Astrolabe Arts

Pyrite Petroglyph Staff

A more modest petroglyph staff with symbols found in rock carvings from around the world: some symbols like the spiral are fairly universal, but a good number of these are found in the Southwestern areas of the US. The meaning of many petroglyphs remain obscure to this day, some claim they depict shamanic rituals while others say they show evidence of ancient astronauts. The symbols here were created with various paint pens. A piece of pyrite bordered by black rawhide crowns the top of the staff and then the entire 4’8“ piece was given a few coatings of acrylic sealer to protect the paint from running and from overall weathering.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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November 14, 2019October 24, 2019 by jrgoslant Categories: Staffs and Hiking SticksTags: hiking staff, hiking stick, petroglyphs, walking staff Leave a comment

Spiraled Spalting Wand

Here’s another experimental and single piece wand where the blade and haft are a solid piece of wood. I wanted to keep practicing my modest wood carving abilities with this one. There’s some light carving on the base of the haft and a spiral running the length of the blade and wound with copper wire. The haft also has a wrapping of waxed hemp under black rawhide. The roughly 12” long wand of spalting wood also has a coating of boiled linseed oil for preservation.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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November 6, 2019October 24, 2019 by jrgoslant Categories: WandsTags: magic wand, wire wrapping, wood working Leave a comment

Natural Beaver Chew Wand with Blue Jay Feathers

The blade and haft are a single piece of river wood and, as evidenced by the teeth marks and pointed tips, debark by beavers. I then used different colored yarn for the patterns. The black, red, yellow, and white bands were inspired by the medicine wheel found in numerous native North American cultures with each color representing one of the four the cardinal directions. Each band is bordered by smaller blue bands I intended to represent rivers, lakes, the seas and the overall importance of water. Below those is a crosshatch pattern of dark and light green, blue, and orange on a background of white meant to symbolize the interplay between earth, water, fire, and air. The blade is coated with boiled linseed oil and comes to just under 24” in length. A strand of pyrite, turquoise, and skull beads capped with found blue jay feathers is attached to the midpoint of the wand. The patterns on the haft have also been given a thin layer of acrylic sealer for some protection against weathering.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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October 29, 2019October 24, 2019 by jrgoslant Categories: WandsTags: beaver chew, beaver wood, magic wand, natural, shaman wand Leave a comment

Vines and Flowers Magic Wand

Another experimental wand: I wanted to try out some simple wood carving and find a medium for smaller, more detailed designs and metallic pens work quite well. It’s two separate pieces of wood joined together. I also used an acrylic sealer to protect the flowers and vines from rubbing off and to preserve the wood. There’s also a terminated quartz crystal embedded in the haft and wound with colored hemp twine for added cohesion, both physical and aesthetic. And including the embedded crystal comes to just under 15” in length. It’s also lightweight in case you’re ever inclined to carry it with you someplace.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 by jrgoslant Categories: WandsTags: magic wand, wood working Leave a comment

Dinosaur Fossil Hiking Stick 2

This is the second dinosaur fossil hiking stick that I’ve made, it’s one of my favorite styles. On this staff, going from top to bottom, are the fossil skeletons of a tyrannosaurus rex, a plesiosaur, and dilophosaurus created with a wood-burner. It stands at about 57” and has several coats of polyurethane to preserve and protect the wood.

Artist: Justin Goslant

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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August 19, 2017July 22, 2017 by jrgoslant Categories: Staffs and Hiking SticksTags: dilophosaurus, dinosaur, dinosaur fossil, dinosaurs, fossil, fossils, hiking staff, hiking stick, plesiosaur, pyrography, t rex, tyrannosaurus rex, walking staff, walking stick, wood burning Leave a comment

Natural Wand

The wood of this wand is most likely birch, but was difficult to be certain because it’s also a “beaver chew,” also called a “beaver stick,” and has had the bark chewed off. But this process has left clear tooth marks on parts of the wand’s blade. The point of the wand was also created naturally by beavers.

Continuing with the strong natural theme of this wand I attached a quartz crystal to the bottom of the haft and used vines to help keep it secure. I also attached feathers I found, one from a blue jay, a cardinal, and a small yellow bird -probably some kind of finch. There’s a little detailing done with a wood-burner and bands of yellow, blue, and red hemp to match the colors of each feather.

