Making Art Works With Natural Resources

Nice work Mario!
I remember making China berry popguns when i was a kid out of bamboo.
It's an interesting plant.

Hey Mario, heres some ideas on what you can do with the bamboos that you had trimmed.
https://www.google.com/search?q=bamboo+arts+and+crafts&espv=2&biw=1024&bih=499&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=_kZJVaqQEuTamAW_uYDQAw&ved=0CBwQsAQ



Here in the Philippines bamboos are abuntant, thus we use them for so many things.

you can do it Mario ;-)make that lot lol

Thank you Drew, Otil and Jason, I have always had a great affinity for bamboo. I like trying new things and this is going to give me the opportunity to give carving a try. I have seem some really amazing carved walking sticks. The two above I just made on a whim, but they were very easy to make. I added a little copper to them and some leather straps which I got from the thrift store purse that I paid $1.00.. The tops and bottom I used copper plumbing testing caps, and I also wound some copper wire which I stripped out of some discarded romex wire. The bamboo bush has at least 2000 shoots that are suitable for walking sticks, but more if other ideas come to mind.

Mario those are beautiful! A friend of mine made me some bamboo ink pens when I was doing a lot with ink. They were among my favorites...not ball point but the kind you dip into the ink. He used various sizes and just cut the tip at an angle and inserted a nib (I think it is called) which he cut from a soda can. They were beautiful and worked very well...I liked how they pulled the ink across the paper as only the wood touched the paper there was less chance of it cutting as regular pens sometimes do.

I have seen bamboo fences and a bamboo privacy decorative screen in house, bamboo picture frames, bamboo chairs, sticks of bamboo in huge wooden floor vase - I have this in my house, decorate the outside of flower planters or make a flower cover pot and put one inside that holds the water, we use them for plant stakes, can make trellises and that's all I can think of for now!

Looks like a fun project Mario!

My mom collected driftwood from the beach and glued seaweed, sea glass, and miniature seagull figurines to them. I think she managed to sell a few of these driftwood creations at a gift shop.

-Chris

Those are awesome!

My husband use to get the dead cedar trees and make beautiful curved back garden benches from them and I used to gather the wild thick vines in the bush and make door and wall wreaths, as well as pine cones to make Christmas wreaths - we made most of these things for family and friends, not to sell

Thank you Val, I have seen some pens made. Bamboo is just one of those incredible and useful materials known to man. The largest shoots in my bush are only maybe 1-1.5 inches, maybe I'll give making a tiki bar a try when I get tired of the walking sticks, that is unless they sell well.

Thanks Lisa.

Here is one I started this evening, I have never carved anything prior to this, I made a drawing of a tree frog and then I did a relief by carving around the drawing with a dremel tool. I'm wondering if I can preserve the green color of the bamboo by coating now with a marine oil based varnish while it's uncured and fresh? If not I may just torch the frog jet black, and heat the green wax and melt it away for the contrast.

I didn't make it, but I have a large tropical painting in a bamboo frame. Each side extends out at the corner about three inches or so, and the corner joint is cross-wrapped in flat reeds. Not sure how the sides are cut to flush join at the corners. Just inside the outer frame, there is a smaller bamboo mitered frame.

Sarah I have seen many frames for paintings also frames for mirrors in bamboo. I did a few searches and also checked out the links that were posted here and really the list of items are endless. The great thing about the walking sticks is that even the very plain ones are attractive and very easy to make. With that said I have seen some very intricate ones with some elaborate carvings and engravings.

Love your copper work. Ornate carvings on bamboo embellished with copper ...are you planning anything along those lines?

Thanks Sarah,Yes, the first two have some copper but it's hard to see in the pictures. I'd like to do some copper inlay, as the walls of the bamboo are maybe 1/4" thick at the most, so that doesn't really allow for a deep 3d carving, so maybe some reliefs and some copper wire inlay and maybe some brass, maybe some engraving to. The possibilities abound, finding the time for it is another story.

Are you bending?

No, I haven't tried that yet.

I was thinking of a thread like this, great start. I often use natural objects to create several types of "things", sculptures, walking sticks/cane, flint knives (I buy the blades), American Indian weapons, among other crafty items. I have been selling the knives for a year now, flint blades and deer horn handles.

