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By request, come up with a few tall staff style sticks with grapes. Only had time this year for one and here it is.
This staff does have a curve to it but don't let that fool you. It's incredibly strong! Most certainly passes any stress test I could give it.
It's also pretty thick. Nice solid staff great for hiking or just to use as an outstanding decorative piece.
I usually don't know what kind of wood I'm using. But once before, (with the african stick) I knew only because a friend gave me that wood off one of her trees.
In that case it was sycamore. And what a ROYAL PAIN that was to carve! It was very fibrous so every cut I'd make I had strings of frayed wood to deal with.
Well this stick did the same thing. So if I had to guess, I'd say I landed another piece of sycamore. Not a great choice for carving round things like grapes.
The carving is not as smooth as I'd like. Took forever to make sure any burs were sanded (actually ground) down. There are still a few rough spots, but I'm done.
There are three clusters of red grapes. Two above the handle sheeth and one below. I scattered a few autumn leaves below the handle as well.
I've posted many pictures to try and show this all the way around. Very hard to do. This is definitely something you need to hold to appreciate.
The background is my own "faux woodgrain." Literally carved grain then painted to show off the grain even more. VERY time consuming process but the end
result is a stick that resembles aged driftwood. Something that might actually be used in a vinyard.
Also, the color of the handle may not be obvious on the computer screen, but I used the same red hue used in the grapes. Just darkened quite a bit.
It may appear black on the screen but it's really a very deep burgandy.
A very unique staff indeed. And as with all my sticks, the paint used is an artist grade acrylic, with several coats of clear gloss for added protection.
A rubber foot is at the base. (yes removable.)
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