dragons, one large and two smaller which were created using a wood burner. The staff stands at 62.5″ and is made of maple wood. There’s is also a coating of boiled linseed oil to protect the wood from the elements.
I’ve always enjoyed sci-fi, but it’s only been within the last few years that I actually sat down to watch all of the various Trek shows – though I still have to watch most of the movies. Between that and the constant Trek memes appearing on my timeline I felt inspired to make a set of three themed staves.
This is the 3rd and perhaps my favorite of the three. This staff shows the icon symbolizing the Klingon Empire from Star Trek along with “Qapla” written on both sides of the staff, one in English and one in the Klingon script. The image and lettering were created with wood burning and paint pens. The staff itself is made of maple wood and stands at just shy of 53″. It has a coating of clear acrylic sealer and boiled linseed oil to protect the image and the wood.
I’ve always enjoyed sci-fi, but it’s only been within the last few years that I actually sat down to watch all of the various Trek shows – though I still have to watch most of the movies. Between that and the constant Trek memes appearing on my timeline I felt inspired to make a set of three themed staves.
This staff shows the Star Trek Vulcan symbol for “Infinite Diversity In Infinite Combinations” with the motto on the opposite side. The image and lettering were created with wood burning and paint pens. The staff stands at just above 51″ and is made of sumac wood which is both lightweight and sturdy. The staff also has a coating of acrylic sealer to and boiled linseed oil to protect the image and wood respectively.
I’ve always enjoyed sci-fi, but it’s only been within the last few years that I actually sat down to watch all of the various Trek shows – though I still have to watch most of the movies. Between that and the constant Trek memes appearing on my timeline I felt inspired to make a set of three themed staves.
This staff shows the emblematic combadge from Star Trek’s Starfleet with colored yarn displaying the colors of crew uniforms. On the opposite side quotes the famous intro line from both the original series and Next Generation “To Boldly Go.” The image and lettering were created with wood burning and paint pens. The staff itself stands at roughly 52″ tall, is made of sumac wood which is both lightweight and sturdy, and has a coating of acrylic sealer and boiled linseed oil to protect both the image and wood.
This is a shorter staff measuring only 49.5″ and is also another customized gift. It is a piece of beaver wood found in the Ammonoosuc river in New Hampshire. Both the top and bottom have been pointed by beavers and teeth marks are visible along the length of the staff. There are numerous Native American symbols depicted with wood burning, metallic pens, and paint pens. I hope it’s not a grievous case of cultural appropriation, I simply enjoy working with these symbols. Three turquoise beds are tied near the top of the staff. I used acrylic sealer and boiled linseed oil to protect the ink and wood respectively.
Many of the symbols have different stylizations and meanings depending on which tribe they’re from. I did my best to match each one with their respective tribes but couldn’t always find their specific origin. The dragonfly and butterfly depictions I used are not the same stylizations specific to any particular tribe, but the insects themselves are symbolic to many. And since meanings and styles differ greatly from tribe to tribe and clan to clan if I’ve written anything inaccurate I would like to know the accurate information.
Symbols and meanings present on staff:
Sun symbol, unspecified tribe: happiness
Dragonfly, Zuni: messengers of the spirit world, swiftness, activity
Turtle, Hopi, Navajo: persistence, longevity, mother Earth and in some myths saved their tribes from the Great Flood
Cut circle with eight projecting lines, unspecified tribe: Earth forces, permanent home
Kokopelli, Hopi, Zuni, fertility, spiritual and physical healing, love, and music
Thunderbird, found across North American tribes: most commonly associated with divine dominion, unlimited happiness, strength, protection, and indomitable spirit
Serpent Mound, Adena, Fort Ancient, or possibly earlier tribes, believed to mark solstices and special astronomical dates, spiritual power, and rebirth. It’s also similar to the Hopi Tokchi’i symbol which may represent the Serpent Mound, the guardian of the East which they believe was constructed by their ancestors
Crescent moon, unspecified tribe: guardian of Earth associated with femininity and grandmothers
Four pointed star, or Kachina, Pueblo Tribes: morning star, courage, and purity of spirit
Spiral, Pueblo Tribes: most commonly associated with a journey
Bear with arrow, Zuni: the arrow is called a heartline and traces the path of breath to the place of the spirit, represents and encourages strength and good health
Bear prints, unspecified tribe: good omen
Turquoise, Zuni: sky stone
Turquoise, modern generalized (likely from a distillation of ancient sources): wisdom, tranquility, protection, good fortune, and hope
Astrolabe Arts 