Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Warm Days Mean Dry Driftwood

A large, freestanding, Pacific Driftwood copper wind chime on a large cedar plank. For more information on this wind chime, or to bid on it, Click here.


It's so much easier working during the summer. To be honest, I enjoy cool days, where you don't have the sun sapping your energy. But I think most projects take about half as long when it is hot and dry out. I swore I would not complain about the heat, after so many wet cold days last winter. And, so far, I have kept my word.

In the winter, one frustration is any wood I collect from the beach is bound to be sopping wet (not to mention the stuff from the lumber store!). That means several weeks drying by my big wood stove. In the summer, even if it is a little wet from the ocean, it dries in no time outside. So nice! The large driftwood wind chime pictured above is a case in point. In the winter, I doubt I would have retrieved that piece~ it would be a big thing to have lying around the stove. But I certainly could not resist it now, knowing it would dry quickly. I brought it home, even though I was not sure what I would do with it. Who could resist?

It sat around curing in the sun, and I spent time thinking about what to do with it. These big cedar stumps left by a recent logging operation were just the thing to cut big planks from. That done, I knew I wanted to somehow mount this big piece of driftwood. That is where the thinking came in: How best to do that. I thought of all sorts of possibilities, most comically complex. In the end, as I have come to learn, the simplest is the best: Two feet of copper driven into the base of the driftwood, and a hole in the stand into which the protruding copper fits. Simple and sweet, and set for shipping.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:47 PM

    Understand what you mean about the sun, but each season has its advantages. It's Winter here on Australia's Gold Coast and am finding the days just too short as love natural light to paint, best wishes, The Artist

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  2. Oh to have the artist's eye and see the potential in castoff objects!

    BV

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  3. Hi the artist,
    Thanks for the comment. I sure like dry weather, for working with the wood, but I like cool weather for working. I sure agree with you about the short days~ since I sell most of my work on the Web, I need to take pictures of everything, and those short Winter days sure make that a challenge! Good luck getting through your Winter days! Tim

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  4. Hi BV,
    Oh yes! I spend a lot of time finding things on the beach. Mostly nice stones, but always have my eyes open for a nice piece of wood, too. Thanks BV. Tim

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  5. That is fabulous

    Take Care
    Michael

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  6. Hi Michael,
    Thanks so much! Glad you like it. Tim~

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