Book of Shadows Box – Part 4 (END)

 Welcome back friends! We have finally reached the end of this particular adventure but were we successful in our endeavors? In Part 3, we went over the slight struggle of making some designs cooperate with us and the possible solutions that we were able to figure out.

Making sure placement is right

Checking in with the Customer

Throughout the process of customizing this, I have been keeping my client updated on the entire thing with pictures and texts to get feedback as to how far should I go. My client has been thrilled with everything up to this point so as I was getting close to the end, I texted once more to see if there was anything they wanted me to add before I clear-coated. They loved everything that I had going for it but requested a tiny triple moon at the bottom point of the central design. I was happy to oblige so checked the size and placement with them before getting it colored in.

Time to get some spray on

First clear coat on

Double and even triple checking everything before I went outside with the box to put on some layers of clear glaze. I have had a few people ask me what I use for this process and it's a Rust-Oleum® Triple ThickGlaze – Clear High Gloss Coating (this or any of my other mixed-media wood projects are no way sponsored by Rust-Oleum). I have been using this for years but I know that there's probably better choices out there such as using a clear apoxy but I have absolutely no experience with that and wouldn't want to randomly experiment on something a client's been keeping their eyes and heart on. Probably in the near future I will test things out to see if it would be a good choice for some of the things I do.

So I only put 2 coats of the glaze on the box this time instead of my usual 3 simply because my current can is almost empty and I haven't had a chance to go to the store to pick up some more. Why would I normally go 3 or more coats? Wood is thirsty and instead of having a nice even sheen across a whole project, there will be low points were it looks like the wood was never touched even though you sprayed evenly over the entirety of the piece. I've also learned over the years that the type of wood also affects the outcome along with prep and treatment of the wood before the clear-coating. So unfortunately there is no concise 'Do this to A for B result' since every project situation is different.

Project now finished

Vigorous Jazz Hands

Ta da! Pardon the fireworks and lady in the Roaring 20s dress doing the Charleston in the corner. However, the project is officially done and the client is beyond thrilled with the results. If the 5 lines of heart-eyed smiley face emojis sent to me is anything to go by to show how
much they love it, I believe that this has been a job well done. I may go ahead and get a fresh can of clear glaze and to at least one more coat on the box since there are some low spots I noticed where the wood was basically going 'I THIRST FOR MORE!!'. So I can take care of that before I deliver the project to the client next month. This brings this particular adventure to an end but I hope that you've enjoyed the journey with me. Stay creative and don't be afraid to experiment and push your craft! Until next time everyone.

Book of Shadows Box – Part 3

 

Here we are once more and man has there been a few choice words between the box and I since our last adventure in Part 2. Some ideas I had were used while others were tossed out of the window thanks to aggravation. So settle in with a drink or a snack and let's dive into this together, shall we?

I had a Plan

Uneven Curve

And I say “had” in its loosest sense. You see, my original plan was to use apoxie sculpt to make it look like box had bindings to mimic an actual book and have a nice 3D affect. After some trial and error, I realized that it would be much more headache then it should be. Partially due to the fact that the apoxie sculpt refused to stick to the wood (which could honestly be fixed with some E6000 so it wouldn't have been too much of an issue) and partially just the construction of the box itself. I didn't notice that the side of the box was irregular if I attempted to correct the issue by oversanding, I would endanger the integrity of the box itself. So tossing that idea aside, I went and drew on what I wanted.

Watercolor Wash Stain

Now that I had that little issue sorted, it was onto the staining of the wood the non-traditional way. With watercolor washes. Using a ½ 4400 Angular brush and a mix of various blues and purples, I did a wash of the various colors on the parts of the wood that would be seen while the box was sitting on a table. Once it dried, I went back with some P400 X-Fine sandpaper and carefully sanded where I painted. The reason for this is the introduction of moisture to the wood will cause what you had previously sanded to feel a little rough to the touch. Lightly sanding it will make everything smooth again and it would be ready for clear coating later on. The watercolor staining will only lighten slightly, depending on the pressure used. If a bit of wood is exposed, just do a little touch up unless you're going for an
aged/weathered look.

For where the pages were to be, I ended up using acrylic paints instead to get the look I was going for. Painting with white first and letting it dry, I went back with my sandpaper to smooth things out like I did with the areas I did my watercolor staining. I then ended up using a bit of

Painted 'Pages'

black and pink to put in the illusion of pages and book binding.

Nearing the Home Stretch

As I get slowly closer to the end of the project, I purposely have to remind myself to slow down. Yes, I'm excited over the fact that I'll be able to do a clear coat soon but if I rush towards the finish line, I could easily screw everything up. Let's break down what I am planning on doing or what I need to remind myself to check on.

Start of detailing central design

1. Detailing and making the cover design cohesive – With many of my box designs, I go ahead and add an outline to the the various elements in the design with micronpens. I am still planning on doing this but this will also give me the opportunity to see if I need to add some more leaves or blossoms to the central design to it doesn't look unfinished.

2. Staining touch up & binding detail – I've noticed some spots where I need to do a little touch up of color to the box and the designs I put along the side still need to be finished.

