I have been busy over the last week breaking down logs into boards for birdhouses. It is quite satisfying to scavenge logs “found on ground” to use on projects. It is pretty easy to find oak around my neighborhood but I always have my eyes peeled while driving for roadside finds. I had enough semi-dry oak laying around to whip out these two rustic houses. The wood was both spalted and buggy with some really intense grain. All boards were sawn to 3/4 inch thick so the finished product is very beefy. I used the laser to etch the birds and plants and spent a few hours painting them. Screw and glue construction. Boiled linseed oil finish on all exterior surfaces, no finish on the inside.

Long ago the aliens came down (or the Indians traveled up) and taught the Indians about fashion. I design these dolls in my sleep which it turns out is cheaper than therapy. Here is a group shot of the last 2 weeks work. Each piece is 15×8 inches. I use old redwood fence boards run through a planer. I draw the golems in Corel Draw (no haters please) as vector files and use a Trotec laser to engrave the outlines. Each piece takes 3-4 hours to paint/detail using Posca pens alcohol inks and fine markers for nose hairs, pimples etc. Finally 3 coats of poly before framing in poplar. Vote for the one you like best!