Kansas Flint Hills Prairie Fire Thumbsticks, Hiking Sticks from with Black Walnut, Elk & Deer Antler

For Sale

Two of these three Walking/Hiking Sticks are still for sale (as of 7-14-2008).
The Stick with the Elk Antler Crown is no longer available.

Cane Serial Number #2006-24 – green composite malachite (for sale)
Cane Serial Number #2006-25 – aqua composite turquoise (for sale)
Cane Serial Number #2006-26 – Elk antler crown (GONE)

Height for each of these Hiking Thumb Sticks is 55.5 inches.

Email me for more information:

mark@decoustudio.com

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Project Story:
I recently showed a collection of my work at a private “fire party”, which is a gathering of folks coming to this area to have a Flinthill’s Tallgrass Prairie Fire burning experience. This has become pretty popular with recent publicity from the Wall Street Journal, the National Geographic Magazine, Public Broadcasting Service television shows, and numerous newspaper articles about this area.

These Fire Party experiences are offered each Spring by a local rancher, who enjoys teaching and meeting tourists who enjoy the area’s history, and the natural conservation that prairie fires provide the grass slopes and valleys of the Kansas Flinthills in which I live.

They come together for a big party, with a camp fire, chuck wagon style chef-made food, a handful of local artists and artisans selling things, cowboy poetry, great live western music, and of course, plenty of prairie fires. After the proper education and instruction, the tourists are allowed to be a part of the fire burning, and so they work along the fire lines to tend the fire, and make sure that all of the areas are burned, the fence posts are saved, and the fires are all safely put out at the end. It was quite an exciting time, and a good sized group of wondeful folks visited from all over the United States.

The wood I used is Kansas Flinthill’s Black Walnut. The display stand is also walnut and whitetail deer antler. The Stick Heights are 55.5”

To fit the event, I carved “fire” on the bottom of the walking sticks.

To accent the carved fire, I did a little painting. Who said you can’t paint walnut?

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I wrapped leather around the handle.

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I used Kansas natural shed elk and whitetail antlers for the top caps.

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I added some Scrimshaw Artwork and Lettering on Two of the Sticks

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Care to be a part of the Fire Party next time?

”Flames in the Flint Hills”
Contact: Mr. Jan Jantzen
Grandview Ranch
151 Road 130
Emporia, KS 66801
website: www.kansasflinthillsadventures.com

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Awesome Ranch Food, Cooking Classes, Catering, and Cowboy Retreat Hosting:
Gwen and Josh Hoy
Rt 1, Box 11, Cedar Point, KS 66843
Phone: 620.274.4357
www.flying-w-ranch.net

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Original Kansas Cowboy Poetry:
Ron Wilson – Poet Lariat
www.ronscowboypoetry.com

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Flint Hills Ranch
Experience the Tallgrass Prairie Ranch Tours
www.flinthillsranch.com

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Hand Made Clay and Pottery:
Clay Artist Larry Matson
Cottonwood Falls, KS
http://www.flyoverpeople.net/news/index.php/archive/humble-clay/
http://www.flyoverpeople.net/news/index.php/archive/larry-matson-2/

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Laser Engraved Flinthilll’s Original Photography
“Flinthills Laser Expressions”
www.flinthillslaserexpressions.com

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More Walking Sticks & Canes:
If you go to my Mark DeCou Website you won’t find very many canes pictured there. I do realize that I need to invest in improving my website, but until that is accomplished, here are few more of my canes posted at lumberjocks, thanks for your patience.

Folk Art Face Carved Canes

1. Sculpted Wood Spirit Face Cane
2. Folk-Art Wood Spirit Cane w/ Elk Antler Handle & Scrimshaw
3. Folk Art Mountain Man Face Cane
4. Shamrock Wood Spirit Irish-Theme Face Cane
5. Walnut Wood Spirit Face Cane with Antler & Turquoise
6. Collection of Face Carved Canes
7. Moses-Inspired Face Carved Cane w/ Antler & Turquoise

Native American Theme Canes

1. Folk Art Native American Face Cane Set
2. Apache Chief Cochise Folk-Art Face Cane
3. Folk Art Carved Cane of Shoshone Chief
4. Indian Guides Chief Big-Red-Cloud Hiking Stick
5. Apache Chief Cochise #2 Folk-Art Face Cane

