No. 069 - A Cardigan stick in ram's horn with a rosewood shank.
This is the second in a series of commissioned works for a customer in S Carolina, USA. My brief was to make a stick with a ram's horn handle and a smooth, dark-coloured shank. It would need to accommodate three embedded pins or badges; the customer would provide two of these and I would hunt down a suitable teddy bear for the remaining one. We decided on a Cardigan stick, as this would provide enough room for the pins as well as broadening the scope of the client's collection. I would make the shank by hand from a billet of Indian rosewood and darken the finish as necessary to ensure the distinctive grain wasn't too prominent.
Here I am working the shank to a round section with planes, scrapers and abrasives. On the right is the finished item.
I was having some difficulty in finding a suitable teddy bear... but then I happened to meet a friend who was wearing the perfect bear on her lapel. I explained my predicament and suggested that teddy might like to take up residence in the USA. My friend readily agreed, so teddy is now sunning himself in South Carolina. Thanks, Veronica!
A spacer of black buffalo horn is fitted between the handle and shank. The nose is capped with black-faced ram's horn. This piece is mostly black with some white streaks in it.
Note - the three pictures above were taken before final finishing of the stick. I had returned from the Commonwealth Games in Manchester with my camera set up for taking action shots in low light levels and forgot to change the settings. By the time I had realised this, the stick was packed up ready for its trip to the States. Some shots were too grainy to use, so I had to rely on ones I'd taken earlier.
SOLD (a commissioned work)