While cleaning up the yard a few months ago I decided to prune a few tree branches and take them to the kindling pile to let them dry out. We have a small fire pit in the back yard and the kids enjoy roasting marshmallows, making smores and chatting around the fire.

Well a few weeks later I found myself needing a bit of quite time so I went out to start a fire and sip a glass or two of a nice Merlot. After a bit of roasting myself I went back to the kindling pile to build up the fire a little and found one of the larger maple tree branches I had taken down earlier. Now, normally I would have broken this branch down and enjoyed another glass of wine... but there was something about this branch and the way it fit my hand. I started snapping of the little branches and figuring our if the stick was hiking material and found it to be quite solid and free of any cracks or major blemishes. So I went inside and got the trusty old carving knife and went to work. The branch was about 2.5 in. diameter so I knew I had my work cut out for me.

After a few hours I had to call it quits. The blisters had blisters and I could feel the onset of the good ole Tennis Elbow coming on (I work behind a desk:). I had removed all the bark and had whittled the stick down to a good 2 in. diameter. I brought the stick inside to show the family and they didn't seem too impressed. So I started thinking what can I do to make this walking stick better.... My lovely wife asked me if I was feeling any better and if I thought another glass of wine would help... LOL Of course it would. At that exact moment it hit me... We enjoy wine, wine making, grapes, we use the vines in the winter for making ornamental pieces. Why not have a vine carved into the walking stick.

I did a little research to see exactly what type of leaf I could use and drew a couple of preliminary sketches - whoa me with a pencil in hand - That got my families attention. My daughter announcing to the entire house "Dad's drawing!". They tend to get on me about not drawing enough. My oldest daughter says on the computer doesn't count... I tell her I make money with a mouse in a month then I ever did with a pencil. Man how far I have come.... Anyway, it was getting late and after 4 glasses of wine I thought it might be a bad idea for me to use sharp instruments.

The next day I came home from work with a mission. I started whittling and gouging until I realized that having a simple outline of a leaf and grapes was just not good enough I wanted dimension. So needless to say it was a late night. I didn't realize just how hard Maple wood could be. I had the rough shapes started but I couldn't get the depth I was looking for with the tools I had. Ready to throw in the towel and admit defeat I thought about how much time I had already invested and what this simple stick had come to represent to me. There had to be a more effective method. Dremel.

Using my Dremel Drill to sand down the rough edges would take some time but the end result would be pretty good I though. I had no idea how long it would take but it was better than giving up. Every night after work I would come home and spend an hour or two sanding and carving and sanding... to the point I would have to take a shower before sitting on the furniture. Fat man carving = wet saw dust and matted body hair (think you have the visual? You have no idea). Each night Krysta would come outside and sit with me carving he very own walking stick - a nice piece of White Oak from another tree in the yard. We spent the entire week together in the back yard talking, joking, carving and coughing up saw dust. It was great!

Just when I though it was done... A friend at work suggested I carve a vine down the walking stick below the area I had designated for the handle. After looking at it a few moments I agreed and that night - the stick went back under the knife. After a few more days of carving, gouging and sanding I had deemed the "Walking Stick" complete.

The funny thing about doing a work of art for yourself... you never stop to think about the perceived value. When I got all done with the carving I used some watered down acrylic paints to add a wash of color to the leaves and grapes. The I used a light Maple stain and linseed oil to protect it from oils and elements. All-in-all it was a great creative exercise and gave me a good creative kick in the butt not to mention the alone time to empty my thoughts and focus on just getting that one grape to look just right.

Thank you to my family for letting me just carve for a couple of weeks. I love you all.

Labels: artwork, family, walking stick, wood carving