3. Clear coat & optional extra details – Once I do my check of the first two things on the list, I get to clear coat. I normally use a clear glaze spray paint and it takes a few layers to get things to where I want them, making sure each layer dries before I add the next. As far as the 'optional extra details', I have a couple of bits and bobs I would like to add after the clear coat part of this process bit those ideas may get set aside.

So that's the game plan but who knows how things will go. Guess you'll need to stay tuned to find out. Stay creative, everyone!

Book of Shadows Box – Part 2

Welcome back my fellow adventurers! I have made a fair bit of progress on the box since my initial post of Book of Shadows Box – Part 1 but let's not jump ahead of ourselves, shall we? There is always a process as to what I'm doing, even if the majority of the time I don't realize it myself. So let's continue where I left off on this story.

Book of Shadows box cover concept

Inspiration and Prep

As I mentioned previously, I decided to use a couple of elements from a design concept I had set aside while working on a different custom box a couple of months prior. Sometimes when I design, I will like certain bits in the concept and not others so I'll set them aside for possible future use instead of what normally happens – crumbling the paper up and tossing it into the recycle. Not only did I have a better idea of what I wanted to do with the composition but I knew that I wanted to keep all of the elements within the same range of colors.

Photo References

The photo references I was using for the moth and the raven skull had very similar colors, ranging from greys and creamy whites with hints of pink, blue and even a little purple. I wanted to make sure the flowers were in this range so they could compliment the original
elements and work cohesively together. I settled on a beautiful photo I stumbled across of flowers of the Common Hawthorn. With yellowed white blossoms sporting hints of pink, this would tie together nicely. Of course up to this point I haven't decided on a color for the background or for the prayer beads but I know that I'll be able to sort that out once I have the other pieces colored.

Start of moth coloring

Speaking of color, I know that I am a bit of a strange one when it comes to working on wood. Other artists will prep their surfaces to use watercolors or acrylics. I, on the other hand, use primarily Prismacolor color pencils. I sand down the surface until it's smooth before taping transfer paper and then the design into place and trace what I've done. Thankfully I know how much pressure I need to use so as to not leave grooves in the wood during this part of the process. Once the transfer is done, I will get my colors selected and start coloring. Again, pressure needs to be firm enough to color but not so hard you're carving into the wood. The tricky part, however, is that the grain of the wood will sometimes attempt to dictate where the pencil goes. A straight line may end up being nudged into being curved. When such things happen, patience and going slow is the key.

Raven skull colored in

As you can see, I have most of the moth and the raven skull in at this point but both need a lot more work. However I want to try to get the other elements colored in first before I start blending everything together. Might be a bit before I continue this journey with you in Part 3 but until then, stay creative and enjoy your day!

Book of Shadows Box – Part 1

 It's that time again where I have been requested to bring you wonderful people along on another art creating adventure. This year has been dotted with several custom/personalized altar box projects that customers have been enjoying adding to their sacred spaces. So get yourselves comfy because this is going to be a tad different from some of my previous endeavors.

It started with a Sale

Recently Michaels, a craft store chain here in the states, was advertising some products that they had just gotten in for the season. Among the items was a wooden box which resembled a book and had a magnetic closure for the lid. My first thought was 'Book of Shadows' so I ended up nabbing 2 while they were still in stock. For those who are not familiar with what a Book of Shadows is, think of it as a personalized note book for pagan practitioners. It's usually filled with notes on anything from sun and moon phases, herbs, crystals, and animals to instructions for rituals, talismans and recipes. Each book is completely personalized and sometimes is handed down through generations. My idea for the box was to make it look like a book but it would be able to hold a small journal sized book inside or anything else the owner wished to store.

May the Concepts Begin

Rejected Box Design concept

When speaking to a very good friend of mine who has also become a bit of a collector of some of my work about what I had planned, saying that they were interested was a bit of an understatement. There was a great deal of enthusiasm to the idea and they expressed great interest in not only possibly purchasing but wished to follow along. Honestly I couldn't help but giggle at the level of child-like wonder that was being directed my way. So the sanding of the wood commenced so that the box could be properly prepped. However what in the world was I going to do with the cover? To the random doodle archives! 

Book of Shadows Cover Concept

I had some unused concepts from a previous box project that I rejected and set aside since I wasn't satisfied with the composition so I flipped through the pages to see what captured my attention. In the end I pulled this image out of a raven skull flanked on either side by moths and sporting a halo of coins. All were elements that I wanted to play with at the time but I just wasn't thrilled with how they looked together. So how was I going to work with this for the cover's concept? With much pencil twiddling and a cup of coffee later, I decided on pulling the skull and only one of the moths to use in the new design. Playing around with placement of the two then adding some flowers and prayer beads, it took me a little bit to get things situated. Of course the entire time while I was sketching, I was looking at some reference images of some beautifully covered antique books and planning on how things would work together.

Will this project be the one where I get to try out some new tools I recently ordered? Not quite sure but I can already tell that this is going to be an interesting process either way. Let's find out together, shall we? Stay tuned and have a creative day!