Ceenoa

Part One

• Decide 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 make frame
• 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 plasticine round the front corners of the support board so it doesn’t move and become unlevel during proceedings.
• Squish plasticine 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.
• Mix up the resin, mica powders and pigments (not pictured – it’s too sticky to take pictures when I am doing this).
• Weight the form down, then 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”
• Take pictures so I can make a post for Instagram and Facebook – you know it’s not real till you put it online!!!!!!

Part Two

• wait 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 frenzy 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.

Part Three

• wait another 24 hours
• pour colour layer 3 – over fiddle AGAIN!

Part Four

• wait another 24 hours
• pour clear layer four

Part Five

• wait another 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
• remind self to weight down wood better next time so no resin seepage occurs
• remove acrylic backing sheet – be happy that it released so easily
• 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
• remind self to get more tape
• 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
• 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 that you 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