SIGNS, FOOTSTOOLS AND CROOKED CANOES

Stockford Mill Sign

          I've painted all sorts of subjects and lettered a lot of signs over the years in almost every size imaginable - teeny, itsy-bitsy miniature portraits for a scaled down dollhouse to a blimp shaped like a killer whale named Ruthy that didn't look so big once it was floating around high up in the sky.  I've also lettered a few chain saw blades but this is the first circular saw blade that I've painted and lettered.  Linda Hamilton commissioned me to paint a picture of her father's (Walter Stockford) sawmill on one of the old rusty blades that he once used to saw logs into lumber.  The grist mill was built during 1935-36.  It was powered only with the use of water on the Eel River, which had been purposely dammed for the mill's operation.  Linda's father is now quite elderly and the Stockford Mill is no longer in service.  The building which was located on the river's edge is no longer there; it now stands further back from the river amidst some trees and although it can be seen from the road, it's highly unlikely that it will ever be in service again.

Saw Blade Progression

          Prepping the 30" saw blade was not as easy as I thought it would be.  I have no idea low long the blade had been rusting but it was quite badly pitted and took quite a long time to grind away the rust until it was once again shiny steel.  After about 3 or 4 coats of primer were applied, I roughly sketched out the photograph Linda had supplied.  Since the photo was black and white and the autumn day looked pretty gray and cloudy, I thought I'd use my imagination to brighten it up - I believe artistic licence is the term used.  She also would have liked a portrait of her father on the blade but the photos she supplied were so grainy and small, I decided to leave him out because I don't think I could have painted a satisfactory likeness of him.  Linda has yet to see the finished product and I wonder what her reaction will be when she picks up the saw blade - hopefully she will like the colorful transformation and bring back some happy memories.

  Finished Product

          Since Linda mentioned she was probably going to put the saw blade out in her garden, I used 1Shot sign enamels to produce the painting and lettering.  Although the paints stand up fairly well to sunlight and battering rain, it would probably be better hung up on a wall that doesn't get direct sunlight because it will fade in time and if a little moisture should get in behind the paint, well the rust will start eating it away.  

  Children's Wooden Footstool

        Besides painting the saw blade, I've also been busy building and painting kid's footstools.  Sarah and I were in a craft fair a couple of weeks ago at the First Nations Auditorium attempting to sell some of the things we made but didn't have much luck.  We were a bit discouraged by the low attendance and as many good, encouraging remarks that I heard concerning the stools, not one sold.  Forgetting that I'm no longer in BC but now located in New Brunswick, which has a much lower economy and fewer jobs, I feel the price for the stools was too high.  I've since lowered the price and sold this one - the name of the child costs a little extra but even after the child is grown, it will make a nice keepsake - make an excellent plant stand as well.  I'll have to remember that when producing crafts, I shouldn't expect to get paid much for my time, which is fine with me as long as it covers the cost of the material and I enjoy what I'm doing and I am.  If anyone is interested in purchasing one of these delightful little kid's stools, the price is now $25.00 each and an additional $5.00 to have it personalized.  Of course, depending upon where you live, shipping is extra.

          The First Nations Christmas Bazaar is not one that I will soon forget because the natives were allowed to sell bottles of wine that they had made.  And, although I'm not much of a wine drinker, beer tantalizing my palate more so, I did buy and imbibe their product while waiting for someone to purchase something from our table.  Let's just say that by the time we left the craft fair, I was more than three sheets to the wind, their Crooked Canoe wine had an apt name - cheers - eh!