Shaman Staff Walking Stick Part 9-More Detail added-Photos

I've completed another section on the decoration of the walking stick.  The first section related to space and celestial events.  The second section deals with time.  How does one portray time?  Well a drawing of a calendar or a watch would certainly be an anachronism in the context of this stick.  I had to consider how early cultures kept track of time. 


Before there were calendars and watches, people kept track of time by the position of the sun, phases of the moon, and the change of seasons.  Daily time was kept using a sun dial, although they were much more primitive looking than the sundials that grace out gardens today.  Many people are not familiar with them, but there are also sun rings that work like a sun dial.  It is a small ring that could be worn on a finger or on a thong around the neck.  The ring has a small gnomon that cast a shadow just as it does on a full size sun dial.  The person holds the ring facing south and the shadow falls along a series of marks that indicates the hours.  It is interesting, however
the technological advances in time keeping are not necessary for this walking stick.

The phases of the moon seemed to be the most logical choice for referencing time on this walking stick.  I considered using a primitive sun dial as well, but I don't think many people would have recognized it.  I also considered using constellations, but once again, I'm not sure how many people would have recognized them.  At least not unless I drew line between the stars.  Anyway, the phases of the moon seemed the most logical choice.  It is also a nice transition from the celestial events of far off stars and galaxies to local near-earth space. 

I wood burned in a waxing crescent moon, first quarter moon, a waxing gibbous moon, a full moon, and the waning counterparts to those phases.  Once I had them on there, I wished I had made them a little smaller.  However, they are on there now, and that is the way it is. 

(Formatting problems because of more picture space than text space. )

I ran into a bit of a problem with this set.  The tip of my wood burning tool becomes loose from time to time while I'm using it.  Since it is hot, I use a pair of pliers to tighten it when it loosens.  This happens on a regular basis.  So when it came time to do the shading, I'm ready to change tips.  The darn tip won't come off.  I did not want to force it, because I was afraid I'd break it and be stuck with having to find a new tip, or worse, a whole new wood burning tool before I could continue.  I decided that for now I would use the side of the tip I had on there to char the area and come back after I have finished the rest of the stick.  Or, that when it came loose again that I would change out the tips then and come back to darken the area.  So for now, it is staying the way it is


The next section of the stick begins with the idea of taking form.  I plan to be working on the drawings for that section in the next few days.  I may get to wood burning some of them by Wednesday.  If not, I'll definitely have some of the wood burning done by next Sunday.

Shaman Staff- Part 8-Adding Decorative Detail to the Walking Stick

I've been adding some of the decorative items based on my research on pictographs and petraglyphs.  The line drawings work well with wood burning.  I have made a good head start on the first section.  It is not complete yet.  I still have some smaller glyphs to add to this section.  Also, I am considering making the large sun a picture of a total solar eclipse.  A total solar eclipse, it is truly an awesome experience.  It seems it would be an event that would be worthy of capturing in the context of the solar events portion of the walking stick.

My plan is to get the major drawings
in place on the whole stick and then come back and fill in as necessary.  As the stick progresses, the drawings will become more complex.  Some of the items will be geometric patterns which will have many more lines than the basic glyphs.  I will need to balance the drawings on the stick to make sure that one portion blends into the next without looking like the drawings are much more dense in one area than another.  Anyway, that is the plan.  Seems good in print.  I'll see how it turns out.

The weather has been wonderful and it has been a real pleasure to work on my outside work bench.  I am usually out fairly early in the morning.  We have a lot of birds here.  I find it interesting that the birds that are singing and calling change from day to day.  Some days I hear more hawks.  Other days the jays are are fussing.  Sometimes the crows are the dominant voice.  And there is a general background of cardinals, wrens, finches, warblers and more birds than I can name.  The bird song is punctuated by the sound of falling nuts now and then; and also the calling and scampering of squirrels.  I find it very relaxing.

I expect to get at least the next section of drawings on the walking stick by the next blog post.  Check back for more photos.


     

Gearing up for the Next Phase of the Walking Stick

I've had a busy week.  I had hoped to start wood burning pictures on the walking stick, but I did not get beyond sifting through my research to figure out what images I wanted to use.  At least I have formed a plan.  That is still progress.  We had rain yesterday, and it is still very wet outside, so I probably won't begin wood burning again until tomorrow.

I researched traditional designs from many early cultures for this project.  I looked at pictographs (pictures painted on rock)  and petragraphs  (pictures carved on rock)  There were recurring design themes among the various cultures.  Many traditional designs included celestial objects, local flora and fauna, (especially those used as food sources), geometric shapes, and weaving patterns.  Some patterns may also have been animals considered dangerous, such as sharks, jaguars, and whales.  I want to incorporate many of these designs into the walking stick. 

