Natural Spiral Knot Walking Cane

Sometimes I find a piece of wood that I try to work as little as possible – usually for wands since I come across small interestingly shaped pieces than larger ones. If memory serves, which it might not, this was cut from the small patch of woods growing (mostly maple) near my house where some sort of vine grew along the small tree creating the nice spiral. I stripped away the bark then sanded it and after deciding to leave it as is applied some boiled linseed oil. It is on the smaller side measuring 50” or 4’2” making more of a cane or walking stick than a staff.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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Knotted Haft Garnet Magic Wand

I’m very proud of this wand. When I came across the haft laying in some brush I knew it’d be perfect for wand-crafting.

The haft and blade are made from separate pieces of wood. After removing the bark from the knotted haft and shaping the blade I sanded them down, secured them together, and the whole wand a few coats of boiled linseed oil for protection and aesthetics. A garnet crystal was also embedded in the base of the haft.

Even though it’s a bit large for a wand at about 17” it’s well balanced with a comfortable, natural grip.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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Engraved Stones

I’ve recently by practicing engraving various depictions on stones with plans for a more extensive engraving project planned.

If you can’t tell, I have an affinity for ancient Egyptian culture and astronomy choosing to carve out ancient hieroglyphs and star constellations – Orion and the twelve signs of the zodiac. The larger black stones are coated with a water-proof sealant meant to protect the ink and giving the stones a remarkable sheen that came out wonderful!  The smaller colored and black stones have no coating since I used a paint-pen which dries quicker and won’t smudge despite handling.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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Solar System Hiking Stick

 

To celebrate the arrival of Juno to Jupiter and the profound progress we’ve made exploring our nook in the cosmos I decided to make a hiking stick depicting our solar system. Or, in other words, if taken hiking, it depicts the part of the universe you’re exploring while you do it!

From top to bottom: the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Sorry, no Pluto. Each celestial body was done using metallic ink, then coated with several layers of polyurethane to preserve both the stick and images and for overall protection from the elements. While debarking the wood, the innermost layer remained leaving the staff a reddish-brown copper color and comes to 56” tall.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Hiking Stick

Decided to make some fan art for one of my all-time favorite stories and “trilogy” series: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.”

I’m uncertain of the wood type since I only use found pieces and can only identify a species by its leaves and then only if those leaves are oak, or maple. During the de-barking process some of the innermost layers of bark were retained and giving the stick it’s lovely reddish-brown color.

The hiking stick stands at just under 55” tall featuring the iconic words “Don’t Panic,” the more iconic number “42,” and eyeless, smiling alien on many of the book covers in metallic ink at the top. I then finished it off with a few coats of polyurethane for aesthetics as well as protection from the elements so it can be used while exploring the universe and eating pie.

I decided against using a whale and flower pot, but may include them if I make another.

Artist: J.R. Goslant

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