#basswood

[pallanophblargh]

So I learned something a while back that I’m surprised I didn’t learn earlier:

Pyrography fades considerably in even bright indoor lighting: specifically, gallery lighting. Doesn’t even need to be sunlight, I guess any intense sunlight within the span of a year will drastically lighten the burned in marks.

So this piece suffered after its time on display, and it was only today that I set about trying to remedy it by going back in and darkening the tones and deepening the outlines. The final resting place of this piece will have to be a more dimly lit wall or corner until I can think of some good archival method that won’t crack or discolor over time.

The top of the piece has yet to be touched; you can see the contrast with where I’ve been working in the middle/bottom.

[fromthedust]

Faiyum mummy Portrait of a Lady - Hawara, Egypt - 54-68 CE

Mummy portraits have been found across Egypt, but are most common in the Fayum (aka Faiyum, Fayoum, Fayum, and many more) Basin, particularly from Hawara. Fayum is located 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Cairo.

However, the term "Fayum portraits" is generally used as a stylistic, rather than a geographic, description. While painted cartonnage mummy cases date back to pharaonic times, the Fayum mummy portraits were an innovation dating to the time of Roman rule in Egypt up until the last half of the third century. The portraits covered the faces of bodies that were mummified for burial. Extant examples indicate that they were mounted into the bands of cloth that were used to wrap the bodies. Almost all have now been detached from the mummies. They usually depict a single person, showing the head, or head and upper chest, viewed frontally. In terms of artistic tradition, the images clearly derive more from Greco-Roman artistic traditions than Egyptian ones. Interestingly, 70 percent of the portraits used imported lime tree wood (basswood in the Americas) — a tree which is not native to Egypt. Mummy portrait panels that were made using imported oak, fir and yew wood, as well as those using local Egyptian woods, are much thicker and flatter than those on lime wood. The wooden surface was sometimes primed for painting with a layer of plaster. In some cases the primed layer reveals a preparatory drawing. Two painting techniques were employed: encaustic (wax) painting and animal glue tempera. The encaustic images are striking because of the contrast between vivid and rich colors, and comparatively large brush-strokes, producing an "Impressionistic" effect. The tempera paintings have a finer gradation of tones and chalkier colors, giving a more restrained appearance. In some cases, gold leaf was used to depict jewelry and wreaths. There also are examples of hybrid techniques or of variations from the main techniques. It is estimated that as much as 30 percent of the population of Fayum was Greek during the Ptolemaic period, with the rest being native Egyptians. By the Roman period, much of the "Greek" population of Fayum was made-up of either Hellenized Egyptians or people of mixed Egyptian-Greek origins. Later, in the Roman Period, many veterans of the Roman army, who, initially at least, were not Egyptian but people from disparate cultural and ethnic backgrounds, settled in the area after the completion of their service, and formed social relations and intermarried with local populations. While commonly believed to represent Greek settlers in Egypt, the Fayum portraits instead reflect the complex synthesis of the predominant Egyptian culture and that of the elite Greek minority in the city. The early Ptolemaic Greek colonists married local women and adopted Egyptian religious beliefs, and by Roman times, their descendants were viewed as Egyptians by the Roman rulers, despite their own self-perception of being Greek. The dental morphology of the Roman-period Fayum mummies was also compared with that of earlier Egyptian populations, and was found to be "much more closely akin" to that of ancient Egyptians than to Greeks or other European populations. A DNA study shows genetic continuity between the Pre-Ptolemaic, Ptolemaic and Roman populations of Egypt, indicating that foreign rule impacted Egypt's population only to a very limited degree at the genetic level. Based on literary, archaeological and genetic studies, it appears that those depicted were native Egyptians, who had adopted the dominant Greco-Roman culture. The name of some of those portrayed are known from inscriptions; they are predominantly Greek.

It was once thought that the portraits were painted from life and that only later were they used for mummy portraits, but most of the current evidence points to them being painted after death specifically for the use on the mummy.

The Fayum portraits have an almost disturbing lifelike quality and intensity. Nearly 1,000 Fayum paintings exist in collections in Egypt and at the Louvre, the British and Petrie museums in London, the Metropolitan and Brooklyn museums, the Getty in California and elsewhere.

[witchcatcreations]

Another birthday pyrography piece! This one is for my bestest chica <3

[robertsonindustries]

Frame No. 1 - Tramp Art Style

Basswood, brass tacks, wood stain, finishing wax.

Embroidery is 100% cotton. Designs assembled from assorted French and German motifs from ca. 1880s - 1910s era pattern books, with some small sections self drafted

Made in New Orleans in June of 2023 as a late mother's day gift

RobertsonIndustries etsy shop

[eddiesketti]

“What’s Up?” Acrylic on basswood Patreon | Twitter    

[redwoodrecords]

*Grabs Chris and makes him sit in a couch* Hear me out you little bub are gonna listen to me, you are a beautiful, smart and an incredible person. Anybody would love to be someone as caring,sensitive,wholesome and comprehensive guy like you. So don't think you anything less about you,if anyone rejects you it's their loss *squish cheeks* and if anybody hurts you precious heart i am gonna beat the shit of them, you get it sweet cheeks? *looks at alex* you better not prank chris you little devil ass tomatoe because i am gonna grab your feet whenever you are sleeping and put ice cubes in your undies.

‘devil ass tomatoe’ 😭😭😭 also i think if this scenario ever happened alex would be in amused shock and chris would just be very flustered.

[aradiamegido]

are there any good places to buy basswood blocks from? I've tried ace hardware and hobby lobby in addition to actual lumber yards, and have had minimal luck so far. any help would be appreciated! for reference, I'm in the Boulder county area of Colorado. thank you!

[hophopwoodshop]

making some little folk carving inspired horsies :3

[leafycollages]

american lindens

portfolio

insta: leafycollages

[justanotherlittlequeerdo]

Trying my hand at whittling because I have zero chill and always have to be doing new things.

Spoons are great fun, especially when you can run your thumb through that satisfying divot. Might just carve spoons forever.

[ophierian-vp]

[scottjenningsmodelcompany]

Solid basswood. This was not an easy cut on the table saw

[guitarbomb]

Wolfgang EVH SA-126 Signature Guitar - Revealed on EVH's Birthday

In a tribute to the legendary Eddie Van Halen, Wolfgang Van Halen unveils the eagerly anticipated EVH SA-126 signature guitar. This landmark release coincides with Eddie Van Halen’s birthday, adding a deeper layer of significance to the launch. After extensive testing on tour, Wolfgang’s dream guitar is now a reality. Wolfgang EVH SA-126 Nearly two years of anticipation culminate with the arrival…

[witchcatcreations]

A Scraggly Boi gift for a good friend

[calochortus]

Bells by Virginie Maronne NATURE

[kipcrimes-alt]

Wood carving (unfinished because I don’t have beeswax paste or sandpaper right now)