The Dream

Hi, well, I’m making progress! Work is still crazy but I’ve reached the point where I’ve almost finished THE MIRROR for her loveliness, The Queen. I have to admit that I got a wee tinsy bit lazy and when it came to doing the cross-bar: I used the flowery ornate one instead of coming up with a more appropriate design. But the very nice thing, Ladies and Gentleman, is that I’m almost at the point of assembly! I know, please, stop the applause. Here is the almost completed mirror ready for assembly:

Almost Ready for Assembly

You know, I forgot to show you guys the vertical leg. After much consternation and navel gazing, I decided to use a banister and carve the top. Since I’ve absolutely committed to the flower design concept for Her Highness, it was an easy decision to come up with the grand idea to carve a, ummm...flower on the top. The banisters are made from pine and being a soft wood, was a little more difficult to carve but here it is:

Flower Leg

As of this very moment, the cross-bar has had several coats of stain and has been ‘antiqued’. Once that’s dry, it’ll get a couple of coats of clear polyurethane and then it’s time for assembly and getting measured for a mirror.

But, here’s my next project: Gandalf’s staff! Or at least, Gandalf’s distant cousin’s staff who perhaps has little or no magical wizardry powers whatsoever.

The Staff

Sorry this pic is not that clear. So here’s the scoop. I was trimming some Pittosporum trees on my property a while back and ended up with a number of branches that I couldn’t throw away. I figured they’d be useful for something...like a wigwam or for beating off stray dogs in the neighbourhood. Anywaaay, I started carving one. Once again, I used ye ol’ angle grinder with a sanding wheel and cut out the rough design you see right here. I spent more time carving the handle and other bits. As of right now, it’s sitting in my garage collecting stray spells and drying from the coat of stain I put on it yesterday. I know you’re all angsting to see the details, as am I. So, in a couple of days, I’ll post some more detailed images of the carving work and I’ll explain what I did and how I did it. As it happens, a mischiefous elf appeared in a dream last night and strongly urged me to pull a sicky at work and finish the staff so that its full power could be released. But since there are no kingdoms to banish anyone to, I figured I’d just savour the experience of slowly and patiently finishing this thing of power.

I think my coffee is too strong. I’ll see you in a couple of days with an update.

Thanks for stopping by.

Amos