In an earlier blog post I mentioned that the folk tales of many cultures had a magician/healer/adviser that carried a staff that had unusual markings on it.  I speculated that in an early tribal culture that the markings on a staff might have been information about food sources, medicinal plants, and methods for constructing various objects needed by the society such as fishing nets, fabric, baskets, and shelter.  It would make sense for a culture without a written language to have some type of pictorial record to help preserve knowledge in the event that the members of the tribe that knew the information were lost.  These themes will be incorporated into the designs I burn onto the walking stick.

Not only do I want the walking stick to contain the items mentioned above, I also want the objects to reflect  the poetic creation story  that is already burned onto the stick.  Celestial designs will be in the area talking about the creation of the universe.  Other glyphs will represent time, etc.  I'm still working out which pictographs will ultimately end up on the stick.  Once those decisions are complete, I have to start drawing a pattern that will be the right size for the walking stick.  Then it will be on to transferring the patterns a few at a time and wood burning them.  

It sounds like a lot of work.  It is, but things are actually moving very quickly on this project.  I expect to have photos of first the drawings I have burn onto the stick ready for Wednesday's blog post.

Shaman Staff-Part 7- The Wording on Walking Stick is Complete

I've finished wood burning the words of the poetic creation story onto the walking stick.  I ended up tightening the spiral a bit.  That caused the poem to end a few inches higher than I had planned.  This is okay in a way because as I went along I decided that the poem should not end exactly at the bottom of the walking stick.  The reason for this is that walking sticks wear down a little as they are used.  As this art piece is supposed to represent knowledge that the (fictional) culture is trying to preserve over long periods of time, they would not want the information in a spot that was likely to become worn away.  I may add another line to the poem if I can come up with one that works with what is already on the stick.  Or I may decide that this "happy accident" has left me some room for a design that I did not think I was going to have room for on the stick.  I'm giving myself a few days to think about it before I proceed. 

As it is right now, the story on the walking stick reads:
We began as the dust of ancient stars
Crossed time and space.
We took form in this place.
Living always with the hope of a better tomorrow.
And now we are manifest in you.
Here past, present, and future are one.

Older readers may get the joke when I say I had a weird humorous urge to add the works "Burma Shave" at the end.  If you don't get the joke, look up Burma Shave on Wikipedia  Burma Shave

I did not have time to get a new picture today.  I will post one next blog post on Sunday. 

Poetry on a Walking Stick - Photos

Last blog post showed my method of transferring the words onto the walking stick.  I burn a line on, then I transfer the next line.  It is not a quick process.  I spend about an hour and a half a day working on the project, then I need to work on something else so that my hands don't get over tired.  I don't want to mess this up.  There are times that I would like to work longer on it, but sometimes a shorter work session is more productive in the long run. 

I'd like to take a moment to emphasize the importance of hand stretching and wrist exercises.  From past experience in working with wood burning on walking sticks I have found that I start to develop carpal tunnel problems from holding my wrist in certain positions for long periods.  Doing some wrist exercises and stretching my fingers both before and after a wood burning session helps to stave off the problem. 

Anyway, I was able to have a few good mornings getting some of the story on the stick this week.  There is only one line left to burn onto the walking stick.  I expect to get that burned on tomorrow unless we have rain.  Then I will start on the decorative elements of the stick.  So far, readers have seen the first two lines, of the poetic creation story for the Shaman Staff.  I'll share the third line now.  (New readers, please check back over the previous blog posts in order to understand the full story on this walking stick.)

We began as the dust of ancient stars.
Crossed time and space.
We took form in this place.

Check Wednesday's post for more on the creation story.   I should have the rest of it on the stick by then.

Photographing a walking stick is a challenge.  If you get back far enough to show the whole stick, you lose the detail.  Move in for detail, and you can't get the full stick in the picture.  The photos are not what I would like them to be, but it gives you an idea of the progress on the walking stick.

Shaman Staff- Part 4- Transfering Your Design to the Walking Stic-Photos

Line of type covered with wax paper.

Wednesday already!  It seems like the days just fly by.  Last blog post I showed pictures of the initial wood burning on the walking stick and described the creative process used in developing this piece of art.  Today I'm blogging on how to transfer the design to the stick.  I have written about this in the past, but it is such an important step that I thought I'd go over it again here for readers who may not have seen the earlier post.

Underside traced with colored pencil.

There are a number of methods for transferring your image.  Some image transfer methods work better on a flat surface, but the task becomes more difficult on the rounded surface of a stick.  Other methods may transfer the image well, but the image becomes smeared or rub off as you work your way around the stick or cause the ink from the image to run, letting it sink into the grain.  Some methods don't work well on wood.  I've experimented with several options, and found one that works well for me. 

