Hickory Floral & Leaf Cane finally finished

Finally finished it after putting it aside for a month. It is based on the patterns and design styles I used to use in leatherwork, like saddles and holsters and such. The handle is actually the root-ball of the sapling that I harvested at my Mom's place back in Alabama. It has a neat burled look to it ans I tried to keep a lot of the original shape. It has finger gooves and such carved specifically to fit the hand. I was trying for kind of a melted wax look for the handle that is repeated in the natural shapes and the carved stems at the bottom of the cane. I used gouges, knives, and my flex shaft to relief carve (?) the patterns to make them stand out from the shaft. Then I broke out my wood burner and shaded, scribbled, and cross-hatched it to add depth and details. I finiished with some light painting with thinned burnt umber acrylic to complement the wood burning and try and add to the leather/leaf look. I'm kinda glad to be through! More pictures here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mpounders1/10_04_27_00#

another Wrinkled Santa

Here is a wrinkled Santa I finished using some of the techniques I use for carving caricatures. The hat is made in three pieces and fitted and glued together to look like one piece. This method gives more strength to the carving and allows more flexibility in posistioning the hat to get just the right look. Thanks for looking. (More pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/mpounders1/WrinkledSanta# ).

Crooked Canes

I just completed a couple of newcanes using some very interesting shafts I collected back in Alabama. I am not sure exactly what kind of trees they came from....possibly beech, wild cherry, or plum. The handles are cherry, with a spacer turned on a lathe. I love the smooth, finished, classy look of cherry contrasted with the organic, gnarled, rough shapes of the rest of the canes. I did a requested design on the first and the second has a "seven star" pattern often painted on old barns in Pennslyvania to bring good luck! The first one is already gone, as a gift for a dear friend of my daughter. The second is still available ($50).

Email me at m.pounders@comcast.net if interested in a commissioned piece or something I have available. I have the frog cane, the crooked cane 2, and the elf with the green hat still available. I keep trying to get a stock of items built up, but things are selling pretty quick at the moment! I should always have such luck!