Richard Allen
09-10-2005, 6:59 AM
These wands were made as a thank you for members of the woodturning club I belong to who attended the AAW Symposium in KC this year. With so many club members attending I always had a smiling familiar face around to share the fun with.
The wands are between 10" and 14" in length with the handles made of a variety of wood. The wand shafts are primarily tulipwood. I wanted to associate the thank you with the Symposium. In my wands are included herbs selected for their magical properties, based on thousands of years of human use. I selected Yarrow Flower powder for it's enhancement of courage. Orris Root powder for its enhancement to love and friendship. And lastly Mustard Seed powder to enhance mental acuity. This is the Courage for the Cowardly Lion, Heart for the Tin Man and a Brain for the Scarecrow.
After making the wands I wanted a way to display the them at the Show&Tell table for the first club meeting after the symposium. The stand is a piece of figured maple that I turned into a 6"x2" bowl outside with a slight dome top. Each wand is made without regard to size and is instead made to what feels right. So the wand tips are of many different sizes. I bought a selection of tapered drill bits (typically used to drill holes for wood screws). I wanted a pattern for the display. A spiral, like the start of the "Yellow Brick Road", came to mind. And to keep with the dome of the display I angled the holes so that each hole was angled 2 degrees more. In this way the last most outer wand is angled at 40 degrees. The longest wand is in the middle and the shortest wand is the outer most wand.
The display looked great but the stability was a lot less than I had hoped for. So a rectangular shallow plate was turned to attach to the bottom of the bowl.
Included with each wand is a white cardboard box which contains a certificate of authenticity, instructions for a wand blessing ceremony and small containers with the herbs so the blessing ceremony can be performed.
I had a TERRIFIC time at the Symposium and making these wands has extended that feeling for me. I am looking forward to handing out these wands.
The wands are between 10" and 14" in length with the handles made of a variety of wood. The wand shafts are primarily tulipwood. I wanted to associate the thank you with the Symposium. In my wands are included herbs selected for their magical properties, based on thousands of years of human use. I selected Yarrow Flower powder for it's enhancement of courage. Orris Root powder for its enhancement to love and friendship. And lastly Mustard Seed powder to enhance mental acuity. This is the Courage for the Cowardly Lion, Heart for the Tin Man and a Brain for the Scarecrow.
After making the wands I wanted a way to display the them at the Show&Tell table for the first club meeting after the symposium. The stand is a piece of figured maple that I turned into a 6"x2" bowl outside with a slight dome top. Each wand is made without regard to size and is instead made to what feels right. So the wand tips are of many different sizes. I bought a selection of tapered drill bits (typically used to drill holes for wood screws). I wanted a pattern for the display. A spiral, like the start of the "Yellow Brick Road", came to mind. And to keep with the dome of the display I angled the holes so that each hole was angled 2 degrees more. In this way the last most outer wand is angled at 40 degrees. The longest wand is in the middle and the shortest wand is the outer most wand.
The display looked great but the stability was a lot less than I had hoped for. So a rectangular shallow plate was turned to attach to the bottom of the bowl.
Included with each wand is a white cardboard box which contains a certificate of authenticity, instructions for a wand blessing ceremony and small containers with the herbs so the blessing ceremony can be performed.
I had a TERRIFIC time at the Symposium and making these wands has extended that feeling for me. I am looking forward to handing out these wands.