From concept to creation

I recently completed a piece that I’ve been thinking about for quite some time. It began as doodles on an envelope…of the types of shapes and spacial exploration I loved doing as a kid. Eventually, I drew up a few different possible options and consulted with Salette on which one I should pursue.

Once we decided on a concept, I got to work recreating my concept as a digital, vector image on Adobe Illustrator. This is helpful for a few of reasons. First, as a vector, I can print the image as large or as small as I need to create a mock up. Second, I can use this as a template for future orders from customers. Finally, because of all of the stylized options in Illustrator, I was able to create a rendering with shadows that would illustrate the type of 3D effect that I was going for with this piece.

Once I completed the digital illustration, I printed and transferred the image onto quarter inch plywood. From there it was back onto the scroll saw and Dremel for some intricate fun.

The next step was to color the piece with all of the different shades of blueI had determined in my mock up. The intent was to represent water in a playful, almost childlike way. I thought about Eric Carle’s illustrations in his children’s book, A Very Hungry Caterpillar. Rather than purchase half a dozen shades of blue stain, I opted to create my own using acrylic paint, water and a secret ingredient that I had learned from another artist – Listerine mouthwash. Not knowing how these stains would turn out on the plywood, I decided to create yet another mock up, this time a miniature version on plywood that I could test the stains on.

For the background, I chose a piece of poplar from a local hardwood lumber store. I would have preferred a lighter type of wood so that the piece wouldn’t be so heavy, but poplar is beautiful with really nice grains, it comes in wider sizes, and it already had the color and tone I was looking for to compliment the blue in the waves. After cutting and sanding the poplar into the desired shape, I finished prep work on the piece by clear coating everything and cutting various lengths of dowels to mount the individual wave pieces. From there, it was simply putting this self-created jigsaw puzzle back together again.

While this piece was intended primarily as a proof concept, I do plan on selling it. In the future customers will be able to order this piece in different sizes.