Taped to the stick right side up.

There are three basic questions to ask when deciding on how to transfer an image.  Asking the questions up front will save a lot of time and aggravation.  This is particularly important in the case of a walking stick where a lot of time has been invested in harvesting and seasoning the wood.  The first question is, "How well will the method work on the material of this project?"  The second question is, "How easy is it to use?"  (Do you have adequate ventilation or need gloves or protection for work surfaces?) And finally, "How much does it cost?"  Cost can be an important factor because making art can be expensive.  I think my answers to these questions have come up with a technique that works well when transferring an image onto a walking stick.

(Once again adding pictures is giving me a hard
time.  It messed up the format.  Sorry for the
messy format.)

Ball head stylus.

Step One:  Tape your image with blue painters tape onto a smooth surface that you can bear down on.  In this case I am using a smooth disposable plastic cutting mat.  You could use a magazine if you don't have a plastic mat.  Tape a piece of waxed paper over it.  Go over each element of the letter or design with a pencil.  You can use a mechanical pencil or a regular pencil.  (You can see the waxed paper covering the line of type in the first photo if you look closely.)

Checking the image transfer.

Step Two:  Remove the piece of waxed paper.  Turn it over, so that the underside of the waxed paper is facing up.  Your design or letters will be reversed.  Tape it down with blue painter's tape.  You will be able to see the letters you traced onto the other side.  Trace over these letters with a colored pencil.

Step Three: Tape the waxed paper right side up onto the walking stick.  Make sure that the design spirals downwards enough that the paper does not cross over itself.  Changes in the width of the stick or a knot may cause the paper to try to criss cross.  Make sure the paper is flat against the stick and does not buckle.  It may be necessary to adjust the angle of the wax paper or you may need to cut some slits in the paper to make it lie flat.

Step Four:  With firm pressure use a stylus with a round point to trace over each letter or element of the design.  If you don't have such a stylus, you could use an empty ball point ink pen.  Don't use a pen that still has ink in it.  If you tear through the paper you will be scribbling ink on your stick. 

Some letters such as the letter B have more than one section.  Develop the habit of tracing all the internal portions then the external outline, or the outside then the inside.  It does not matter which way you do it so long as you are consistent with it.  If you do it haphazardly, you are more likely to miss a spot.

Step Five.  Slowly peel off the wax paper.  Check each letter or design element.  If you missed a spot align the wax paper with the letters or design that transferred well.  Go over the area again with the stylus.  If the transfer is not dark enough, color over it with your colored pencil.

This method works very well for wood burning on walking sticks.  It does not rub off easily.  The project can sit for days and the design will still be on the stick.  However, I only transfer a small section at a time.  Wood burning on a stick requires that the stick to be handled and rotated frequently.  Too much handling could cause the design to be hard to see. 

If you miss a spot while wood burning the area can be erased then lightly sanded to remove the marks.







 

Shaman Staff Walking Stick-Part 3- Wood Burning Begins

I've begun the process of wood burning the  story onto the stick.  At this point, I have the whole first sentence burned onto the stick.  Before I get into the story itself, I wanted to blog about the imaginative process for developing the idea for the story.  The pictures are of the first sentence.

This is an art stick.  Its title is Shaman Staff.  I tried to envision what a shaman's staff might look like and how it came to take that form.  The staff is not meant to represent any particular culture.  However, my ideas for the design of the stick are based on research on traditional designs from a number of cultures. I wanted to understand what was important enough to a culture to preserve through its art.

In my research on tribal designs, I found that there was a lot of overlap between cultures in designs and themes.  Carvings on traditional Maori buildings closely resembled totem poles from the Pacific Northwest.  Some Polynesian designs resembled traditional Native American designs.  Some traditional South Pacific animal figures closely resembled Celtic Zoomorphic  figures.  I tried to focus my research on documented traditional designs rather than later material, but in some cases it was hard to say when the cultures overlapped and what was modern day interpretation.  Part of the design overlap can be attributed to the use of basic geometric shapes and shapes visible to all of us such as the sun and moon or animals.  However, humans have been crossing the globe for centuries, and their ideas and art traveled with them.  It is hard to say which culture came up with a design first.

With a lot of ideas in mind I started to design the walking stick for my imaginary culture.  I had to consider what information could be extrapolated from what is known of early tribal culture and the function of a shaman.  (I hesitate to use the word primitive when describing a culture because every culture works with the best of its technology.)  So I started to imagine a prehistorical time period with a small group of people banding together against all the world.  They had to deal with trying to find food, fending off predatory animals and people, and dealing with illness with what medicines that they could find on the land.  The shaman was an important member of the group.  He healed the sick and advised the leaders.  And as in many cultures and folk tales, he carried a staff covered with symbols.  So my questions were: What symbols would be on the staff and why were they important?  The answers were enlightening.  The following exercise will help you to understand.  I hope you will take the time to consider some answers before reading beyond the next paragraph.


