314 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
30 comments »
There is an ongoing debate about whether Lumberjocks should be the focus of a marketing plan by professional woodworkers. There are quite a few professionals on this site now, all of us trying to make a living.
I define “professional” as someone that makes all, or most of their income from their woodworking and craft work. Selling something once in a while from your hobby work really has nothing in common with “having” to sell something every day to buy food and s...
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746 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
15 comments »
A Scrimshaw Art Journey: A Lumberjock’s “Short Version” of the Techniques for Decorating a Powder Horn
by: Mark A. DeCouwww.decoustudio.com
(This writing, photos, and artwork are protected by copyright by M.A. DeCou 11-11-2007, all rights reserved, please ask permission before using any part or component.)
Commerical Note: I get quite a few emails about how to buy my scrimshaw work. Most of my scrimshaw art and powder horns are done on commission, and take several...
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276 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
15 comments »
I’m sort of sad this week. It’s just frustrating to me, what is happening now. In the big sense, and the little Lumberjock sense.
An artist and L-J’er that I greatly admire, Thomas Angle, can’t find anyone to buy his work, and he has shut down his business operation
That sort of just stinks, and should be a huge red flag for any of the rest of us that try to sell our handmade work for a living. He can work leather, and combine it with wood like few have ever d...
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778 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
18 comments »
I hesitate to do this, that which I am about to do. I don’t fancy myself as a good carver, or a great picture drawer. Especially with so many lumberjocks that are great carvers here that will see this. On top of that, there are so many great carvers on the internet that will stumble onto this blog because they surf the net.
With that said, after Mark Mazzo asked about the process I go through to do a carved panel like this one, I thought about it for awhile, and decided to show th...
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433 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
24 comments »
With all of the “Hoopla” associated with my recent blog, and Quixote's Project posting on the subject, I just about had to submit and build the toy for her.
After all, using the thorough 2-Step plans she provided, how hard could it be?
Well, just count all of the Steps I used, and add up the dollar amount of all of the tools I used in the process, and it’s a pretty daunting little project, for a fact. Sure, buying a plastic ring at the big department store would be ch...
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541 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
9 comments »
My recent lumberjock postings of the walking cane work I have done recently has brought a lot of interest from folks wanting me to build them special, unique, elaborately detailed, walking canes and sticks.
This new blog communicates the design process on one cane as I prepare to start the carving, and get approvals on the final design.
The customer is a Youth Pastor, and needs to use a tall walking cane to support a bad knee. He and I have been designing this project for several weeks...
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591 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
18 comments »
Ok, I promised myself and my wife that I would quit typing so much and work in the shop more. So, I’ve been fairly quiet, only admiring all of the growth of LJ, and the projects and blogs a few times a day quietly. This growing bunch of folks has been truly inspirational for me. But, when I type too much, I don’t make things, bills come in the mailbox, upset spouse, thus the silence. After all, what I have to say isn’t all that important anyway. Something else my wife t...
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1020 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
7 comments »
My wife is gone for a few hours this Saturday morning, and the kids are busy watching a video, so I will update you on what I am working on now. I’m right in the middle of a “fun” project. It is “fun” on many levels, mostly because I have had to stop and scratch my head a lot.
For those of you with kids, or remember having kids, or know someone who has kids, Winnie the Pooh always says, “Think, think, think” while poking his temple when he is try...
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689 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
15 comments »
I have a client that lives close to me, and we have had a lot of fun designing and building things for their home. They sort of “pushed” me into quitting my day job by offering a long term commission to transform their home with functional-art pieces one at a time, according to an overall game plan. They had a general idea of what they wanted, but needed someone to turn the dream into wood.
They were willing to adapt their ideas to mine, and vice versa, and I have really appr...
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229 days ago
by Mark A. DeCou |
20 comments »
This Blog entry has nothing to do with woodworking, other than it involves firewood, my woodshop woodstove, and my thoughts as a woodworker looking for some heat this week, and ultimately expresses a better understanding of another Woodworker’s life.
I guess that counts, so I hope you’ll stick with me to the end, this is a true story, I didn’t make this up.
This week we’ve had some unusually cold weather, and then warm, and then cold again. I was able to put up six pickup truck l...
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