Tramp Art with a side of TUrkey!

Since I am currently creating my tramp art on my kitchen table, finishing the assembly of  the key to my heart II frame was of the up most importance for Thanksgiving day.  Loose pieces needed to be secured and finished, so that we could clear and prepare for our families Thanksgiving. 

A dry run of the assembly brought some uneven pieces to my attention and helped me make some final color choices.  I chose to use a bright turquoise which will look lovely after it is antiqued and will allow for the skeleton keys to show up better.  A little splash of yellow here and there with some hand painted detail to tie it all together.  Here is a picture of the dry run with keys placed on top.

 

After some quick tweaking, cutting and rechipping the tramp art pieces are secured in there places.  Again predrilling the pieces made the assembly incredibly smooth without broken pieces to recreate and an overall more solid piece.

 

 

Now the step that really changes the looks of things.  The antiquing medium will be added with a little more destruction here and there and VIOLA!!  deep, rich, and time worn colors.  Just the way I like them!

 

Sitting by my side as always, is my best bud Cooper.  Here is a recent picture of him sporting my reading glasses.  He is not very happy about the glasses and is counting the days until school vacation is over.  Too much attention from my thirteen year old when he is used to it just being him and I. He is a gentle soul and completely devoted to me! God love him.

 

 

Happy Tramping with a side of Turkey!     Angie

 

 

EmbellishmenTS

The key to my heart II frame is well underway with  the wood chipping complete and the embellishments chosen.

For this piece, I chose to use heart pieces cut from old cigar boxes for the final key hole layer.  The old cigar box pieces are really hard to work with considering that they are made of something similar to layers of paper, but the old graphics are amazing.  Very colorful and vintage...hard to reproduce so the real thing is called for!  

I have also picked out 6 vintage skeleton keys to be anchored to the frame when it is complete.  These keys were given to me by my step dad and just have amazing colors, shapes and patinas.

 

 

I chose to use oak pieces for the very bottom layer, to strengthen the piece.  Chipping oak is not my favorite (hard and splinters easy), but will provide the strength this piece needs for the layers that over hang the pine frame base.  After cutting my finger two times trying to chip the tiny round hard wood pieces that finish off the triangles, I used my dremel to carve notches in these tiny terrors.   Small hardwood pieces + wood chipping knife = cut fingers!  Why did I not think of that before?? Live and Learn.

 

The chipped pieces have been laid out in their final places and separated into bags according to the colors they will be painted.

 



Colors have been chosen:  light teal, antique red, ivory and maybe some dark burnt umber.  Maybe a touch of burnt orange too....definitely some hand painted decorative elements to come!

Happy Tramping    Angie

Key to my HEart II

My next challenge is creating a tramp art frame like my first Key to my Heart frame but better!  Here is a picture of my original.

 

I am hoping to recreate this piece, while making the frame stronger, the colors lighter and richer, and this new piece will definitely be one of a kind.  Fortunately, I am able to use the pattern pieces from the original with some tweaking.

 

I've gathered pattern pieces, pine frame base, some old skeleton keys, some poplar and oak hobby boards and a quick sketch on paper.  Everything to get started on this special piece minus paint, glue and nails.

 

After a little bit of reworking and straightening of some pattern pieces, I have traced them onto the hobby boards to cut out.  Oak was used for the very bottom layer to strengthen the entire frame.  The pieces have been cut out and laid out on the base frame for a dry run.  A total of approximately 60 pieces and they are all there and fitting perfectly.

 

 

 

Now for a quick sanding and then the wood chipping will begin.   I'm looking forward to a rainy Monday of wood chipping and catching up on those t.v. shows.  Now to ponder those wonderful colors....teal, red, and ivory! Oh My!

 

Happy Tramping    Angie

 

Another thing that I love about what I do! Treasure HUnting!

I just wanted to show off some of the treasures that I have found recently. In time,  Each piece will eventually end up in one of my Tramp Art creations.  I frequent our local Goodwill store, local junk dealers (love these guys), and the occasional thrift store, looking for those sturdy flat faced frames, old wooden boxes, spindles and everything in between. The older, the rustier, the more worn the better!

Here's a pict of the assorted frames that I have found recently. It's much easier for me to buy the base frame than to make it myself.  It's not very easy getting those miter cuts exact and have everything fit correctly!  Still working on these skills! The square frames tend to end up in a star shaped tramp art frames. 

 

They have to be flat faced, made out of wood, and sturdy.  Glass is a plus but not necessary - I have great glass cutter when necessary.  I like the not so ordinary sizes, shapes and colors.  They must be sturdy!

 

 

Not sure how these will work their way into one of my pieces but I could not pass them up.  Old metal with patina, old paint and who of course doesn't need a giant wooden key?  It's not signed any where but does say Deer Isle Maine on it.  A great piece of folk art!

 

 

Bunches of mosaic tiles in very nautical shades of blue, grey and black.  I am thinking something very nautical, with a boat, water.....time will tell.

 

 

Couldn't pass up this amazing piece of white birch bark!  The colors, cracks and knots are just gorgeous!  This is definitely going to end up in one of my pieces after I figure out how to work with it.  A Maine-ish frame with maybe pinecones, thin branches, Native barks.....or maybe an Adirondack inspired piece.

 

I am so thankful for this part of the creation process.  It's so much fun while looking and so satisfying to see these treasures find their homes in my pieces!! 

 

 

Happy Tramping     Angie

Mission ACcomplished

The sunflower tramp art frame came together nicely;  soft and yummy colors, solid and sturdy, and beautiful all in one.  Thank you Marguerite for your great artistic adjectives!  I have implemented several changes in my creation process and have come away quite satisfied with the results and have saved myself some time and increased the quality of this piece.

