She’s finished!

Well, she still needs an Orange Oil rub down to protect her (she is at the beach after all).

“Inlet” Huon Pine & Resin Serving Board

To help her get to this point I just had to follow these steps:

remove tape

remoe acrylic backing

admire “worm” pattern

There IS always one!

remove frame

trim edges

Well, actually, there were a few more steps involved, at various non-pictured times, that went something like this:

• pour colour layer 3 – over fiddle AGAIN!
• wait 24 hours
• pour clear layer four
• wait 24 hours
• remove the sticky embrace of the plasticine – be happy that no resin seeped out
• turn her over and look at her back – be happy that only minimal resin seeped under the acrylic backing
• remove acrylic backing sheet – be happy that it released so easily
• remind self to weight down wood better next time so no resin seepage occurs
• spend some time admiring the back – colours and “worm” pattern are lovely
• regret that the front is not as nice as the back
• admire the back again
• 
• take some photos that won’t do it justice, but you have to try
• stop procrastinating and move on to unmolding her
• remove layers and layers of tape – be happy that the tape did, indeed, keep the resin where it was supposed to be
• remove the screws at each corner
• say “there IS always one” as the last screw refuses to unscrew with the power drill
• get a hand screwdriver and give it a twist, and it comes undone easily!
• use the tip of the screwdriver to wedge the frame open in the corner
• easily remove the four frames – be happy again that the tape didn’t stick to the resin
• remind self to get more tape
• trim off the little bits of resin that went under the frame
• take more photos (because you are so impatient) even though you know she still needs a lot of sanding to finish her off properly – especially her back
• go out to the wonky workshed and get the sander out – make a mess of resin dust everywhere
• wish again that you had a dust extractor system, and a proper workshed, but then be grateful that you have a space where you can do this messy stuff – even if it is a wet, gravel floored garden shed!
• come inside to the kitchen and get the hand sandpaper out – spend the next hour hand sanding from 400 to 12 000 grit
• accept that your back and arm are not going to like you later
• apply abrasive paste and polish and hand buff some more
• take more pictures tha tyou will have to edit later – and probably discard ’cause they don’t look good enough when compared to the real thing in front of you
• fall in love a little
• be happy

I have just (as in right now) decided that I will start a new semi-regular (you now I actually mean “whenever-I-remember”) post about my creative pursuits – hence the title!

So, for the inaugural IPO, here is a Huon Pine & Resin Serving Board I am in the process of making.

Select Timber

Sand Timber

Assemble Frame

Back Frame

Insert Huon Pine

Make sure it’s level

Seal with plasticine

Weight the Huon Pine down

Pour Resin

Pour more Resin

Pour Layer 2

Pour Layer 2

So, the process goes something like this:

• I want to make something!
• Ponder what I want to make ….
• Grab wood that appeals to me – which means it usually has holes/rough bits.
• Go out to the Wonky Workshed and sand timber viciously, then gently.
• Marvel at how beautiful Huon Pine really is – it now feels like silk.  Admire it.
• Sand the boring timber pieces I will use to make the frame
• Come inside and put tape all over the frame inside edges, screw them together and add more tape on the outside – several rounds.  (The tape is to stop the resin sticking to the wood, and make it easier to remove the finished work once it is cured).
• Cut acrylic sheet for backing.  Add to frame with more tape.
• Put it on a support board on the workbench and insert the Huon Pine.
• Make sure it is level – shim the support board where needed to get it level.
• Squish plasicine around all the outside edges, because my faith in the tape has been broken before – and I don’t want resin all over my floor.
• Squish plasticine round the front corners of the support board so it doesn’t move and become unlevel during proceedings.
• Mix up the resin, mica poweders and pigments (no pictured – it’s too sticky to take pictures when I am doing this).
• Pour colours into the form, mix them up, heat them up, swirl them around until I get something I like – or until they get too sticky and I am stuck with whatever it is even if I don’t like it!
• Regret the last minute fiddling I did to the resin – but too late, now I am stuck with it (see point above).
• Admire the gorgeous colour pattern in “The Inlet” (pic 9)
• Take pictures so I can make a post for Instagram and Facebook – you know it’s not real till you put it online!!!!!!
• Wit 24 hours for the first layer to cure.
• Mix up more resin, trying to be careful not to mix too much of the colours I don’t want to take over in Layer 2.
• Can’t control my mixing frenyz and I make too much dark blue – it is such a gorgeous colour, but a little goes a long way.
• Pour resin and use heat gun till I get a pattern I really like, even if the colours mix a little too much.
• Sigh when “The Inlet” first layer disappears, but hope to replicate it on Layer 3.
• Use the left over resin colours on the underside of another ocean piece I have had sitting on my bench for repairs – hope that works out ok.

So, this is where I am now, waiting for it to cure for 24 hours before I can pour another layer.  I think Layer 3 will be a deeper layer with only a little colour in it, in an attempt to get a semi-transparent look that will let me see some of the darker colours in the depth, and have lighter colours towards the top.  Like looking at the ocean with poloroid sunglasses (I hope).

Who knows how it will end up, sometimes it’s just going with it and hoping that you don’t hate it when it’s finished.

Take care folks, have a happy and safe Easter.

…………………………………………………………………..and remember – Clean Hands mean you Care