And the Smoke Clears

So I entered my work in the Mobile Country Greater Gulf State Fair for the first time, and Saturday took the morning to go to the fairgrounds and enjoy the bird show until they opened up for 4H exhibit.  I gathered some interesting photos along the way I thought I would share.

Check out this skinny dude.  The Cochins, Dutch Games, and Bantams made up the majority of the bird show, and seem to be more popular among hobbyists.  They are adorable and fiesty, but far too impractical for me.  

I took some reference photos at the heifer show.  I love the natural beauty of a cow.  

This set-up was for contestants to pose in front of with their animal and have their picture taken.  

Calves for auction.  The black calf kept running and hiding behind his friend whenever I came up to take a picture. 

And then, when the 4H exhibits finally opened up at noon with the rides, I meandered in and was completely surprised to find my work on display, with three ribbons attached.  Wow-zer! 

 At the other end of the exhibit were more unique pieces of art.  I took pictures of my favorites.

This wicker peak cock for example...

Sure it won first because it was the ONLY wicker creation, but I think it deserved 1st even with competition.  This was cool.

Somebody local carves some amazing walking sticks as well.

And canning...

And the pumpkins (oops, spelled Pimpkins there... haha, that gives me an idea for next year's pumpkin...I might actually enter one.)  So really, the turkey  got second, and the pig got second, the but the Angry bird deserved as much as the pig. See, those judges stuck up for the pigs.

Now that is a PIMP-kin.  ANGRY BIRDS!!

I thought this was totally ingenuitive though.  Definitely deserved 1st.

A favorite photograph that well deserved the ribbon.  I have actually seen this homeless man in my area so the picture strikes home even harder.

And there I am.  Shocked, but proud too.  I am eager to do it again next year.  Entering was easy, but next year I am going to try for the fine arts exhibit.  Competition will be tough, but the prizes are better too.  

Thanks for checking in with me.  I am beginning an eagle commission this week so follow along on FB for quick updates.  Feel free to write or comment,

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would take the time to share something I've found.  As you may know I have been running around trying to figure out how to make prints of my work.  Where to start?!  This link proved to be very helpful.  Unfortunately, it has not told me how to make a digital file for the work, but it is very informative.  Take a look:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=382489

Local Fair

I've never entered a real art contest before, let alone a fair so this month has held a world of new experiences for me.  I was worried I would have to attach hangars to the back of my wood pieces- which I don't want to do until after I make prints of them- so there was a lot of pressure on me as the deadline drew close.

Every night after work I'd hasten to the table and spend most of the night burning.  I was getting...burned out.  No kidding.  But when I went to the fairgrounds, they assured me that the hanging was all taken care of.  So that was a huge relief.

Jazz is the Color is my latest burning, which I will have photographs of when they are released from the fair exhibition in two weeks.  The Saxophone burning features a tenor Sax against a double bass.  Lovely!  Can't wait to show you the completed pictures.  I also have more burn videos coming up so stay tuned for some embedded clips.

In the meantime, visit my facebook profile and page to keep up with the every-day details.

https://www.facebook.com/phoenixpyrocreations.pyrography

Thanks for stopping by,
Feel free to give me help and suggestions,
I am still looking around for a print-shop that suits my needs.

All That Jazz!!

 It has been a while since I've posted last.  Apart from cutting my wood into all the wrong shapes and sizes (I had forgotten that I was going to burn a set of chess portraits), it took fresh inspiration a while to juice on through.

Then I remembered that I had also wanted to do something...musical.  And I needed two instruments that would compliment each other, both in their sounds, as well as their composition, layout, and textures.

So I went with the brassy, metallic woodwind (a Tenor Saxophone), and what I had originally hoped to be a cello, ended up being a double bass.

So far, the burn has been going slowly.  First step is to do a wash-coat sort of burn for the double bass and add the highlights and textures later.  I love how the wood grain runs with the double-bass so perfectly.

It gives it such a nice wood grain burn.  I hope to use two different oils when this piece is finished to bring out the yellow in the sax, and some reds in the double bass.

This birch ply is so much fun to work with, and I am carefully planning out my future pieces to offer prints of. It will be an exciting month, when I receive my first framed prints to sell!!!

As always, you can get more updates and the in-depth scoop by finding me on Facebook @ Phoenix Pyrocreations Pyrography.

Also, check out the Piano Guy's latest video!!  Titanium/Pavane!!  It is hauntingly beautiful.  If you haven't already heard of the piano guys, look them up and subscribe.  You'll wish you had known about them a year ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz4MzJTeL0c

As always, thanks for coming, feel free to leave a comment or write, and check out my Facebook page and profile for more details.

Phoenix