Project by Mark A. DeCou | posted 04-01-2009 04:52 PM | 6400 views | 2 times favorited | 11 comments | ![]() |
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This walking cane was made for a special lady named Nicolette, and so it is not for sale.
If you go to the bottom of this posting, you’ll find a list of walking canes for sale, and other examples of my past work.
Cane Serial Number: #2009-04
Height: 30.125 inches
Click here For more information on Scrimshaw Art:
thanks,
Mark DeCou
www.decoustudio.com
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Materials:
Cane Shaft: Curly Mulberry (top), Burled Walnut, synthetic mother-of-pearl, Hardrock Maple, Lathe Turned Brass Ferrule Tip w/ Rubber removable tip
Handle: Kansas Whitetail Deer Shed Antler, Synthetic Ivory, Scrimshaw Artwork, Abalone Shell
Project Story
I’ve known Nicolette for a few years. I don’t know her well, but we talk each time I visit a Hat Shop where my walking canes are set up for consignment sale. She is a petite lady in her mid-twenties, with a funny sense of humor, and a real passion for retail sales and helping customers find the hat they want. She’s also always on the cutting edge of style, and so I can never guess what she will be wearing, or how her hair will look when I enter the Hat Shop each time. Getting the chance to talk with her is always a highlight of each trip to the Hat Shop that I look forward to each time.
Several years ago, when I first walked into the hat shop with three Canes on a lunch hour from my Day Job, Nicolette looked at my handful of canes and said to me, and Jack, the Hat Shop Owner, “Oh yea, I can peddle those…”
Her confidence that they would sell, and that the customers that come into the hat shop would be interested in them, encouraged me to build more and pursue the art of Walking Cane Crafting as a core product in my woodworking business. She was right, and that was 6-7 years ago, I can’t remember exactly.
Then on October 30th, 2008, I received a shocking email that Nicolette had suffered a completely unexpected Stroke, and had died, and that her funeral would be the following Monday after her grandmother was able to fly in and see her in the hospital to say her last goodbye before she was removed from life support. So, the hospital agreed to leave her connected to life support until her grandmother could arrive.
Then, the miracles started to occur. First brain activity was detected, and the hospital postponed removing her from life support. Then, she started to improve a little each week. Then, she was released from the hospital to recuperate at home. Then, she was trying to get out of bed. Then, she started to try and walk, and regained some of her speech.
Then, her co-workers decided that she would need a walking cane, something original and custom made for her. So, her co-workers asked me to make her one with fancy woods, an antler handle, with a Preying Mantis as the theme, since she really liked the insects.
Nicolette is now walking, and sometimes without even any support, and I’m told she is happy, and bubbly, and just enjoys life so much. She’s hoping to return to work soon.
It is such a priviledge to see a Miracle occur like this. I know that many people have prayed for Nicolette after the initial incident, and since then.
I hope that each time she sees her “Praying Mantis”, she’ll be reminded of her friends and the Miracle that she is, and how much God loves her.
Thanks for reading,
M
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Cane Sample Slideshow: To hear Music, click the Speaker Icon
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More Walking Sticks & Canes:
If you go to my Mark DeCou Website you won’t find very many canes pictured there. I do realize that I need to invest in improving my website, but until that is accomplished, here are few more of my canes posted at lumberjocks, thanks for your patience.
