Help! I've been Commissioned...

[Grizz]

Okay, here is the deal and I need your imagination thinking caps on. I was asked tonight if I would create a wood 'logo' for a missionary display board.

It basically has the world in the background with the letters G A P inside the world. (GAP is for GAP Ministries) This would need to be about 12-13 inches round. This will be placed on an elliptical background that is slightly bigger in height and about 21 inches long/width.

I was thinking inartisia type art but not sure? If I were to do that, what would you think would be good 'woods' to use? breaking up the earth (land), then Oceans (water) then the letters GAP, and then the elliptical background.

This is for a good friend and I would like to give him a really fine piece of art.

To start off, I think I'd like to use a dark wood for the 'GAP' like Wenge. Maybe the Ellitpcal background with a very nice grained Zebra? But I'm really lost at the moment. Can anyone help?????!!!!

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

logo

the only thing that came to mind was fretwork with a sheet of thin brass behind to show thru the cuts...didn't get farther than that!

[Neal Moore]

Suggestion

Grizz....You might try doing the world from 3/4" stock and cutting the land masses and letters on a slight angle for a pop up relief effect. Once it's cut you could sand the face of the whole image to round it off...sort of like looking at half a globe. That way when the interior pieces are popped up everything will have the same contour in relief on the front and you'll have a flat back on the world to mount it on the elliptical piece.....I did a 4" x 6" cameo out of 1/4" oak that way to decorate the top of a jewelry box a year or so ago. Worked really well.

[jttheclockman]

Not quite sure what you are talking about placing on an elliptical background but I like the idea Neal suggested with the relief cutting of the land masses. You can stain them a green or a brown and the water a blue. Use a nice red oak so the grain shows through and maybe use some water base dyes so they are not too muddy in color. Then the letters you can incorporate them in an olive branch motif. Have the olive branch encircle the world and place the letters in the top and bottom in a circular pattern. You can also use plastic mirror as the world and cut land masses out in dark woods and glue to a blue mirror or even blue plexiglass.

Another idea would be to do the world with the land masses and have a wavery ribbon encircling the world with the letters cut out in it. Don't know if this is a patriotic theme but you can go that route with a red white and blue ribbon. Of course any of these ideas would heve to drawn out and put in a pattern form. Good luck. Like to see a photo when completed.

[Grizz]

Keep them coming!

Thanks for the ideas.... Now keep them coming and help my poor middle aged brain work.

Any ideas for contrasting woods?

[Grizz]

Angle?

Grizz....You might try doing the world from 3/4" stock and cutting the land masses and letters on a slight angle for a pop up relief effect. Once it's cut you could sand the face of the whole image to round it off...sort of like looking at half a globe. That way when the interior pieces are popped up everything will have the same contour in relief on the front and you'll have a flat back on the world to mount it on the elliptical piece.....I did a 4" x 6" cameo out of 1/4" oak that way to decorate the top of a jewelry box a year or so ago. Worked really well.

Please explain more on the pop up relief effect? Beveled up?

[Neal Moore]

"POP UP"

Grizz....Guess I was a little vague on that. What I meant was to tilt your table about 3 1/2 degrees to the left and then pierce cut the land masses and letters out. Because of the angled cut they won't fall all the way out. You can push those pieces up higher than the background from which they were cut to create relief. I guess it is called bevel cutting. If you use 3/4" stock and a #5 blade 3 1/2 degrees should give you about 3/8" of relief. To make the pieces pop up you will need to feed the work in a clockwise direction relative to the blade. I'm sure you've done this before, I just gave you a poor explanation of my suggestion!! I'm gettin' old or something!!

[Grizz]

Hmmmm

Neal,

Thanks I gotcha now. I like that idea but my wise wife pointed out that this piece probably needs to be thinner due to wear it will be place on the display board. The project can't be too heavy or it will topple over the display. So, I'm still thinking this through. I like the idea of grapevining around the 'world' but have no idea on how to create a template for that. (I'm not a drawler.)

[jttheclockman]

This is where the creative juices come in. As far as olive leaves or any other leafs or edging look to other patterns that you may have already. You can mix something up. A good source for leaf patterns is in religous patterns. If you are concerned about weight as an issue then think along the lines of lite weight woods such as mahagony, cedar, aspen, and others.

[Grizz]

jttheclockman/John,

Thanks, I guess that is something I'm really going to have to play with. I'd like to also put in his 'scripture' vers that goes along with his ministry (within the 'vine'. It is Ezekiel 22:30.

I also thought I'd like to put some wood species within the piece that is mentioned in the Bible.

Gopher/cypress
Myrtle
Olive
****tim/acacia
Cedar

Perhaps do the fretwork out of one of these? Maybe even put a acrylic blue mirror behind the fret? Just thinking out loud. I'm going to be in the thinking mode for a little while. I just finished the Rearing Stallion and when we get our pic's developed I'll post it in the gallary

[Grizz]

Almost Finished

I'm real close to being done. I'll be putting on some of the final touches tomorrow! The only thing I'll do yet... is to Micro-Mesh the outer finish in a couple of weeks when the piece is fully cured.

Thanks everyone for your help and thoughts. I found that through the process of creating my own 'thing', many on the spot changes had to happen. I reckon this is normal?