DIY: Wood Burned Drumsticks

Hello, friends!

I am back with another wood burning post. As you may have read from my previous posts about the wood burned storage box and my calendar journal, I really enjoy pyrography. I've only been dabbling in it for about a year and a half. There's still a lot to learn and practice! For example, I have yet to try to transfer my drawing skills (like shading, crosshatch, etc.) to wood burning like some have done to create beautiful artwork. That is on the to do list, though. I'm thinking that this coming year of life, I'll take a stab at burning a plaque in place of drawing with graphite, you know what I mean? I think that will be quite the adventure! :)

Anyway!

For a best friend's birthday, I decided to do a wood burn project. I have found that these projects really go over well. They're unique and often have a practical use - like the storage boxes. This friend of mine plays the drums and, in my opinion, is really great at it. I've seen him play just for kicks as well as on stage and it's quite a thrill to watch. I'm not sure if I've ever told him so, but I admire his talent quite a bit. Heh, maybe he'll stumble on this post one day. :) I decided to wood burn a pair of drumsticks for him - I know that drumming is one of his passions and thought that this would be a great gift.

You'll have to forgive the picture quality - I worked on these during the evenings after work, so natural lighting was not available and I was in a bit of a hurry, hence my cluttered desk in the background. :P

Above is a photo of the drumsticks as they were when I bought them, save for the pencil line.
I wanted to keep the design simple. The thought of doing a collage of graffiti-esque images all over crossed my mind, but as I mentioned before, I have not honed my wood burning skills and that would have been quite the undertaking. O.o

So clean and simple it was!
Below are some shots after I was finished.

And a bow to top it off!

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the drumsticks took really well to wood burning. I was afraid that they wouldn't take the color well. I decided to leave the drumsticks raw, without any stain or lacquer. One of my favorite things about picking up a pair of drumsticks is the feel of the bare wood grain; my favorite thing about picking up a pair of used drumsticks (before they are broken) is the feel of the wear - It's like you can feel the beat and rhythm in them. Maybe that's just me though... I am a little mad, not quite as mad as a hatter... but still. ;) 

For those interested, I used a mini flow point for the outlining, the name, and my initials on the end of the sticks. I used a shading point for the solid fill on the ends and for the triangle pattern. 

Until next time! 

Stay excellent!

- Jenny -