Some items I find need only a bit of cleaning and I can get right to the creative part. Others, I find in a seriously distressed state. Those I need to first envision what I want it to look like, then begin the reconstruction and preparing the surfaces. Often times, I will change my mind as the project moves forward. Something about my original plan just doesn’t look right.
In rare cases, I’ve taken all the new finishes off and started over with a bare bones item. Even when this happens I still enjoy the process of giving new life to previously loved items.
Often, I will hold an item for, ahem, too long. It may be so unique that I’m wondering, “If you could speak to me, what would you say? Where have you been? Who was your family?” It’s easy to get caught up in the history of something as simple as a teapot or flour box.
The cradle pictured above is an example. A dear friend’s family heirloom, she wanted to repurpose it as a living area display piece. The new owner had a number of ideas for patterns, so I had a good plan to work with. The issue? What you see here is the re-assembled cradle. One of the wings had broken off. There was no floor in it. Several parts were severely damaged and needed fill and repair. My husband Lee did the major repairs and filling. He insisted on using glue and dowel construction as he didn’t want to have any screws or nails in a piece that was originally completely assembled with dovetail construction.
Below are some views of the finished cradle. There are 5 finishes applied to the raw wood to achieve this look. In all, we had a LOT of hours in this one and it came out just beautiful.
Thank you for following along. I’ll go into some of the other processes I use in future blogs. For now, adios and remember, Eat Life.