Hand Carved Canes/Sticks

1. Amazing Grace Music Notes Carved Cane
2. A Lady’s Elegant Red Long-Stem Rose Carved Cane
3. Prairie Fire Hand-Carved Hiking Thumb Sticks
4. A Folk-Art Carved Albatross Head & Snake Walnut Cane
5. Carved Folk-Art Walking Cane; 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' Story Stick with Scrimshaw Artwork

Scrimshaw Artwork Canes

1. Walnut & Curly Maple Cane with Scrimshaw
2. Scrimshaw Art Walnut Cane
3. Fancy Barley Twist with Scrimshaw Cane
4. Lady's Dress Cane, Red Oak, Walnut, Black Lacquer, & Scrimshaw Artwork of a Purple Cone Flower

What’s Scrimshaw Artwork?:
A Scrimshaw Art Journey: What it is & How to Do it; Five Simple Steps to Success

Natural Tree/Limb Canes/Sticks

1. Naturally Twisted Tree Sapling Cane
2. Naturally Twisted Tree Sapling Walking Stick
3. Shepherd's Crook Hiking Stick

Barley Twist Style Dress Canes

1. White Oak Barley Twist Cane
2. Osage Orange Barley Twist Cane
3. Walnut & Figured Maple Barley Twist cane
4. Black Walnut and Spalted Sycamore Barley Twist
5. Red Oak Barley Twist with Black Lacquer
6. Red Oak Barley Twist with Walnut Handle
7. Bryan's Cane, The Start of my Cane Journey

Various Dress Style Canes

1. Fancy Walking Cane, Camphor Burl, Maple, Bubinga, Whitetail Deer Antler, Inlays & Silver End Caps
2. Custom Dress-Up Walking Cane, Walnut shaft with a Camphor Burl Handle
3. Walnut & Buffalo Horn Twisted Cane
4. White Birch & Buffalo Horn Twisted Cane
5. Walnut Bamboo-Style Cane with Chrome Ball Top
6. Walnut & Buffalo Horn Dress Cane
7. Bird's Eye Maple Cane
8. Spalted Sycamore Walking Cane
9. Walnut Tall Knob Top Opera Cane
10. Zebrawood & Walnut Knob Top Opera Cane
11. Dress Cane Set, with several Material Options Shown

My Website page with Canes

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I have a few canes in stock at:

1. Hatman Jack’s Wichita Hat Works in Wichita, KS
2. Hutchinson Art Center in Hutchinson, KS
3. Cottonwood Mercantile in Cottonwood Falls, KS

You can contact these gallery stores directly and see what they still have in stock. They will ship to you if you buy something. If you prefer, you can also email me, as I keep fairly current on what is “unsold.”

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Background: My Cane Making Story:

I enjoy sculpting walking canes. Some folks call them Folk-Art Canes, while others call them Artisan Canes, some call them Carved Canes, while others call them Walking Sticks. There is quite a bit of argument about whether something should be called Sculpture or Carving. They could be considered Functional-Art, which is the type of work that I am usually drawn to. No matter what these canes are called, they seem to bring joy to the owners, and I have been asked to make quite a few of them in the past 5-6 years.

I started making canes on the request of a nice married couple I met on a church-building short-term mission trip to Mexico City in the early 1990’s. Several years after our trip, their son-in-law was diagnosed with bone cancer, and so they wanted to get him a specially made cane that he would enjoy using. They had heard from others that I had quit my corporate office job and started doing woodworking full-time. So, they contacted me to make his cane.

Sadly, I also built him a casket, another first for me, about a year later

Since the time I did that first Cane for Bryan, I have enjoyed the work on the canes that I have been able to make, but more importantly, the people that I have been able to meet and help along the journey. I do make a bunch of unique items and furniture, but without a doubt, I receive more correspondence and thank-you cards from cane customers than any of the other items I make, combined. So, they are fun for me to build, and I look forward to each new person and situation.

To keep a handle on all of the memories, I engrave a small serial number on each brass cane tip, and then I keep a detailed database log of each cane, customer, and situation. The list always brings me warm memories each time I scan it and remember the folks that have supported my work over the years, and vice versa.

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(This text, all photos, project design, and anything else you want to steal, is protected by copyright 2008, M.A.DeCou, all rights reserved and protected, ask permission first! Weblinks to this page are permitted)

-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flinthill's Artisan