onsdag, juli 18, 2007

Meer carving


Bought a Meer carving kit off eBay. It came with a small practice block so I thought I'd give it a go. It had to soak in water for an hour which made the block slimy, and then it had to dry back to a manageable state for almost 24 hours.
I sat down an thought about what to make of it. Then it struck me! I would carve a "oculus draconis" talisman for my eleven-year-old daughter who loves everything about dragons.
I started out using a Dremel with some filing and drilling bits but it turned out that the scalpel-like knife that was supplied in the kit was actually easier to work with. The Meer itself was in its soaked state resembling soap or old cheese to cut in. it didn't offer much resistance so the difficulty lay in being really careful not to slice off too much.
I carved the eye and all the ridges around it and then I used the Dremel again to make something that resembles (at least close) scales. I drilled a hole through it and manufactured some kind of hanging contraption using steel wire.
I think it came out rather nice and now it's just gotta dry out for 24 hrs to retain its shiny whiteness and then it must be waxed.