stitch and glue

While searching the web for pics on wanigans, I came across the artwork of fellow Toronto resident Graham Robinson. His "Coureur Des Bois" series showcases a seasoned paddler (who looks a whole lot like a paddling friend Rob S from the WCHA) using a mix of traditional and modern canoe gear.  Hope you find Graham's artwork as inspiring and appealing as I do!

Robinson takes his artistic inspiration from classic scenes of Canadiana. An avid adventurer, his paintings and illustrations are inspired by his travels across Northern Canada. Robinson works with a skewed and somewhat surreal approach to memories past where wanigans, barrels, canoes, and paddles all appear in familiar yet fictitious stages. His work often contains fable like narratives which reflect on the solidarity of the human psyche and consider the fragile state of our natural environment.

Graham Robinson was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1987. He is currently enrolled at the Ontario College of Art and Design and has exhibited his work in galleries across North America since the age of 17. 

Looking forward to more cool canoe related art. In the meantime, anyone wishing to contact Graham can find his email address on his blogspot profile page HERE.

I've begun the decoration phase on a new tripping paddle made from sassafras (Part 1 here).  Since this was going to be the first attempt with the shou-sugi-ban technique for paddles,  thought I would just scorch the grip area only and see the results.



As timing would have it, I ended up noticing a propane weed burning tool at an end-of-season garden sale. Figured it could get some dual usage to burn off the pesky weeds growing in the cracks of our driveway and between the patio stones. The torch is compatible with standard 1lb propane cannisters used for camping and the design allows you to keep the flame at a safe distance.




After firing it up, the jet-like flame quickly scorched the surface...




Given the open grain of sassafras wood, it burned unevenly in the beginning...



Eventually the surface was thoroughly burned. With its high heat output and size of the flame, this type of torch isn't obviously suited for fines details so it was extinguished before reaching the base of the grip.


The grip area was then scrubbed to get rid of any uneven charred wood and the remaining detail at the base of the grip would be finished later with a pyrography pen.

For the blade, I wanted to do a negative highlight of the recently revealed second side of c1849 Peabody Penobscot. This would be similar to the other sassafras paddle completed earlier this year, but instead of doing a full-on, high temp burn, I wanted the blade to have a partially shaded look. Took a couple more days days of leisurely work get the shading done on the blade but here is the result before oiling...