Handmade Finished Canes For Sale, Ready to Ship Now:
ETSY.com Online Shop Inventory: Click Here to Visit my Cane Inventory Page
Some Cane that are Unsold:- Folk-Art Carved Wood Spirit Hiking Stick, Serial N0. 2009-06
- Folk-Art Carved Pirate Face Cane -Serial No. 2005-16
- Folk-Art Carved Mountain Man Face Cane -Serial No. 2006-03
- Fancy Barley Twisted Ebonized Oak & Elk Antler Cane, Serial No. 2009-05
- Rustic Natural Walking Stick, Nanny McPhee Movie Inspired, Serial No. 2009-07
- Fancy Dress Cane, Curly Ambrosia Maple Handle with Black Spiral Shaft, Serial No. 2008-21
- Fancy Dress Cane, Walnut Bamboo Inspired Shaft, Buffalo Horn Laminated Handle, Serial No. 2008-23
- Scrimshaw Artwork Walnut Cane -Serial No. 2008-08
- Red Oak/Black Lacquered Twisted Cane -Serial No. 2008-14
- Red Oak Barley Twist Walking Cane -Serial No. 2008-15
- Walnut Ball-Top Dress Cane -Serial No. 2008-06
- Walnut Cane with Chrome Ball Knob -Serial No. 2008-20
- Carved Thumbstick Hiking Sticks with Composite Malachite -Serial No. 2008-24
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- Bishop’s Carved Walnut Crosier
- Nascar’s Jimmie Johnson Themed Walking Cane
- Carved Oak Leaf Walking Stick
- Folk-Art Smiling Wood Spirit Face Cane w/ Elk Antler Handle
- Folk-Art Carved Wood Spirit Hiking Stick
- Folk-Art Pirate Carved Face Cane w/ Deer Antler Handle
- Cartoon Character Taz, Folk Art One-of-a-kind Art Cane
- Sculpted Wood Spirit Face Cane
- Folk-Art Wood Spirit Cane w/ Elk Antler Handle & Scrimshaw
- Folk Art Mountain Man Face Cane
- Shamrock Wood Spirit Irish-Theme Face Cane
- Walnut Wood Spirit Face Cane with Antler & Turquoise
- Collection of Face Carved Canes
- Moses-Inspired Face Carved Cane w/ Antler & Turquoise
- Shepherd's Stick, Carved Border Collie Welsh-Style Dog Show Trial Stick
- Carved Oak Leaf Walking Cane with Scrimshaw Artwork
- Amazing Grace Music Notes Carved Cane
- A Lady’s Elegant Red Long-Stem Rose Carved Cane
- Prairie Fire Hand-Carved Hiking Thumb Sticks
- A Folk-Art Carved Albatross Head & Snake Walnut Cane
- Carved Folk-Art Walking Cane; 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' Story Stick with Scrimshaw Artwork-
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- Apache Chief Geronimo Folk-Art Face Cane
- Folk Art Native American Face Cane Set
- Apache Chief Cochise Folk-Art Face Cane
- Folk Art Carved Cane of Shoshone Chief
- Indian Guides Chief Big-Red-Cloud Hiking Stick
- Apache Chief Cochise #2 Folk-Art Face Cane
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- Scrimshaw Art Trophy Buck Deer Head
- Scrimshaw Art Walking Cane: Praying Mantis Insect
- Scrimshaw Art Walking Cane: Floppy Eared Bunny Face & Walnut Barley Twist
- Big & Tall Barley Twisted Oak with Scrimshawn Handle
- Walnut & Curly Maple Cane with Scrimshaw
- Scrimshaw Art Walnut Cane
- Fancy Barley Twist with Scrimshaw Cane
- Lady's Dress Cane, Red Oak, Walnut, Black Lacquer, & Scrimshaw Artwork of a Purple Cone Flower
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- Folk-Art Carved Wood Spirit Hiking Stick
- Nanny McPhee Movie-Inspired Crooked Walking Stick
- Naturally Twisted Tree Sapling Cane
- Naturally Twisted Tree Sapling Walking Stick
- Shepherd's Crook Hiking Stick
- Black Locust Tree Sapling Walking Stick
- Red BirchTree Sapling Hiking Stick
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- Fancy Barley Twisted Ebonized Oak & Elk Antler Cane, Serial No. 2009-05
- Big & Tall Walnut & Maple Barley Twist Custom Cane
- Big & Tall Red Oak and Antler with Scrimshaw Monogram
- White Oak Barley Twist Cane
- Osage Orange Barley Twist Cane
- Walnut & Figured Maple Barley Twist cane
- Black Walnut and Spalted Sycamore Barley Twist
- Red Oak Barley Twist with Black Lacquer
- Red Oak Barley Twist with Walnut Handle
- Dress Cane, Oak Barley Twist with Walnut Ring
- Bryan's Cane, The Start of my Cane Journey
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- Pink Ivory and Elk Antler Dress Walking Stick
- Coiled Ribbon Twisted Spalted White Oak with Walnut Handle
- Polished Black Steer Horn Upright Walking Stick
- Mexican Bocote Wood, Elk Antler Handle with Hand-Wrought Fine Silver End Caps
