Custom Birch Slice Poem + Vintage Book Words

Lately, a self-imposed goal of mine has been to document my custom orders on this blog.  This documentation serves two purposes: to show you, the reader, what I've been up to lately with custom orders, and to put into writing my thoughts about the project.  Custom orders keep me busy, as each are unique, and I love it when I can accept them.  Here's my favorite one to-date for 2014: a custom poem-quote created from a birch slice and vintage book words.

A recent custom order, this quote is borrowed from the eponymous Robert Frost poem, "The Road Not Taken."  To create this piece, I hand cut the little printed words directly from my trusty vintage copy of Bronte's Jane Eyre--when whole words that I needed weren't found, I formed them using two-and-three-letter nonsensical syllables cut from various pages; a single letter cut from the book page is occasionally used, too.  Yellowed and showing visible wear, these little vintage words are unique, and lightly blend in with the minutely golden areas of the birch wood.

Next, the now-complete words that comprise the quote are carefully arranged in lines on the birch slice for layout purposes, and are then adhered to the slice using archival-quality gel.  This is much easier said than done.  For instance, like glue, too much adhesive causes a visible ring of the substance to pool around the syllable or word, while too little adhesive doesn't allow for adherence to the wooden slice.  Also, keeping the lines straight can be difficult if perspective isn't taken into account--so after adhering every few words, I held the piece away at arm's length to visually gauge line straightness (a necessary step to take for longer quotes like this one).  Created by hand, variances occur with line straightness and book page word height.

A stunning family memento for its recipient, this particular poem-quote is 22 normal-sized words long (zoom in to see where I used syllables to form words).  I can't wait to ship it out to its recipient once the piece fully dries.  Since this piece is DELICATE--both the wood and the adhered words--the lettered slice will be carefully gift-wrapped before being placed in a bubble mailer for shipping.

To see a close-up of the final custom ornament-hang tag, click on the image below:

To order your own custom EmeraldCut birch slice ornament 

created from vintage book page words, 

see here.

New Poem Boxes

Made some new poem boxes recently, tiny poems 

created from cut-out letters and words excavated 

from a vintage copy of Jane Eyre.  

These little box art pieces have become 

a sort of creative endeavor for me: 

every time I am feeling uncreative, 

I respond by crafting 

these mini poems from words found.

Some may find working with 

random little words 

extraordinarily tedious and odd,

but I find in this craft a deft way to unwind;

a means to weather the storm.

Below are the latest to this collection:

Oak Slice + Words

Immediately after applying water-based sealant over the front of this oak slice poem three weeks ago, there was left a beautiful matte finish, rich and textured, as shown above.

However, knowing from experience that water-based sealers tend to "age" over short and long spans of time, especially when applied on natural material, I allowed this very oak slice poem to sit on my workspace desk by the window, where it would collect wintertime light.  The result is shown in the above image: the once-rich finish has now mellowed to a more natural state, which is still slightly glossier than the pre-sealed oak slice.

This is the final result, a full three weeks after creation.  A noticeable layer of matte sealant is visible, yet the natural oak slice texture is still there.  I think this is a good mix of Mother Nature-made and human made.

If you're curious, this is the back of the oak slice, which has the original finish;
I've lightly sanded the slice for a softer texture. 

I love creating these oak slice poems, and have found that the process of making each one is different, depending on my frame of mind.  If I'm in a hurry, the poem lines are uneven and the words are not lined up properly; glue tends to be visible on the wood around the letters and phrases.  (Mind you, these letters, words, and phrases are hand cut directly from a vintage copy of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and are therefore teeny tiny in size!)  If I'm calm and collected, the poem looks so, too.

Such an interesting creative process, these oak slice poems are, as are my other wood-slice ornaments seen here.