arfink Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 Hello Pham! I have just finished an art project which has been in the works for a very long time now, and it's been very special to me, so I want to share it with all of you. First, lets start with a picture, because honestly, that's what is most important. :) This is an image of Mary and Jesus done in an older Japanese style. The idea to make an image like this came to be back in 2006 when I happened to visit the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC and saw a very beautiful image of Mary done in a Japanese style there. I never did make an image back then, because my school schedule didn't allow me the time to do much of anything besides study and do seminarian stuff. Years passed, and then about a year ago I got the urge to make a Marian image in a Japanese style once again. I went hunting for photos of the image they had in the National Shrine, but couldn't find any satisfactory ones. It was painted on a curved apse as I recall, and the Shrine, like most churches, has horrible dim lighting. Which meant all the photos of it were basically horrible. Unsatisfied, I kept looking for other images, and eventually stumbled upon a collection of Christmas cards which had been made by an anonymous cloistered Carmelite nun at the Carmel of the Holy Trinity in Tokyo, Japan. You can see them here. I initially made some rough sketches using one of those as a model, but was unsatisfied with my efforts and decided I needed to learn some more before I could try it again. I finally had that opportunity this past week, and invested many hours of work into completing the design and preparing it for laser engraving. The engraving itself is made from 1/4" craft plywood, and is currently unstained and unvarnished. I do not think I will stain or varnish this particular piece, as I enjoy the natural wood grain, and as I did not prepare the piece of wood properly for varnishing prior to engraving it. I plan on making these for sale, either in this light colored wood, or in a darker cherry wood, and they will be for sale if you would like to support my artistic work. Thanks for looking! :) -Arfink
Nihil Obstat Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 Oh man. You are my favourite person right now. That exact gallery of images has been my computer screensaver for years now. I will absolutely buy one from you if I can afford it.
arfink Posted April 28, 2013 Author Posted April 28, 2013 They will be for sale once I can work out the last couple of flaws. I absolutely will do my best to make sure they are affordable. You'll be the first to know. :)
Spem in alium Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 Oh wow. I love this. Tremendous work! I will definitely buy one if possible :)
brianthephysicist Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 Hello Pham! I have just finished an art project which has been in the works for a very long time now, and it's been very special to me, so I want to share it with all of you. First, lets start with a picture, because honestly, that's what is most important. :) This is an image of Mary and Jesus done in an older Japanese style. The idea to make an image like this came to be back in 2006 when I happened to visit the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC and saw a very beautiful image of Mary done in a Japanese style there. I never did make an image back then, because my school schedule didn't allow me the time to do much of anything besides study and do seminarian stuff. Years passed, and then about a year ago I got the urge to make a Marian image in a Japanese style once again. I went hunting for photos of the image they had in the National Shrine, but couldn't find any satisfactory ones. It was painted on a curved apse as I recall, and the Shrine, like most churches, has horrible dim lighting. Which meant all the photos of it were basically horrible. Unsatisfied, I kept looking for other images, and eventually stumbled upon a collection of Christmas cards which had been made by an anonymous cloistered Carmelite nun at the Carmel of the Holy Trinity in Tokyo, Japan. You can see them here. I initially made some rough sketches using one of those as a model, but was unsatisfied with my efforts and decided I needed to learn some more before I could try it again. I finally had that opportunity this past week, and invested many hours of work into completing the design and preparing it for laser engraving. The engraving itself is made from 1/4" craft plywood, and is currently unstained and unvarnished. I do not think I will stain or varnish this particular piece, as I enjoy the natural wood grain, and as I did not prepare the piece of wood properly for varnishing prior to engraving it. I plan on making these for sale, either in this light colored wood, or in a darker cherry wood, and they will be for sale if you would like to support my artistic work. Thanks for looking! :) -Arfink Another amazing artwork from Arf :D
Gabriela Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 (edited) Really very beautiful, arfink. :-) I actually like yours better than the ones you linked to! Edited April 28, 2013 by curiousing
ToJesusMyHeart Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 :notworthy: :bravo: :like3: Great work Arfink!!!
jazzytakara Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 Please make your work available in Canada, that's beautiful! =)
arfink Posted April 28, 2013 Author Posted April 28, 2013 Will do. I think I can ship to Canada just fine, I'll have to check shipping costs tho.
Nihil Obstat Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 They are definitely higher, but usually not to an insane degree. I swap books and sometimes knives online, so I ship to the US fairly regularly.
MIKolbe Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 If I send you a pane of glass, can you do one for me?
Not The Philosopher Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 If it's within my budget, I too might have to snap one of these up.
arfink Posted April 28, 2013 Author Posted April 28, 2013 If I send you a pane of glass, can you do one for me? Yes perhaps, but there are some conditions. For starters, the laser won't actually cut the glass, just engrave it. It doesn't have the wattage to cut all the way through. If it's within my budget, I too might have to snap one of these up. I am trying to figure out what price walks the line between being fair for my work and being affordable. Y'all have me worried! :lol:
ToJesusMyHeart Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 I am trying to figure out what price walks the line between being fair for my work and being affordable. Y'all have me worried! :lol: Depends who's buying. College kids are poorer than most. But I don't think you should set your price at what college kids can afford. We'd probably just lose/break it accidentally someday anyway. :(
arfink Posted April 28, 2013 Author Posted April 28, 2013 Depends who's buying. College kids are poorer than most. But I don't think you should set your price at what college kids can afford. We'd probably just lose/break it accidentally someday anyway. :( Well, I can say, this kind of engraving is very sturdy. :) I think I know how I will price it, and in the coming week or so I should be ready to sell a few.
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