Consider our small band of people.  In such a small group illness, injury, and attack could devastate a society.  How much knowledge is lost if members of the tribe that hold that knowledge are lost?  Without a written language, how do you save the knowledge to pass on to others?  Even if there is a written language, how useful is it if no one is left who can
read it?  (Would we have translated hieroglyphics if the Rosetta Stone had not been found?)  If you your ability to preserve knowledge (other than through oral history) is limited to only what you can carry, which knowledge is important enough to save?  If you are using oral history, how do you remember it all?

Maybe you came up with different answers than I did, but these are the answers I came up with.  Some of the symbols on the staff are mnemonic devices that help retain the oral history.  Some These symbols have a story attached to them.  They function rather like bytes of information on a computer.  This helps to keep information in order.   From my research into traditional designs, I think that some of the designs are showing which foods to eat. Another traditional design is based on a weaving pattern.  It could show both how to weave cloth and how to make a shelter.  This would be important information to pass on in the event that knowledgeable members of the tribe were lost.  A genealogical history might also be useful in keeping order or establishing leadership.  And it may also contain a creation story, that bonds the group together and helps define the culture. If the tribe had a written language, I expect that the creation story would be written on the staff also. Just about every culture has a story about where they came from.  Many early cultures have stories that trace their ancestry back to the sun and the beginning of the earth.

Anyway, I started burning the creation story on to the stick.  Once that is complete I will start adding symbols.  As I blogged last time, I had to narrow the story down considerably in order for it to be legible and fit on the stick.  If you feel like doing another thought exercise, try this:  If you had to tell a story from the big bang to the current day, transmit the hopes and dreams of the society, and tell the person that currently holds the stick the importance of his or her existence, and do it in only six sentences (the amount of line that would fit on the stick in this format) (and try to do it somewhat poetically) (and do it in a decorative matter) what would you write?

The first line wood burned onto the stick:  We began as the dust of ancient stars.

Next blog: How to transfer the words and symbols onto a stick.

When Summer Turns to Autumn

Leafy yard and an old shed on the property.

Due to a busy holiday, I have had no time to work on my walking stick project.  I spent all day yesterday trying to get as many chores and errands done as I could so I would have a large block of time to work on it this week.  Since I don't have any new project pictures to show, I thought I'd put up some photos from our trip to the cabin. 

Wild flowers like this daisy are everywhere.

Apples on the trees.

Although there are fixed dates for when one season ends and another begins based on Solstices and Equinoxes, the end of season is more of a point of view.  I grew up in a beach resort area.  Summer ended on Labor Day weekend.  (Although for a number of years now the tourist season has been extended for a few weekends by adding festivals of one sort or another.)  Most people don't consider Autumn to begin until the weather turns chilly and the leaves start to fall.  Actually, the change of season is not so cut and dried.  Season's flow into one another gradually.  The beginning of the change from one season to another is easy to miss if you aren't paying attention. 

My pictures today are about the beginning of the change of season.  Up in the higher elevations the beginning of the change of season has already begun.  We arrived to find the yard already had lots of leaves down.  Over the long weekend, we were able to note just a tinge of change in the color of the leaves on the trees.  We have had a lot of rain this year.  The trees are not as colorful in a wet year and the leaves drop quicker.

Summer is still here also.  Any open sunny spot is filled with wild flowers and weeds.  The days were comfortably in the upper seventies (Fahrenheit).  It was humid.  In the afternoon and evening we had a nice rain.  It was they type of rain you enjoy listening to while sitting on the porch. 

Leaves are already changing.

One of our tasks this trip was to start raking leaves.  There were already enough down that we removed several tarp loads.   The trees are still green and full of leaves, but each day you could see just the slightest change in the color on some of the trees, a few dull reds or a slightest change to yellow.  There is no doubt about it, Autumn is starting to come in.

Weeds and flowers on the hillside.

The nights are starting to turn cool up there.  I expect that this is the last trip this year that we will be wearing shorts.  It was already cool enough in the evenings that we had to switch to long pants.

Now that the holiday is over, I am expecting to spend a lot of time in the studio this week.  Actually, a good deal of it will be spent working on my outside work bench.  I plan to be doing the wood burning outside if the weather cooperates.  I don't know that I will get all of the story wood burned on the stick, but I expect to get a significant portion of that completed.

A note to readers:  The blog location is listed in Mechanicsville, where I live.  The location of these photos is in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, USA.