Asktheanimals' Art (new pics added 8/23/18 page 6)

Absolutely STUNNING work. Just curious: Are you able to make a full time living with your art? I sure hope so. You have amazing talent. Thank you very much for sharing!

And here i thought you were just a regular nutbar..........
.........regards..................s

Not much to say that hasn't already been said. Wow, I like your style. I have tried wood carving things before, they came out pretty bad to be nice. I stick to my digital art now

stirling
And here i thought you were just a regular nutbar..........
.........regards..................s

I'd like to remain a regular nutbar if I can.
I want to fit in around here after all.....

This...



Is #ing brilliant.

Bravo my friend you have a #ing outstandingly unique skill.

You'll have to PM me with details on how to buy one, or even better ask for one to be made. This wont be any time soon because I'm broke, but I do want one. Outstanding, brilliantly crafted.

Amazing talent my friend. Its funny that in a thread yesterday people were discussing the lives of the ultra rich and envy.

I've never really envied the rich, but do envy those who are capable of artistic talents in whatever field. It must be fantastic to have such a creative talent.

reply to post by woodwardjnr


All I can say is wish I had the kind of courage it takes to go through an operation awake like you did. You have been through the wringer and yet here you are taking the time to make someone else feel good. You are a hero to me, I'd swap whatever I have for your fortitude and good nature.

Here's to your speedy recovery.
ATA

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Supreme work, i loved looking at it! I remember you mentioning Erret Callaghan to me in a thread a while back and now know why he rang a bell, he's all over one of JC Whittaker's kanpping books as a primary reference - do you still knap at all as if so, i'd love to see some of that too.

Once again, thanks for sharing - it's great to see as i'm looking at maybe going self employed as a crafter/outdoor skills tutor soon.

reply to post by skalla


No, I never put the time necessary in to learning to knap with any real proficiency. The shards tend to be dangerous and if you have little kids and lots of pets it's just not a good combination). Erret Callaghan is about as good as anyone ever was at it plus many other primitive skills. It's been my great fortune to have such superb teachers living nearby. Shame was couldn't afford to do more classes with him but he's worth every penny. Last I checked he had a waiting list for classes that was booked 2 years in advance.
The good news is there are many others he has taught that teach now as well. I love that knowledge and skills are passed on in that way. If you decide to make a go of teaching classes yourself advertise everywhere you can for free - community bulletin boards, hang flyers in sporting goods, health food stores. Make use of craigslist and any other free sites as well.
A few years ago there was a rash of people here in the US who decided to do the same thing. Made it very difficult for any of them to make a go of it due to so many schools being available. If there is one thing you can specialize in and get a reputation for that is a big plus. People will seek out those who can teach skills they want to learn to be really good at.
Survival skills is a very popular subject these days so test the waters on weekends to see how it works out for you. One of the biggest problems I had was trying to find a place where people could camp for a couple days or a week and then where to hold the classes themselves. Also, what do you do when the weather is awful? Last thing is make everyone sign a liability waiver so you can't get sued because someone does something stupid like spalling a rock without eye protection for instance.
I wish you luck if you try to do this. It can certainly be rewarding to see people's faces when they learn to make their first friction fire or make a nice projectile point. The satisfaction of working with your hands and natural materials is something else you can't really put a price tag on.
Let me know if I can be of help in any way. I've taken 30 - 40 classes myself in addition to teaching a few dozen so I am familiar with the ins and outs involved.

Too many hobbies - too little time.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Thanks for the offer of advice, i'll be sure to take you up on it if needs be Here in the UK there are hardly any knappers, and only a handful of really good ones who do it professionally. I'm nowhere near that and it's secondary to some other stuff that i do. I've been employed previously working with autistic and troubled teens and have taught knapping, woodcrafts, primitive skills etc therapeutically to that client group which was awesome, but i really tired of dealing with the often highly challenging behaviour after ten years of it. My next step is to become a Forest Schools Leader to young kids and also hopefully selling crafted items of a primitive/woodsy nature to interior design shops, maybe even selling stuff like weapons and outfit elements to LARP/Cosplay and re-enactment folks. I'm looking at buying a wood to host classes too as i can teach all these skills to interested novices and i'm exploring a lot of factors involved in this - i'm kinda done with being an employee i reckon, time to strike out on my own

I would have posted sooner, But I've been staring at your work.
It's as if you can turn an ordinary stone into a gem.
Thanks for sharing your work, your Amazing work with us!

