The wooden blocks with photographs on - I wish I could think of a catchy name for them ! - the embellishment of the blocks involved drilling 3mm holes into the wood. My first attempt at this led to me splitting the back of the wood because the wood was upright. Bill suggested that I clamp the wood flat onto the table, using a small piece of wood to cover the image where the clamp was positioned so as not to damage my image. I had not evene thought of using a clamp - infact I hadn't really heard of one before! So with clamp in place, I drilled my first hole, with the drill at a slight angle and proceeded to snap the 3mm drill bit Bill observed this with a look of "did she really just do that" ! and showed me how to do it differently i.e. hold the drill with both hands, and I succeeded at drilling holes initially into two pieces of my wood as I wanted to sample some threads to see whether or not they would enhance the images.
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| prior to holes being drilled |
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| holes drilled at side and at the eyelet of the boot as I wanted to give the effect of it being a lace. I sampled stitching down the side of the block with embroidery thread |
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| I used a simple running stitch - not sure I could've used any other with wood ! |
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| I had also purchased whilst in B&Q a selection of ropes which were half price making them around 35p per metre |
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| sampling the 3 different paints I had purchased from B&Q - the right hand one being the more expensive and being a chalky emulsion |
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| These two were B&Q own make testers and they didn't give as nice a finish as the chalky one - it looked a little glossy despite being matt |
Once I was happy with the effect the thread had on the images, I proceeded to drill holes in other blocks namely the ones that I was going to use bunting on. I made sure I wasn't too near the edge when drilling as the hole would've been useless.
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| You can see here the two photographs with bunting on - one in a burgundy felt and the other blue felt - the felt was the right fabric I feel as it was rigid and soft at the same time and suited the wood
All my blocks were painted with the chalky emulsion on all sides other than where the image was. I also then applied a coat of Mod Podge to seal the emulsion and give a glossy effect. I actually did want the matt Mod Podge but I couldn't source it locally. I do prefer matt effect in most things i.e. photographs generally, however the glass looked absolutely fine.
On some of the blocks I sanded around the image area because when I removed the paper after drying, some areas were rubbed away so I felt that it needed a bit more rubbishing to make it look as though it was mean to be that way. I sanded the whole of the blocks down to ensure no rough edges. The rough sawn timber off cuts required the most work, but even the planed timber I gave a quick sand over the edges.
I have to say that as with all my work over the last 3 years, I doubted whether the blocks were good enough to sell. I still can't get away from that feeling. I said during my diploma and the first year of degree that when I look back at my work, I think actually that was pretty good. With the blocks, I can honestly say now that they are unusual pieces of work. I experimented a great deal, I didn't put a block for sale if I didn't think the quality was good enough (there were about 3 I held back) and this was where I'd applied the Mod Podge in a slap dash manner with a tiny paint brush and it dried thickly and cloudy as opposed to clear.
I applied a sticker with my details on to the back of each block - ideally it would be preferable to have a stamp made with my details on which is something I can address should I continue with making the blocks.
Whilst at the College foyer sale, I was talking to Mick Lunn who asked me if I had a cow's face block and I did have cows, but not the complete face, and I know what it was he was looking for. He suggested to me that I could sell my blocks at country fairs if I had the right images i.e. tractors, scenery, wild life (which someone had already suggested I think. He went on to give me a contact name Steve Broomfield who is involved in organising the traders at the the next game fair at Catton Hall in April and went even further to offer me the use of his farm equipment to photograph. I was thrilled with these offers and fully intend to take up the chance to photograph and prepare some blocks for sale at Catton Hall. I have Mick's contact details so I will arrange a date/time to go up and see him. I will make contact with Steve Broomfield after Christmas to both to see if I can book a stall and take photographs. Mick suggested I mention him and also mention the course at college. Mick asked me to do him a complete cow's face on an a4 size block along the lines of the examples below.  http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/cows/images/31450227/title/cow-photoThe above image is a more amusing image which I have seen used on a picture in B&Q  http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/31400000/Cow-cows-31450227-500-446.jpg I know this second image isn't of a cow, but it's the angle I am looking at. There's only a small difference in the way these two shots are taken, but the end image is that the first one has a comical element to it  Catton HallBASC Gamekeepers’ Fair 12 – 13 April 2014
We extend a warm welcome to all visitors to the BASC Gamekeepers’ Fair and we look forward to seeing BASC members, new and
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