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Ducks use their tails to signal whether they are at rest or in danger. Tom carves the tail so that it feathers slightly upward, a sign that the duck is at ease with its surroundings. The process uses...
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Tom uses keen eyes and a drawknife to carve the slope of a duck's back from the natural curve along a block of white cedar. The basic forms of a tail and the base of the neck are revealed during body...
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To float properly, the body of the duck must be hollowed out with a hand drill and chisel. Buoyancy and stability are achieved by combining a hollow interior with lead weights applied to the underside...
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Arianne uses the batik process of fabric design, a traditional art she mastered while living with the Yoruba culture of Nigeria. Batik uses wax and layers of color to create vibrant images on textiles...
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Tom's toolbox is a museum of traditional woodworking implements. It contains a 150-year-old drawknife, a hatchet, his father's wood rasp, his grandfather's brace and bit, a mallet of resilient...
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No carving tool keeps an edge without occasional sharpening on a stone. Farmers and woodworkers brought hand-powered grinding wheels to the Americas during the 16th century. Many artisans and farmers...
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Decoy wood needs to be light and resistant toward water and waterborne, termite-like insects that bore into wood. Atlantic white cedar is an excellent variety of such wood, but the tree’s population...
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In this step, Arianne applies a light wash of turquoise to represent the sea and sky. Wax outline on the cloth prevents the wash from entering areas of the fabric where it is not desired. After...
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When Arianne is satisfied with a layer of color, she "blocks" the layer with a coat of melted wax. The dried wax prevents new layers of color from entering areas that are complete.
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Arianne finishes her piece with her "signature," an application of indigo dye that creates the blacks and deep blues of her work. A finished batik is rich with patterns, dark and light colors, and...