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Some time ago, I reported on how I rescued an outgrown ivy root, because I saw the big old octopus in it. Now - a month later, he finally hangs on the wall. I'm not 100% satisfied, because I would like to do muuuuch more with it. But I had to learn: wood is not modelling dough. It takes an infinite amount of time, patience and suitable tools. I had actually bought some tools - a small set of 12 carving knives. However, you still can not get to all places equally well in its intricate shape. But I do not want to anticipate too much and start with the status from the last post:
Vor einiger Zeit berichtete ich davon, wie ich eine herausgerissene Efeu-Wurzel rettete, denn ich sah den großen alten Tintenfisch in ihr. Jetzt - einen Monat später, hängt er tatsächlich an der Wand. Ich bin nicht besonders zufrieden, denn ich hätte gerne noch sehr viel mehr damit gemacht. Aber ich musste lernen: Holz ist keine Knete. Man braucht unendlich viel Zeit, Geduld und geeignetes Werkzeug. Werkzeug hatte ich mir tatsächlich zugelegt - Ein kleines Set aus 12 Schnitzmessern. Allerdings kommt man trotzdem bei seiner verschlungenen Form nicht an alle Stellen gleich gut heran. Aber ich will nicht zu viel vorwegnehmen und fange mit dem Stand aus dem letzten Post an:
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Some bark was already gone, but the next day the trunk had to be removed, with a small electric saw, because the little one was quite unwieldy:
Einiges an Rinde war schon weg, am nächsten Tag musste allerdings der Stamm entfernt werden, mit einer kleinen elektrischen Säge, denn so war der kleine ganz schön unhandlich:
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![abgeschnitten.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPxNbThtXx7hnaXPcov7dmzBwhs5eyzdXCmf58ewBg8JA/abgeschnitten.png)
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The next thing to do was to remove the sapwood (yes, I noticed that there is another layer between the bark and the hard wood). The sapwood is a soft, light layer of wood that surrounds the trunk and that I had to remove completely, which did not prove to be too easy in the case of the entwined branches :) However, it was a very satisfying job, because it is easy to remove and you have the feeling that you have finally uncovered the real wood.
Das nächste, was zu tun war, war das Entfernen des Splintholz (ja, ich hab gemerkt, dass es zwischen Rinde und dem harten Holz eine weitere Schicht gibt). Das Splintholz ist eine weiche, helle Holzschicht, die den Stamm umgibt und die ich auch komplett entfernen musste, was sich bei dem Geschlängel auch nicht als allzu einfach erwiesen hat :) Es war allerdings eine sehr befriedigende Arbeit, denn es lässt sich leicht lösen und man hat das Gefühl, das Holz endlich freigelegt zu haben.
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It has now taken a month to get all 7 of my feet up to the desired shape. Mostly I worked on it for one to two hours in the evening. During this process, I found that the tentacles look much better from the other side, and so I changed sides.
Es hat nun einen Monat gedauert, bis ich alle 7 vorhandenen Füße ungefähr in die gewünschte Form gebracht hatte. Meistens habe ich abends ein bis zwei Stunden daran gearbeitet. Während dieses Prozesses habe ich festgestellt, dass die Tentakeln von der anderen Seite viel besser aussehen und habe somit die Seiten getauscht.
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![switched.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmasGP7s4ZcoHGbzZQyABjawaBoFf7PUiVEnEEqWepEK5R/switched.png)
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Feet for feet was finished, in some places even a great coloring of the inner wood was visible. While the wood slowly became dry, cracks also developed in the branches. Personally, I don´t think that´s bad, it gives the appearance a little more tension.
When I finished with the mold (still not completely satisfied, but no energy left), I smoothed it with sandpaper by hand and an electric grinder and rounded it off.
In the end, I painted it with a colorless glaze.
Füßchen für Füßchen wurde fertig, an manchen Stellen wurde sogar eine tolle Färbung des inneren Holzes sichtbar. Während das Holz langsam trocken wurde, entstanden auch Risse in den Ästen. Finde ich persönlich nicht schlimm, gibt dem Erscheinungsbild noch etwas mehr Spannung. Als ich fertig war mit der Form (noch immer nicht ganz zufrieden, aber keine Energie mehr dafür), habe ich ihn noch mit Schleifpapier von Hand und einer elektrischen Schleifmaschine geglättet und abgerundet. Am Ende habe ich ihn mit einer farblosen Lasur bemalt.
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![lasur.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZriRvyJ19HPiV7DnDC5Nfn5FURw4FMFpYpjsrJ76u3M9/lasur.png)
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To hang it on the wall, I screwed eyelets on two legs, so it is easy to hang with two hooks on the wall.
Um ihn an die Wand zu hängen, habe ich an zwei Beinen Ösen hineingedreht, so lässt er sich einfach mit zwei Haken an die Wand hängen.
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![oesen.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPwzSTrkLUU16KyGWGsMAuxuMPRjh8yrh7ZcawKuBzKBa/oesen.png)
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But take a look for yourself:
Aber seht selbst:
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Click to enlarge | Zum Vergrößern klicken!
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Thank you for following my first wood experience. Since I now have the knives, I will continue to keep my eyes open for beautiful pieces of wood. But next time it may be a bit smaller...
Vielen Dank für´s Verfolgen meiner ersten Holz-Erfahrung. Da ich nun die Messer habe, werde ich weiterhin die Augen offen halten nach schönen Holzstücken. Nächstes Mal darf´s dann aber etwas kleiner sein...
