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Wiggly boi

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my new poster for the 30th Anniversary of Myst, available over at the Cyan store (link in the source and the comments)! This imagery has been indelibly inscribed on the inside of my eyelids since I was a kid, so it was an absolute joy bringing it to life in a more official capacity. 📚

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Curious about this purple opal! Or is it blue? It seems like the color can look different depending on who's looking - what do you see?

Credit: Opal Trove

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Packing up for the trip north and pulled out the collection of finishing wheels. I wish there was time to decorate some covers now, but the packing must get done. #finishingtools #bookbindingtools #bookbinding #bookarts #torontobound (at Big River Bindery) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClqvbHOud_F/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Bioluminescent World

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by themodernleper

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All rights reserved by maida0922

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Magical Madeira, Portugal

michaelkagerer

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x

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Today's aesthetic is junglecore

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And now for a different kind of robot! 

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😍

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And now, the most satisfying part of the build so far - the polishing! This was a relatively simple operation, but I wanted to use the nicest finish I could for it. I’m no fan of plastics or unnecessary chemicals, so I tracked down some pure tung oil, which hardens after drying to a tough, satin finish. I also added to the tung oil a small amount of creosote bush extract so that when the finish dried, it would lock in a little of the smell of the desert southwest after rain. It’s a very subtle addition, but it worked.

The covers took four coats (so far) and a little buffing in-between, so that the whole piece is now sanded to 2000 grit and the bronze is polished as nicely as I can get it without an additive. The mesquite really shows its beauty with such a high polish and the saturating effect of the oil, and I’m pleased as punch with the way the texture of the rings shows through. I may yet add a fifth coat, but I dare to call these finished.

A quick note on the sanding process, in case it’s of use to anyone - I was very worried about sanding the bronze and wood together and risking staining the wood pores with metal dust, especially since this is endgrain mesquite, and so is essentially all pores. At 320 grit without oil there was no problem, but at 2000 the particles were so fine that they did begin to get stuck in the grain, possibly worsened by the first oil coats. I have been able to remove most of that with further oil and lots of buffing, but if you find yourself in a similar situation and are concerned, I’d recommend trying steel wool or a cabinet scraper first, and only using sandpaper as a backup. Mesquite is a very dense wood, so I can easily see something like mahogany or walnut having a worse experience.

So, what comes next? Well, the first step is acquiring paper. I plan to use something nice and heavy and textured, perhaps a watercolor paper, or at least something cold-pressed. My dear @derkeethass is something of an expert on the subject, so I know I’m in good hands. If you’d like to help me finance this part and move on to the next phase even quicker I do have a ko-fi account, but by no means is it necessary (although I would be extremely thankful).

Thanks for following along through this series, I’ll keep you posted of any developments and get back to crafting as soon as possible!

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Prague Astronomical Clock / Prague,Orloj

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