If ever you are interested in taking on another engraving gig....i am an avid knife collector with my son. Your work is some of the best I have seen. Seriously.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Thanks BFFT. Do you ever go to the knifemaker's guild show? Used to be in Las Vegas but they might have moved it by now. That was always the best show imo, most of the top makers would attend and sell most of their stuff from the hotel room before the show even opened.
I haven't been a knife show in years, I used to really enjoy them. There are tons of good engravers out there now since they opened a school in Kansas. Company called GRS makes a pneumatic engraving system that makes it much easier than the traditional method of hammer and chisel. They also sell pre-made tools instead of having to make your own. Reason I say this is if you want to have a knife engraved there are many hobbyists out there. They might try to charge you big bucks but will take what they can get because they work other jobs. You ought to be able to get a good deal is what I'm trying to say.
What kinds of knives do you and your son collect? Everybody has their favorites, folders being my obvious love. Dunno if these guys are still working but my favorite makers were Joe Kious, Ron Lake, Steve Hoel, Scott Slobodian, Warren Osborne, Buster Warrenski (Julie W. is an amazing engraver) and Tim Herman. Probably a bunch of new guys who are making great blades these days too.
Anyway, you got my mind wandering back to the heyday of knife engraving in the Early 90's when Japan had money to blow. When their economy crashed so did the market for engraved knives.
Great hobby to share with a son.
Respects,
ATA

reply to post by Asktheanimals


I am a sucker for Spyderco. Benchmade isn't bad, either.

At work i use a Kershaw "Needs Work" as a letter opener.

My favorite knife is one my dad had made. It was an old dump truck spring, and ended up a blade that is about 19" long. The steel is somewhat soft, so it requires daily sharpening when I am using it (hunting).

This is what my son carries daily (except he has the powder coated blade):



I am having trouble finding mine. It is a special edition law enforcement model with a racheting open/close action.

We have quite a few models of Spyderco. The downside: they have a different angle for sharpening than your average knife, so we have to use separate equipment for sharpening the Spyderco vs all the other blades we have.

DeadSeraph
Are you able to make a full time living with your art?

Nope. Even with my wife working I still had to take a few jobs to get through some lean times. I delivered pizza for 2 years and worked in a metal fabrication shop. I also took a job with the American Historical Foundation so I could get medical insurance to cover our kids.

I'd say maybe half the time I was able to make a living at it.
But I did get to send a gallery owner on a couple of tours around the world.
My experience has been working for rich people is the worst.
They want to nit-pick every little thing and quibble over the price when it's all said and done.
They will also expect you to design and redesign endlessly without ever paying for it.
I also told several people where to stick it.
Good way to sabotage your own name in certain circles, lol.

Wow really awesome work you're making...There so many talented people here around on ATS
I see you also work on objects , are those airbrushes ?

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


I have a powder coated Gerber and I don't care for it. Maybe it's just Gerber -- but the powder coating wears off very easily. I've found I can use a black sharpie to touch up where it scratched off.

reply to post by MystikMushroom


Gerbers are a decent knife for work. But they are not of a really tough (and thus more brittle steel. Kinda like Kershaw. A decent knife, to be sure. I have a cool little Gerber assisted opening knife that looks like a katana blade. Son bought one for my father in law, too. He uses it as a box cutter, and loves it. The steel is tough enough to hold an edge for a couple of weeks, but not so hard that it is brittle. A true working knife.

The powder coating used by Gerber is not very tough. If you are looking for a similar type of knife with a tougher coating, Benchmade has some amazingly good knives. They really are a nice blade. As a working knife, they are typically my top pick (Spyderco steel is for more fine, precision cutting, and can snap if twisted)

reply to post by 0bserver1


Thanks.
Airbrushes?
I don't quite get your question.
These are all photographs of engraved knives or drawings except the snake head is a painting and the Cherokee Rifle is selectively etched and gold plated then blued. No airbrushes or photoshop.
Does that answer your question?