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squanpie β Pyrography
#celtic #christmas #coaster #decoration #knot #man #pine #pyrography #snow #snowman #tree #wood
Published: 2016-12-28 15:39:30 +0000 UTC; Views: 448; Favourites: 6; Downloads: 3
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So guess what I got for Christmas? That's right, a pyrography tool! (And some bits of wood to burn, as my parents evidently thought ahead in fear for their furniture...)Coaster and Christmas decoration - the knot was borrowed from a quick google search for aΒ practice but I'll be working on creating my own designs now.
Watch this space!
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Comments: 18
All three are wonderful but I so want that Celtic Knot!!!!!!!!!!!
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You'll have to join the queue there!
Ta much!
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But.... The Line is so long!!!!! This better be an E-ticket ride!!!!!!!!!!
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Funnily enough, it's a line full of displaced Scots! Seriously!
I'm still looking into the best way of finding celtic knot designs I can use and sell for these things. I don't think there's an issue with using others' designs for quick practice pieces like this, but if I start making them more seriously, I'll need to make sure I've got rights to use the designs. Or I could try and make my own, but I really don't think very well in celtic knot patterns!
That and I'm waiting on finding a good source of nice bits of wood to make coasters out of rather than the plywood disks like that one there - though they look ok in a photo, they feel decidedly cheap in person. I'll keep things updated as and when I start getting more serious with the pyrography!
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LOL Well, here in the US it is very hard to get anything that is celtic or British, you have to go online....
You know, at Scottish fests, or in British shops here, we use to be able to get REAL Cadbury's products, the Real Chocolate like Flakes, but Hershey's here in the US has the import rights to the Cadbury name, and they produce "Cadbury" chocolate bars and eggs, and they ended up demanding that Cadbury in the UK could no longer import their products here to the US to force us to buy the cheaper product which while it isn't bad.... IT just doesn't have that real Cadbury's taste and flavor.
But yep, keep up the great art Squanpie, everything you do is wonderful. I am trying to get the time to read your writings now.
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beautifully done! I can't wait to see what designs you can come up with!
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Cheers! I've got a couple more finished actually - I just need to buy some stuff to seal them before I photograph them.
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Wow!Β I especially like the knot and the tree.Β I think for a medium like this nature-based or classic themes appeal to me the most - the snowman is really cute but not what I would choose if, say, I was going to buy one of these.Β You should make some as pendants and other jewelry.
I like on both the tree and the snowman that the natural colors and grain of the wood really show through.Β The grain shows through on the knot but is less pronounced because so much of it is dark.
It is unfortunate that the top of tree merges into where you put the hole for the hanger.Β It wasn't super noticeable when I looked at the three as a whole, but it's one of the first things that drew my attention on a closer inspection.
I was going to suggest that for purposes of photographing your work you includes something that shows the size of them, but now that I think on it more I feel like the ribbon hangers almost serve that function (assuming the ribbon is of a reasonable standard size) and the look is more elegant without anything thrown in for comparison.Β You could also just provide the size in your comments.Β I think it is more interesting, as a viewer, to know whether we are looking at something tiny and intricate or more substantial and bold.
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Thanks for the comment, Merry Critmas!
That's an interesting point about the nature themes, and one I hadn't considered at all. The snowman was my very first attempt with using the new toy, so I wanted something with fairly simple shapes, but I see your point there. I just finished one with a Christmas wreath on it, which possibly fits better.
As for the hole in the tree... you got me! The tree and snowman are actually reverse sides of the same bit of wood, with some sneaky photoshopping to get this image. I drilled the hole through the snowman side and forgot to check the reverse
As for the size, yeah - the one in the middle is a coaster which should give a bit of size indication but I'll admit that's not very clear. I think for these, I might try including something related to the subject - e.g. pine cones, cinnamon bark, holly leaves - that would frame it and add a scale indicator without having to throw in the usual odd coin or even worse, ruler.
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Ah yes, knowing the middle one is a coaster helps with the size; I would have thought they were all a bit smaller. I like the idea of throwing in something related to help reveal size without sacrificing aesthetics.
I would not have thought that the snowman and tree were on the same piece of wood - good job with the photoshop
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I took the first photoΒ then without moving the camera flipped it over and took the other photo - so they were really easy to merge
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It's surprise critique time!
It's a pleasure to meet a fellow artisan crafter! Your woodworking/pyrography skills are amazing; the center piece especially because it takes a lot of skill to create a symmetrical pattern, and I canβt see a single flaw in it! Hope to see more crafts from you in the future 
Your presentation is great for the most part and this is one example where a dark background makes it easier to see the main piece, it's just difficult to see the cords because of the dark red background. If possible, I suggest taking a photo of these pieces under natural light or when hung up as ornaments, so that viewers can see the pieces as they're meant to be used
Hope this helped, and have a wonderful holiday!
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Well I did kind of cheat on the central one; since it was only a practice piece, I used a stock knotwork pattern, and traced it onto the wood. I'll have to look into all this in a lot more detail to work out what I can use going forward as I'd like to be able to sell some of these. I do have a few of my own knots waiting though, including one I just finished and am just waiting to get hold of the stuff to seal/varnish it before uploading.
That's a good idea about photographing them when hung up. Perhaps when I've got a few more of the Christmas decorations I'll get a group of them together hung on a tree - though that'll likely be next December when it's relevant again!
Dimensions is another very good point. The one in the middle is a coaster, which should give a rough size indication, but I agree that's vague and easy to miss. I think going forward I'll try and include some other random junk in the photos that's relevant to the subject - like maybe I could put some holly leaves, or pine cones in this one. That ought to show scale and be much more interesting than the usual odd coin or worse, ruler!
Thanks for the comment, Merry Critmas!
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Sorry for the super-late reply, and you are welcome 
That's a practice piece that turned out extremely well 
Sounds great - I'm glad that you found my suggestions helpful! For the photos, leaves are a great idea - it's definitely more interesting than showing the size using a ruler.
Thank you as well, and hope your year has been going well so far!
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I was amazed how quick it was to pick up, too. It feels really surreal, actually - you're sitting there holding a glowing bit of wire, and using it almost exactly like a pencil. Light, shade, the way it feels to hold. Best Christmas present I've had in a long time!
I might have to fore-go the leaves thing this time round - since the only ones I have that suit the piece I'll be uploading later are rather firmly attached to their plant! Still, I've got some good plans lined up for a few Easter themed ones, so hopefully they'll come out as well as they look in my mind!
Thanks again
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You have a good foundation as evidenced through your drawings, so it's not that surprising that you would pick this up quickly 
I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying it~ and from your latest pieces I can tell you're improving really quickly! I think your pieces will come out as well as they look in your mind
You're welcome~
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