It’s about 13.5” long and polished with boiled linseed oil.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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August 12, 2017July 22, 2017 by jrgoslant Categories: WandsTags: beaver chew, beaver stick, beaver wood, bird feathers, blue jay, blue jay feather, cardinal, cardinal feather, crystal, feather, magic wand, natural, nature, pyrography, quartz, quartz crystal, vine, vines, wand, wood burning, yellow bird, yellow feather Leave a comment

“Wanderer” Hiking Stick

This is one of a series of projects I did with a more minimalist aesthetic. I tried some ideas I hadn’t tried before like leaving some of the bark on the wood to create a different look. The polyurethane coats enhanced the different shades on the bark making it look like chocolate and vanilla marble cake.

There’s only limited wood-burning on this staff: the diagonal lines bordering the bark hand-grip; a compass star; and the words “Not All Who Wander Are Lost.” On the opposite side is a leaf preserved and attached with polyurethane. It stars at about 61” tall and has a good weight that makes it sturdy, but still light enough to use while hiking.

Artist: Justin Goslant SOLD

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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August 5, 2017July 22, 2017 by jrgoslant Categories: Staffs and Hiking SticksTags: compass, compass star, hiking staff, hiking stick, leaf, nature, nature staff, not all who wander are lost, pyrography, staff, star, walking staff, walking stick, wood burning Leave a comment

Small Ægishjálmur and Elder Futhark Hiking Stick

This staff is about 53” tall and made from a piece of river wood, more specifically a “beaver chew,” or “beaver stick.” Beavers removed the bark from the wood by chewing it off and although the light sanding and polyurethane coats have obscured many of the toothmarks, some still remain visible.

I wood-burned the Nordic rune “Ægishjálmur” twice at the top and was meant to protect the wearer in battle. Originally I wanted to do a Nordic compass, it looks similar, but it’s a little more detailed and would have been much more difficult to do given the size of my wood-burner. Going down the staff on each side is the Elder Futhark rune set with each one representing a letter, a number, and would be used in divination.

Artist: Justin Goslant SOLD

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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July 29, 2017July 22, 2017 by jrgoslant Categories: Staffs and Hiking SticksTags: Ægishjálmur, beaver, beaver chew, beaver stick, Elder, elder futhark, futhark, hiking staff, hiking stick, Nordic, Nordic compass, pyrography, river wood, rune set, runes, runic, Viking, walking staff, walking stick, wood burning Leave a comment

Buddhist Staff

This staff stands at 55” and was one of a series of smaller projects with a more minimalist aesthetic. There’s only two symbols burned into the top, a tan, raw-hide grip, and two glass fish beads reminiscent of koi fish. The symbols are the Buddhist “Ohm” symbol and the Japanese character for “peace.”

The polyurethane was originally meant to just protect and preserve the wood, but it also really enhanced the colors of the wood creating a marble-like contrast.

Artist: Justin Goslant SOLD

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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July 22, 2017July 22, 2017 by jrgoslant Categories: Staffs and Hiking SticksTags: beads, buddhist, buddhist symbol, fish beads, hiking stick, Japanese, Japanese peace symbol, koi, koi beads, koi fish, ohm, ohm symbol, peace, peace symbol, pyrography, staff, walking staff, walking stick, wood burning Leave a comment

Cthulhu Cult Staff

The Staff of Cthulhu is certainly unique both in terms of the process and final product. Despite standing at 63” tall (a little longer if you measure with the curve) it’s surprisingly lightweight. The smooth, pale wood provided an excellent canvas for the wood-burning to really pop and stand out. However, the curved nature of a staff meant I had to wrap the image I wanted. The difficulty came in trying to navigate where to put what without bumping into something else. It also required texturing and slight shading which I hadn’t done with a wood-burner yet.

But, as you can see, Cthulhu’s hands, claws, wings, and mass off tentacles all fit within the limited space. Beneath the main depiction and hand grip made of black rawhide lace, are smaller cuneiform-like symbols I used to represent the phonetics of “Ph’nglui mglw’ nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn,” as it is in the Lovecraft mythos. It of course translates to “In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.” After the pyrography was done I sanded it again and gave it several layers of polyurethane for protection and its aesthetics.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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