Project Information
This piece was done initially when I was on holiday for a couple of days down the coast. I found the wood which I believe is a piece of Banksia which had literally snapped off the trunk and was rolling around on the sand. The main shape of the piece found was worked around and not altered much but to try to enhance what was already there. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo before carving it, as I well…. hid some chisels away in the car and took them away with us. So when I had some time I started on the hand then. Very peaceful being able to look at the beach and carve. Having said that I didn't get all that much done and the rest was finished in the workshop.
Now after the hand was all finished it sat there for a while as it looked a little 'boring', so it waited for a couple of weeks until the concept of the butterfly conceived. Now you would have thought that that part would be the easiest. Well let me tell you it was the complete opposite- I must have made up to 10 different butterflies and had ideas for many more. Each one that was actually completed, never made the grade for one reason or another, colour, size, to heavy looking etc. So what seemed like forever I finally found this piece of Rosewood (I think) and made this little fella. But still he wasn't enough until I decided to make him into a real looking butterfly by adding legs and antennae. However then the rest of the hand was missing something, so the potato vine concept was tried and added. That was a trial in itself, the carving bit was easy how to attach it was another thing. Several different ideas were thrown around and tried. I ended up getting some artist wire and twisting loops along the length to which I would then glue the leaves to. The flowers are stuck onto florist wire and then placed into drilled holes directly into the timber.
Flowers and leaves are made from Huon pine
The Hand is waxed to keep a skin like appearance, the flowers are washed very lightly with white paint and then clear matt varnish, leaves are coated with white shellac
The butterflies in the last picture are some of the variety that was made. A couple were scrolled then glass was added into the holes and then a resin poured over the top. I will no doubt be using them in other projects as they turned out nice but just not for this project. One was a burl that was book matched. The couple on the side were pieces of a burl that I had left over.
Now after the hand was all finished it sat there for a while as it looked a little 'boring', so it waited for a couple of weeks until the concept of the butterfly conceived. Now you would have thought that that part would be the easiest. Well let me tell you it was the complete opposite- I must have made up to 10 different butterflies and had ideas for many more. Each one that was actually completed, never made the grade for one reason or another, colour, size, to heavy looking etc. So what seemed like forever I finally found this piece of Rosewood (I think) and made this little fella. But still he wasn't enough until I decided to make him into a real looking butterfly by adding legs and antennae. However then the rest of the hand was missing something, so the potato vine concept was tried and added. That was a trial in itself, the carving bit was easy how to attach it was another thing. Several different ideas were thrown around and tried. I ended up getting some artist wire and twisting loops along the length to which I would then glue the leaves to. The flowers are stuck onto florist wire and then placed into drilled holes directly into the timber.
Flowers and leaves are made from Huon pine
The Hand is waxed to keep a skin like appearance, the flowers are washed very lightly with white paint and then clear matt varnish, leaves are coated with white shellac
The butterflies in the last picture are some of the variety that was made. A couple were scrolled then glass was added into the holes and then a resin poured over the top. I will no doubt be using them in other projects as they turned out nice but just not for this project. One was a burl that was book matched. The couple on the side were pieces of a burl that I had left over.
