A knot Welcome Plaque

I received a commission to make a Welcome Plaque of Roses. So I went out to my craft store and purchased a Basswood Round with edge bark. The piece was wrapped in cellophane with a large description sticker on the front and it’s size was 11.5” x 12.5”. I checked out the back and it was nice and clean…no knots or other unsavory marks. I bought it and took it home.

When I got home I removed the cellophane and found a large knot on the front. Not a welcome sight for my Welcome Plaque!! The description sticker hid the knot. Now, some of you maybe thinking, why not use the backside since it was clear? Well, I couldn’t do that because of the way it was cut…the wood edging only shows on one side.

I began to transfer the circle of roses onto the wood and planned on adding a rose bud in the place where the knot was. It looks like I would be able to cover it with my wood burning.

I started burning the flowers and leaves and it was starting to cover up that knot. When I was done burning I began coloring it with my oil pencils. Using this medium also helped cover the knot. I was very happy with the results and if you never knew a knot was there in the wood, you’d never have found it. All it took was a little artistic imagery and now it truly was a Welcome Plaque.

Thanks for looking.

-- Dangee's Pyrography by Artist Danette Smith