Secound RSCDS Ball Staff

Following the rave reviews my DanceStyx (see photo in blog header) received at the RSCDS (Royal Scottish Dance Society) Sacramento Branch 2008 Spring Ball and Workshop I did the TravelerStyx for our 2009 Spring Ball and Workshop. Since this ball was held at the third different location in three years, it was called the “Traveler’s Ball”. The short staff is made from a ‘twisted’ oak ( a tree that has grown with a vine wrapped around it). I carved the ball information and ‘hobo’ symbols between the twists.

Carving my sign

Technorati Tags: carving

Step one-

I outlined the letters using a small chip carving knife.

Step two-

I defined the frame using the same chip carving knife

Step three-

 

I removed the excess wood then smoothed the background using progressively shallower gouges.  After sanding I will stain the wood then finish with Tung oil.

Dragon Styx

The first picture is of the entire ‘staff’. I put staff in single quotes since this piece is far too big to be used as a hiking staff. It will be a display piece only. It is about six feet tall and weighs 14 pounds. It was harvested in Kentucky and is an oak sapling that grew with a vine wrapped around it. I have debarked the portions between the twists. I plan to carve it into mother and daughter dragons chasing down the staff.

Looking at the first picture you can see the top two thirds of the staff contains what will be the mother dragon and the bottom third will be the daughter dragon.

Wizard Styx 2.0 (In Progress)

This Wizard Styx is being carved from a cutting from my Myrtle.  It is tall and massive and is intended to be a display piece as opposed to a ‘working’ hiking staff.  The plaited pattern in the third picture is of my own design.  The following posts will be pictures of the items I’m considering for mounting on the ends of the three branches.

Wizard Styx 1.0

This is my second Styx. It is a cutting from the Mulberry tree in my back yard. There is the figure of the wizard with the Rune alphabet inscribed in spiraling columns down its length.

Twisty Styx- my first walking stick

This is my first walking stick. It’s the third ‘Styx’ I made, the second one was WizardStyx 1.0 which is a hiking staff that hasn’t been posted yet. The brass ball was scavenged from a walking stick I purchased on the pier in Monterey California.

Church Styx

The Church Styx was carved to be donated to a silent auction to support a church’s tutoring center for neighborhood children.  The main theme is the repeated use of sets of three.  Starting at the top, there is a crown with three points.  Beneath that there are three windows.  These are followed by a symbol for each member of the Trinity.  The first symbol is the Hand of God, then the Descending Dove, and the Cross.  Lastly there is a chalice pouring out the water of life.  The water spirals once around the staff and slowly broadens to encompass the entire staff as it reaches the bottom.  About half way down the staff there is a fish symbol worked into the flow of water. 

Production Styx 1.0

This is a prototype for a ‘production’ cane that I plan to keep in stock and sell for around $50 to $60.  It is made from a one inch diameter oak dowel.  The handle is made from a 1.5 inch dowel.  I use a mortise and tenon joint to join them.

Dance Styx01

Three pictues of the Dance Styx. The third picture is also used as the banner for this blog. I carved this hiking staff as a raffle prize at the branch’s 2008 Spring Ball and Workshop. On the ribbon that spirals around the staff in I carved information about the ball (RSCDS Sacramento Branch ‘Spirits of the Dance’ Ball and Workshop). Between the spirals of ribbon I carved Pillings diagrams for eleven Scottish Country Dances. The date for the ball carved into the staff is March 29, 2008. The date of the Ball and Workshop was moved to March 8, 2008 after the staff was finished. After considering several different methods to ‘correct’ the date on the staff, I decided to leave the incorrect date after all, it was the correct date when I carved it, and trying to change it would only have messed up the staff.

First Styx 07

Assorted pictures taken during the carving process before the dark stain and gloss finish were applied.