Scroll Saw....

Oh craigslist what would I do without you? Blair and I got to talking about my dream of creating decorative architectural panels using layers of thin wood cut out with a jewelry saw, and he suggested we get a scroll saw.

I'm suspicious of all power tools.  My dad owned a metal shop when I was younger, so you'd think I'd be really good with power tools, but I feel like I'm unintentionally careless...so as a general rule of thumb, most of the time I've decided it's better to waste more time using a hand tool than risk losing a finger with a power tool...but late last night we browsed craigslist and found lots of options of scroll saws for $15-$50!  Oddly, the cheapest one was the nicest.  So today we went and picked it up, cause if I'm only paying $15 for the power tool I can afford the medical bill that goes with it, right?

I'm sooo excited about this saw, I can think of a dozen projects that I want to do with it...who knows, maybe I'll turn into a woodworker, all I needed was a fancy saw.

I found this photo while blog hopping...it really moved me.  I'm thinking of taking one of my sketches and turning it into something similar using thin layers of wood and a jewelry saw.  I'm sure it will be a several month long project.  But I love this piece, and would love to play around with the concept.

Peacocks!

If I’m going to start posting on my food blog, I guess I should bring back my art blog too, haha.  I am indeed working in my sketchbook these days. I seem to go through phases of diligence and passiveness, but right now I have a designated day/time, and that seems to be working well for me.  I’ve noticed that I’m quite the sponge; whatever I saw/did that week almost always ends up in my drawings (usually unintended).

I did this drawing right after seeking a bazaar display at the Kemper Art Museum.  The Kemper has these beautiful pristinely clean wooden floors. The show I saw had a large wooden tree (that looked like it had been through a forest fire) right in the middle of the room on that beautiful flawless floor, with dirt scattered all over the place, and real stuffed peacocks, charcoal black except for their gorgeous tails.

I’ve always been drawn to peacocks (who isn’t)…but their tails are just magical, with bold colors almost holographic painted onto them in a wispy non-solid way…I guess the piece really moved me, cause when I went home I created an abstract peacock without even intending to…just one stroke after another I kept thinking “that’s pretty.” 

P.S.  Check out what the drawing looks like with it's colors reversed...I kind of like it!