Damascus protea ring

Walking past yet another ad for the Browns protea ring




got me thinking what it could actually be. I have made many based on that model at work but this btech is about pushing further than the commercial work I normally do.

I've been mulling over what to do with the other damascus piece I have, now I'm thinking protea inspired inlay




More to come on this one

Moon and clouds continued

I chose the haiku by Basho because I love the idea of clouds not getting in the way of the moon but rather giving respite to those gazing at the moon.

I painted the haiku on using sumi ink and brush. I did a test on the other half of the wood in case the ink bled and made the writing illegible. It stayed as did the stamps so that was a good result.



The weathered piece of wood came from under a tarp at my mom's house. I was looking specifically for weathered wood to carry the theme of wabi-sabi and this was perfect.

I cut a seat for the steel using small wood carving chisels.




Then cut the wood on a bandsaw and finished the base on the belt grinder so it would stand at a slight angle

Clouds and moon, finishing off

The mild steel plate I carved and inlayed the silver Enzo moon into has got a housing now.

I quite deliberately was aiming to capture the wabi-sabi aesthetic which is the combination of transience, which shows itself in the beauty of aging, austerity, serenity and loneliness. A touch of yugen crept in, which is a sense of mystery or wonder at an instant in time.

Bamboo on silk

I went to a bamboo thicket today, I've had trouble drawing it in sumi as I haven't been able to observe it up close. Spending some time there and taking pics I was able to get some grasp of the nature of bamboo and the way it grows.

Bamboo is plentiful in Japan and is used for many things, from tea ladles to building materials. It is a common theme in Japanese art.










I cut a thin branch from the clump with leaves as a 3d reminder then had a practice go on paper



Then painted on the second piece of silk.



Next is to design the titanium 'buckle'

Birds in my hedge scarf

I got one of my friends to hem the silk, I sized it yesterday.



This morning I painted the birds in the hedge right next to the window where they are.

I had to stretch the silk across my book shelf which was actually the perfect length.
I took the picture with the panorama setting as it is too long to get in the frame otherwise.

Geidō

Geidō is a collective term for Japanese traditional arts. It is also a description of the process of learning. Through learning traditional forms (kata) the practitioner develops a deeper understanding of aesthetics and thought processes of that art. These understandings are universal and can be applied to other activities. 

Short cuts to results are strongly discouraged as the kata and process of learning have been refined over time to have a specific effect on the practitioner.

The focus is more on how one prepares and consumes the tea in the Way of tea than on the result of drinking a cup of tea.

Dō means Way.

New tagane

I made some new tagane today, adding detail to a carving seems to need smaller and smaller cutting faces.

Here they are along side the first ones I made.



The older ones are on the left and the matchbox is for scale