Having predrilled some of the smaller pieces of the tramp art layers, the number of pieces having to be recut, rechipped and repainted during the assembly was reduced greatly.  The predrilling will also help create a tighter bond between layers and cut down on future potential piece damage. 

I also religiously kept all pieces in sealed ziplocks so that my cat could not steal them.  No missing pieces!  Assembly was quicker than usually by keeping the pieces organized by color also.

I sometimes can't make the really tiny pieces that I would like to include on my frames.  The wood pieces gets fragile, hard to secure and hard on my hands when they are too tiny.  I don't know why I haven't done it before, but I did some hand painted detail and line work on this piece to bring it all together.  Before I started creating tramp art layers on my frames, most of my frames had hand painted designs and motifs on them.  So I'm not really surprised that the hand painted details are sneaking back in there.

The sunflower crown was created by carving two layers of petals with a vintage brass knob as the center. 

After the pieces was assembled and had had enough drying time, I coated the piece with a coat of antiquing medium.  I always look to deepen my colors and add that touch of time wear to the sanded edges and nooks and crannies.  I then gave certain areas a second coat to darken the edges and notches.  Three coats of polycrit later and we have the finished piece.

I am really excited to have been able to fine tune some of my steps and also save myself some unnecessary steps.  169 wood chipped pieces later, I'm quite happy to be able to send this piece to the Big Apple to fellow tramp art lover, Marguerite.

Happy Tramping,     Angie

Some Assembly RequirED....

One of the most important decisions in the making of my tramp art pieces, is color choice.  I really like to have my pieces appear time worn, colorful but antiqued, and richly colored  Sometimes, when a commissioned piece is ordered, the collector is specific about the colors wanted and other times, I rely on my own color choices to guide my creations.   As I look back over my pieces, I definitely tend to use some of the same colors consistently but continue to try to introduce new, rich colors into the mix.  Oh how I love deep orange, reds, teals, and blues.

When I make my color choices, I tend to lean towards the brighter range.  These brighter colors, sanded and antiqued result in the richer shades that I love so much!  I tend to limit my pieces to 3 or 4 color choices, as not to create a pieces that looks too busy and takes away from the art work or photo it is displaying.


After each individual piece is painted, I do another dry run placement on the frame.  This step is probably not necessary but is due to my obsession to make sure everything fits properly and to catch missing pieces before I get to far along.  Having my work space at my kitchen table, my many tramp art pieces are sometimes dispersed and stolen by my cat!!!  We constantly compete for the table space. Bad kitty!  Good thing she is so cute.

Before assembly, I choose to take care of my sanding and destruction.  This step is easier for me to do at the individual piece level.  Easier on my hands too.  There is a fine balance between too much sanding and just enough.  Especially along the edges, a nice sanding job can really provide a place for the antiquing medium to take well.  I sometimes will actually destruct with a hammer and large bolts leaving some interesting patterns on the wood.

Then the assembly begins!  This step gets really exciting.  To see how the colors work together and to see that original sketch come to life is very satisfying.  I have recently started to predrill most of the pieces which has cut down of broken pieces exponentially.  Santa is going to have to get me a mini drill for this task!  My frames are secured with a combination of nails and wood glue, which has proven to be overall the best and strongest choice.  I also sometimes use epoxy for those embellishments that are not nail friendly.

Here is the sunflower frame in the mid-assembly stage, in its bright, fresh, unantiqued colors.  I purposely did not show the crest of the frame so as not to reveal it quite yet to its owner.

 

 

Off to do my magic with the antiquing medium!

 

Happy Tramping    Angie

With the help of Dexter, the woodchipping is DOne.

After a couple of spurts of wood chipping and several episodes of the series Dexter, the chipping of the tramp art pieces are done.  I think the tentative count is 171 pieces ... but the final count will tell the tale.  I've taken the time to implements a couple of new steps to save on the old hands and cut down on blisters and sore fingers.  Maybe its getting comfortable with my craft or maybe its just getting more serious about what I do, but I discovered that taking this little bit of extra time to protect my hands, improve my lighting and paying more attention to my materials (wood, nails, paint, etc.) always results in a better, stronger, and more beautiful tramp art piece.

Some things I have learned recently creating Tramp Art:

The best time to protect your hands from the sore fingers and blisters that sometimes develop after completing the wood chipping, is to wear very thin work gloves from the start of a project.  The key for me is to never even let the soreness have a chance to happen.

Always using fresh, appropriate grit sand paper can make a project go so much faster and saves on your arms.  Don't forget what a sander is for and use it.  I have also found that a very tiny spring clamp that holds the small pieces, can create an handle that provides a more stable wood chipping surface and soreness.

My best time to do the wood chipping is in natural light during the day.  I can wood chip at night with my super sonic lamp but it is definitely easier on my eyes during the day.  My preference.

It has become necessary to keep more detailed project completion folders that detail the material used, colors used, and keep all of the pattern pieces together.  If ever there is a case of one of my pieces getting damaged, I can pull the project folder and have all of the creation details at my finger tips.  A real time saver.

I have also started to predrill holes into the final layers of tramp art.  I'm hoping this will help me with breakage and the need to create extra tiny pieces to replace them.

Back to the Sunflower Tramp Art Frame!!  Here is a picture of the after wood chipping dry run.  I've had to go back and tweak a couple of pieces but it looks like time for paint.

Lets see ... lots of green, red and yellow.  And maybe I should use this old brass knob!  We will see what happens.

Happy TRamping,      Angie