Mononoke Forest

by Meredith 22. August 2016 10:49

I want to add Forest Spirits to every woodland painting I do now.

“What I want is for the humans and the forest to live in peace.”
- Ashitaka, Princess Mononoke

Fea Visited Westercon 69

by Meredith 5. July 2016 09:35

Fea visited the Westercon 69 Art Show. I didn't bring the project board but did pin a copy of her story to the dress.

About Fea: The Gown of Fea the Soul Weaver is an art project designed to combine storytelling with costume making. The project's scope includes developing the concept of a character and storyline, designing the garment, researching materials and construction methods, and constructing the gown. Nestled within the holes of Irish myth, Fea's story is a combination of carefully chosen elements from the historical legends of the Tuatha De Danann.

The complete story is available in the gallery. More posts about the project are available within this blog.















Westercon 69 Pubs are off to press

by Meredith 24. June 2016 09:04

Files uploaded, proofs approved, we’re good-to-go! I've compiled all the files, made low-res exports, and uploaded them to the gallery (view web PDF copies of the Souvenir Book and Pocket Program).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Bus Stop

by Meredith 29. April 2016 09:46

My favorite painting so far. I love the colors. The photo makes it look black, but the darkest color is a deep purple.

"I also believe that you met the King of the Forest, Mei, and meeting him is a sign of good luck. But there’s no guarantee that you’ll see him all the time.”
– Tatsuo Kusakabe, My Neighbor Totoro

Pine Bed Project: Done!

by Meredith 17. January 2016 11:35


Maddie's bed is all set up! It took mallets and a little extra sanding on a few of the pieces to make them go back together but they eventually all fit. Got it done yesterday so she could sleep on it last night.

Pine Bed Project: Second Coat

by Meredith 13. January 2016 16:30

Second coat is done and seems to have cured ok. No cloudiness and everything sparkles. We have success! I've moved the pieces into the a part of the house to air out in a warmer environment. We plan to start assembling the bed Friday and Saturday.

I love these smooth rounded tops!

Pine Bed Project: First Coat

by Meredith 10. January 2016 15:28

First coat polyurethane. Further research on the amine blush made me believe that my initial sanding should have removed any blush that was on there. Any cloudiness that I saw after that is minor scratches that a polyurethane should fill in.

Pine Bed Project: Photo Proof

by Meredith 11. November 2015 14:27


Hunter recorded proof that I am working on the bed frame. It is a wet, cold, messy and miserable job. I wear ear protection so I can listen to podcasts while I work and after a couple of hours my ears are sore and my hands are numb. 

I'm using an electric palm sander to wet sand the large areas of epoxy that spilled over the side. Sometimes I can use a box knife to (carefully!) pry up the hardened drips but a lot of the ridges need to be sanded down. 80 to 100 grit works fairly well for the first pass and then I use a 180 to 220 to lightly go over the pine and even out the finish.

Those poor sawhorses will never be the same after this.

Pine Bed Project: Huge Mess

by Meredith 3. November 2015 13:13

Wet sanding the excess epoxy is making a HUGE mess. My frustration with trying to do perfect pours (and giving up) has led me to this path and down I am paying for it. It is very time consuming to carefully remove the epoxy and not the pine wood. I've got probably 4 more hours of sanding just on the foot board. Bonus of all of it is that I decided to take off all the old finish while I was at it so it will have a consistent color with the epoxy and my new varnish.

Pine Bed Project: My Enemy is Amine Blush

by Meredith 16. October 2015 13:09


Epoxy has had plenty of time to cure so I have started wet sanding. I am discovering amine blush is a bitch. Wet sanding should be removing the cloudy haze (amine blush) but it hasn't been. It might be my process because I am using an electric sander and only wetting the wood and not the sandpaper. It works great for removing the excess epoxy but is probably rubbing the blush all over the wood.

I'm going to try wet sanding by hand first and really try to wash away the surface oil. Then use the power sander. I have to make sure all the amine blush is removed before I can apply a varnish on top. Plus I don't want it cloudy. Areas where the resin is clear look awesome!

About Meredith Cook

Welcome to my repository of creative expression. I'm not a happy camper unless I am making something and over the years I have dabbled in quite a few different kinds of art projects. Some projects come from taking art classes, others are completely hobby driven, and projects like home decor come from a need to customize an item and make it better or unique. The overall theme behind what I do is to learn how to manipulate objects and practice what I know about visual aesthetic and good design. Oh yeah, and to have fun.

Archive