- Fancy Walking Cane, Camphor Burl, Maple, Bubinga, Whitetail Deer Antler, Inlays & Silver End Caps
- Custom Dress-Up Walking Cane, Walnut shaft with a Camphor Burl Handle
- Walnut & Buffalo Horn Twisted Cane
- White Birch & Buffalo Horn Twisted Cane
- Walnut Bamboo-Style Cane with Chrome Ball Top
- Walnut & Buffalo Horn Dress Cane
- Bird's Eye Maple Cane
- Spalted Sycamore Walking Cane
- Walnut Tall Knob Top Opera Cane
- Zebrawood & Walnut Knob Top Opera Cane
- Dress Cane Set, with several Material Options Shown
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What is Scrimshaw Artwork?:
A Scrimshaw Art Journey: What it is & How to Do it; Five Simple Steps to Success
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Click here to go to My Website page with Walking Canes
- Hatman Jack’s Wichita Hat Works in Wichita, Kansas
- Hutchinson Art Center in Hutchinson, Kansas
- Prairie Past Times Antiques & Crafts in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas
You can contact these gallery stores directly and see what they still have in stock. They will ship to you if you buy something. If you prefer, you can also email me, as I keep fairly current on what is “unsold.”
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Background: My Cane Making Story:
I enjoy sculpting walking canes. Some folks call them Folk-Art Canes, while others call them Artisan Canes, some call them Carved Canes, while others call them Walking Sticks. There is quite a bit of argument about whether something should be called Sculpture or Carving. They could be considered Functional-Art, which is the type of work that I am usually drawn to. No matter what these canes are called, they seem to bring joy to the owners, and I have been asked to make quite a few of them in the past 5-6 years.
I started making canes on the request of a nice married couple I met on a church-building short-term mission trip to Mexico City in the early 1990’s. Several years after our trip, their son-in-law was diagnosed with bone cancer, and so they wanted to get him a specially made cane that he would enjoy using. They had heard from others that I had quit my corporate office job and started doing woodworking full-time. So, they contacted me to make his cane.
Sadly, I also built him a casket, another first for me, about a year later
Since the time I did that first Cane for Bryan, I have enjoyed the work on the canes that I have been able to make, but more importantly, the people that I have been able to meet and help along the journey. I do make a bunch of unique items and furniture, but without a doubt, I receive more correspondence and thank-you cards from cane customers than any of the other items I make, combined. So, they are fun for me to build, and I look forward to each new person and situation.
To keep a handle on all of the memories, I engrave a small serial number on each brass cane tip, and then I keep a detailed database log of each cane, customer, and situation. The list always brings me warm memories each time I scan it and remember the folks that have supported my work over the years, and vice versa.
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Still Want to See more of my work?
Start with each of these links, and they will take you to other organized lists of my other niche products:
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(This text, all photos, project design, are protected by copyright 2007-2009, M.A.DeCou, all rights reserved and protected, ask permission first! Weblinks to this page are permitted)
-- Mark DeCou - American Contemporary Craft Artisan - www.decoustudio.com
11 comments so far
SteveKorz
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2140 posts in 4723 days
#1 posted 04-01-2009 04:59 PM
Awesome project and story! The cane looks great!
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †
Will Mego
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307 posts in 4721 days
#2 posted 04-01-2009 05:40 PM
A touching story, and a great cane. I’d love to see what you could create as far as handmade tools. I know you’ve made lots of hatmaking tools, But if you’ve made other tools, I’d love to see them.
