Every piece begins by being cleaned!
Oak Whisky Barrel Staves
The oak whisky staves are charred on the inside, leaving a thick black crust of charcoal.
We use an angle grinder or as it's known 'the beast' to scour this away leaving - hopefully - a smooth surface.
Some barrels have been in circulation for decades and the interiors do differ in colour and texture.
The staves are then cut into differing sizes.
The front and the edges of the staves are then given a rough sand and two smoother sands to create a good quality canvas.
Smaller pieces like bookmarks and keyrings are cut using a table saw.
The earrings are made by cutting a section of barrel lid lengthways, essentially thinning it out, and then laser cutting the blank templates.
Now, the wood is ready to be sketched, wood burned, hand painted, varnished and packaged ready to make the world more beautiful!
Responsibly Foraged Wood
We don't have a kiln, so the wood is basically left to season indoors. This can take 6 months to a year.
Most of this wood comes in the form of branches.
Smaller branches (up to 2cm) are used to create earrings.
3mm sections are hand sawn and then hand sanded to create tiny canvases.
A hole is drilled in each one so that a hypoallergenic hook can be attached after being individually hand painted.
Some very small bits of wood are made into studs.
The main part of the branch is cut into rounds using a chop saw or table saw. These rounds are then sanded by hand before being individually hand painted and made into hanging decorations, keyrings and sun catchers.
Larger branches (15cm plus) and irregular pieces of wood are generally chopped into sections of live edge wood and used for ornaments or wall art.
These are sanded by hand or with an orbital sander to create a smooth canvas.
My husband helps a lot with the wood prep as it's a full time job in itself!
Every piece is individually hand painted, finished and packaged by me.
Reclaimed Commercial Wood
Most of this wood needs a good sanding and some cutting to make an appropriate canvas.
Very big pieces can stay very big to make a statement piece, or be cut into smaller pieces.
Small bits of scrap can be cut and made into earrings.
Medium sized pieces can be left as they are or joined together to make larger panels.
Most reclaimed wood is flat and used to make wall art or earrings.
All Woods
Once prepared, each piece is individually hand painted by me.
Some pieces may also be wood burned using a pyrography pen. This is a nice way to sketch onto the wood, leaving loose lines, creating gentle shadow and giving the impression of delicate stems and stalks.
I also use wood burning to create depth and texture with things like seed heads.
Gold foil or gold paint is sometimes used to add rich, warm, highlights.
If I want to add lettering, I go to Oak & Black who laser cut the lettering for me. It's the best way to get beautiful, neat wording and it adds some depth and texture to the wood.
Every piece is then branded with Gill Lyon Art before being finished, varnished, labelled and packaged.
So you can rest assured that when you order a piece of Gill Lyon Art, you are choosing to buy a truly original piece from a dedicated and passionate artist, who creates with love and respect for the natural world.