While it took a fair amount of time, patience, and a steady hand to make this staff I enjoyed working on it and am pleased with the final result. Red and orange flowers are joined by a leafy vine wrapped around the body of the staff. It’s a 60″ piece of maple wood with a faux ladybug attached near the top. The images were wood burned onto the staff and the colors come from paint pens which give better control than a typical brush. I then used a spray on acrylic sealer to keep the paint from smearing and wearing off as well protecting the wood from weathering. I also used boiled linseed oil for an extra layer of protection which had the added benefit of giving the piece a subtle shine.
Tag: hiking
Bird Feathers Hiking Stick
Measuring only 49” or 4’1” this piece falls more into the cane or walking sticking category. The wood I’ve had for a while and can’t recall its origin, but it’s sturdy and is probably a local hardwood. It’s smooth to the touch and has been adorned with various bird feather patterns and a series of small bird tracks made with various paint pens. Near the top are a few strips of tan rawhide where several small eagle charms are affixed along with a blue jay feather weighted down with a dark turquoise bead. I sprayed with an acrylic sealer to keep the paint from running and for overall preservation and protection from weathering. Because the acrylic seal is so thin I tried an experiment and polished it off with some boiled linseed oil as an extra measure and it came out surprisingly well. However, in the interest of full disclosure, during the process, as sometimes happens with these projects, some linseed oil got onto the rawhide leather strips. It darkened them nicely, but is generally not supposed to be applied to leather as it can cause problems like stiffening down the road. However, stiffening, shouldn’t be a problem since the leather serves no functional operation and furthermore most of what I read said a single application shouldn’t be too problematic anyway, it’s with repeated applications that issues tend to arise.
Artist: J.R. Goslant
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AstrolabeArts
Solar System Hiking Stick
Artist: J.R. Goslant SOLD
Artist: J.R. Goslant SOLD
Artist: J.R. Goslant SOLD
Artist: J.R. Goslant SOLD
Artist: J.R. Goslant SOLD
Artist: J.R. Goslant SOLD
Artist: J.R. Goslant SOLD
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
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AstrolabeArts
https://www.facebook.com/AstrolabeArts/
Astrolabe Arts 