-- "That which has in itself the greatest use, possesses the greatest beauty." - http://www.willmego.com/
Mark A. DeCou
home | projects | blog
2009 posts in 5415 days
#3 posted 04-01-2009 06:22 PM
Thanks Steve. And thanks also Will, and thanks also for your comment in my last blog. Wish I felt things were improved some since I wrote that. Just the opposite actually I feel.
I have wanted to do woodworking tools for quite awhile, the way-over-the top, more-fancy-than-anyone-would-ever-need, scared-to-actually-use-it, sort of stuff for collectors of such things. Quite a high percentage of my hat making tools, powder horns, and hunting knives, all sit unused on a shelf, which sort of gave me the idea that woodworkers might also collect such decorative art tools.
I was planning to start with small Hand Block Planes with scrimshaw artwork and inlays, and carvings, and fancy woods with brass metal and silversmithed components. Sort of like jewelry for woodworkers. Not the type of thing that Bridge City is doing that looks great and industrial, but more artsy, folk-artsy, hand made looking things. I just haven’t gotten to that project yet. Soon though I hope. There is a lot of planning that goes into launching a new product line to my work, and I just haven’t caught up on my commissions orders enough to justify trying anything new at this point. I think they would be popular, or at the very least, give me something to donate to charity auctions, and use as gifts for friends and family, and something to throw into the mix of things in my Etsy.com Shop.
thanks for your comments,
M
-- Mark DeCou - American Contemporary Craft Artisan - www.decoustudio.com
dennis mitchell
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3994 posts in 5324 days
#4 posted 04-01-2009 06:53 PM
I’d love to see your hand crafted woodworking tools. That would be art!
Will Mego
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307 posts in 4721 days
#5 posted 04-01-2009 06:55 PM
I would be thrilled if you made planes or really anything. Even if they’re just for your own use.
-- "That which has in itself the greatest use, possesses the greatest beauty." - http://www.willmego.com/
mtnwild
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3717 posts in 4536 days
#6 posted 04-01-2009 10:03 PM
What an amazing story. Great cane!! It’s not round. Very cool. Super mantis. I’m sure it will be a great help with her physical and mental recovery. Thanks for sharing such an amazing happening.
-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.
darryl
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1795 posts in 5336 days
#7 posted 04-02-2009 12:38 AM
that is a tremendous story, and I bet Nicolette will cherish this cane for the remiander of her life. fantastic work Mark.
I especially love the scrimshaw in this one, vey well done.
cabinetmaster
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10873 posts in 4567 days
#8 posted 04-02-2009 01:43 AM
Job well done Mark. Your work is truelly artisic. I would love to get back to Kansas sometime and visit with you and see some of your work in person.
-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps
savannah505
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1868 posts in 4595 days
#9 posted 04-02-2009 02:04 AM
Superb work, best canes I’ve seen, and awesome story.
-- Dan Wiggins
Karson
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35270 posts in 5410 days
#10 posted 04-02-2009 02:33 AM
Mark: You continue to amaze me in the way you get drawn into peoples lives and are able to show your special spirit into their life and soul.
I’m very glad to classify you as a special friend.
Mark be blessed.
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Appomattox Virginia [email protected] †
jockmike2
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10635 posts in 5256 days
#11 posted 04-02-2009 05:48 PM
Mark, you continue to amaze me as you show your love for your fellow man and women without asking for anything in return. I want people to know your kind, gentle, giving nature. To talk to you, one would gather you to be a shrewd business man with a plan. Which I have no doubts you probably are. The side they wouldn’t see is the God loving, fellow man loving, giving, sharing, nurturing, wonderful man that isn’t apparent right away, or may never be known by some people. Yes Karson, I agree 100% I count Mark as a very special friend. God Bless, Mark.
-- (You just have to please the man in the Mirror) Mike from Michigan -
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