Fabulous and useful article @patschwork! Keep doing 💙💚🤗
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Thank you...Yes,I do ♥
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Very interesting artwork, @patschwork. Even if it's not as you had pictured in your head, the final result is quite good. 😃
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Thanks a lot, @trincowski
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What an eye you have @patschwork!!! This is just stunning :)
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Thank you so much ♥
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Cthulhu in this room, Octopusses on child room's wall...
Welcome to the House of Tentacles ! :D
I've missed your previous post, and I'm glad to see this piece in its new state.
Very impressive :)
I've never tried the following tip on such a large piece of wood, but you can get a nice old polished gloss by rubbing (with some strenght in the applied pressure) metallic item on it.
I used the back of spoons on small carved wooden pieces, and parts treated that way were looking alot nicer and shiner than other ones, like if years of manipulations had polished and strenghtened the wood.
Better try with something bigger than a spoon with your monster, though :D
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Yeah and we even have more Cthulhus, dragons and weird creatures in our house :P That's how we like it haha...
Sounds like a good advice, maybe I take a shovel instead. But I don't know if it's still quoting, if I already glazed it? Want to see your wood work :)
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I'm not sure if that would work after glazing, I'd say it would depend if the polished effect is a wood's property or a metal's one (or even both combined)
My wood work is nothing biggy : just small random items carved to comfort my daughters when they were younger and caught by colds or other child illnesses. :)
They've proabbly lost them lol since a long time :D
That was still interesting occasions to work on volumes and and textures.
It's a bit old, but on the photo below, I think I had applied the "spoon technique" on the top part (with weird faces) before I started to work on the bottom part, which has less reflections.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdCDd38o6paRnLZ33RArrCQDUw3oF7vpHuAfT5Xr6ahEP/image.png)
Not too obvious on that picture though.
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this is pretty cool! I actually wished to carve the branches with shapes like that, but no chance. I like it :) I think I know what effect you mean...
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If you don't want to go into difficult carving (which would be a nightmare on a piece like your Davy Jones' beard) You can use a soldering iron or any pyrography tool to draw patterns on it.
Actually any hot enough metallic item could leave interesting graphical effect on wood.
The black curved mark on the bottom left part of the photo above has been burnt like that.
With a clear wood like your Cthulhu's you could obtain damn good contrasted effects, I bet.
Be careful with possible toxic stuff while heating the glaze though (or even the wood itself), better wear some protection.
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Excellent process and result with some true history behind!
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Thanks a lot, @haedre! Yeah, a story full of hurting hands in the evening :)
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This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
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Hello @patschwork, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!
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I think it came out beautifully! I work with wood a lot myself and often use an oil to prevent cracks in raw wood. But I think you are right it does add to the piece. Absolutely love how you have it displayed with the light.
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Thank you so much :) Good to know, so you're using the oil immediately before the wood begins to dry?
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Very cool, @patschwork ! The twisting shapes are so eldritch and really cthulhu-like :D Love your creativity, so much <3
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Yes right? And I didn't add much for this shape. Nature is awesome. Thank you ♥
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This post has received a 3.13 % upvote from @drotto thanks to: @patternbot.
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Cool, danke :)
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Good for you in seeing the potential of that piece of wood! It turned out quite amazing. A very original piece of artwork for your wall. It must attract a lot of attention!
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Thank you so much, Melinda. Well, he's currently living in the bedroom, so attention is limited :) But maybe he's moving one day
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Ohhh that is so cool! It looks amazing with the light behind it. What a great twisted shape. Good eye. BTW I am drinking from my Cthulhu mug right now ;) Cheers!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/404448954940391425/498728117763047434/20181007_222540.jpg)
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Haha, awesome mug! Thanks a lot :)
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Dope mug idd!
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Thanks @haedre I like my coffee dark... as in dark ritual LOL Hey btw I just made a variant mutation from one of the offshoots of the deep dream project I did using some of your art as style image, check it out: https://steemit.com/art/@alieneyeball/vacations-on-xanthon-ii-citadel-haedre
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Hey @carlgnash, I did see it. Now I got that Partiko app and can Steem while travelling, which I'm doing right now. Going to upvote it :D
Posted using Partiko Android
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Sieht super aus :-) Danke für die Inspiration!
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Danke, sehr gerne :)
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What a transformation. I can imagine it was not easy but the result is worth it. It's very special kind of an art piece and I'm sure that many of your visitors will ask you about it and you will be able to proudly explain them how you made it. Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks for your kind words :) He´s living in our bedroom at the moment but I guess he´s moving into the living room one day...
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Dear Artzonian, thanks for using the #ArtzOne hashtag. Your work is valuable to the @ArtzOne community. Quote of the week: Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics. -Victor Pinchuk
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Thank you ♥
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Wow...that's crazy! I love the way it turned out for you! And it may not be the way you envisioned it, but it came out exceptionally well. Great that you saw something like this and recognized its potential to be something so beautiful!
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Thank you so much, Dino. If you look closely, you find hidden beauties everywhere...
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Yes. And sometimes in life, we need to see transformations like this one to remind us of just that. Thank you for sharing this cool project!
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Was für eine tolle Skulptur und mit der Lampe schlicht ein Meisterwerk. Und das alles eigentlich aus etwas das auf dem Müll landen sollte. Genial was Du da draus gemacht hast.
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Besten Dank! Ja, es ist manchmal eine Schande, was alles auf dem Müll landet.
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This is really both a freaky and awesome house decoration.
I would love to see it in real, I'm sure it will be a popular piece of conversation ^^.
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Too sad you can´t just drop by for a coffee under the octopus moon :)
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