Great Art Kevin! Funny you would post a Giacometti interpretation, aside from being one of my favorite sculptors, I was actually going to make my first walking stick with my interpretation of the walking man .Lol

Today I bought my first carving knife, and was anxious to put it to work, so I continued with the walking stick I started yesterday and put in about two hours. I am really enjoying carving with the knife, it goes much faster than the dremel tool, and I can get deeper into the bamboo.

Today I took the day off from my home repair business and continued playing with my bamboo sticks. I wanted to coat them with clear high gloss lacquer so I made a run to the the home depot. While there my cell phone rings frantically, I thought something happened at home, then I read the text message my wife left. She said " there was a huge black snake on the front porch of the house and that it was wrapped around one of my bamboo walking sticks I left standing on the porch. When I got home the snake was still around and as I approached it, it made a beeline for the bamboo bush in the back yard. I guess the bamboo bush is it's home and it was just scoping out what I was doing with it's home.

The strange thing about this is the night before I had a a vivid dream about lots of snakes in my house, that's what gave me the idea to make a snake walking stick also.

What a great story. Nice work on the "stick" just love doing these projects.

What is walking stick in Argentinian Mario?

Love it Kevin! I really like carving with my new knife.

Sydne, we call them palos de caminar.

Good name for your brand/walking sticks I think!

Ok, when you finish an arrow, post a picture!

The pergola sounds like a cool idea.

I Sure will Cheryl. Today I harvested some bamboo and I'm getting it ready for my construction pergola project.

That's a lot of bamboo...! It looks like a lot of work to cut through those bamboo stalks with those loppers. Is this for the pergola?

Yes, it's for the pergola, I might start making it tomorrow. That bamboo can be pretty strong and the larger pieces require a good deal of muscle to cut, even more time consuming is removing the branches from each of the nodes.

I've only cut a fraction of what I'm going to need.

Mario--Drive a few miles south of where you are and get some giant bamboo plants: http://www.bamboo-nursery.com/ I can see you making all sorts of cool things... like carved and painted bamboo totem poles.

Sarah, thanks for the link! Those giant bamboo are beautiful, problem is I don't have the patience to wait for them to grow. Oh, and the price, it's not cheap. But more so than the price, when it comes to creating things, I thrive on instant gratification, it has it's pros and cons, but it's how I function best. I have an idea where I can bundle the smaller diameter bamboo I have to make it seem bigger. Plus I've decided I need to use other lumber also to build the pergola, the bamboo I have is just not large enough, but I have to make do with what's at hand, that's part of the challenge of using natural resources that are readily available, in a way it's a good thing as it forces one to be more creative.

I took the day off from my home repair business and started on my bamboo pergola, well it's not all bamboo but it will have a good amount. I plan on adding alternating 3 foot by 3 foot squares with bamboo on the top rafters. Then for the entrance I want to do like a tee pee or a frame that frames the entrance opening. This if I can harvest some tall pieces, even if thin I will try and braid them. On the one side I want to do a diamond shape. It was very hot today, and there is no shade where I was working. The bulk of the hard work is done, no comes the design phase and the fun part.

Looks like it's starting to take shape.

Hey, I just took 2 of my walking sticks along with 4 of my knives done to the local store, where they are on sale. Been selling there for a year, not a bunch of money, but fun to get my babies out into the world.

Kevin, I have taken some saddles I dressed up with copper to the local feed store,they like it so much they bought them. I also purchased a lot of nice cowboy hats and made some custom copper bands to dress them up, they also purchased them. The local stores are a good outlet, especially if they buy the items.

Cherly, it's time consuming, especially harvesting the bamboo and cleaning it. Cutting the nodes takes a lot of effort to not damage the skin on the bamboo. Also installing it requires lots and lots of 1 inch holes to be drilled. Today the sun was very hot, I felt like I was on the beach, progress was slow, but I put in a good 12 hours today. I ran out of bamboo, tomorrow I hope to harvest some more. I'm going for the rustic look, I want it to look a little primative.

Hi Mario: I like how the roof is coming out, it's got a great pattern in it.

Kevin: What do your knives look like?

I just picked up on this thread - great bamboo work!

I use small pieces to make pens and brushes . maximum a foot long and one-finger thickness.

Loved seeing your photos, Mario

Thanks Cheryl, I'm undecided now on the roof part that peaks, I debating maybe framing it in the 2x4's and then inserting the bamboo in the drilled holes following the peak pitch, instead of the way I tied them to the post.

James, I'm delighted you enjoyed the bamboo photos, thanks! I'm curious to know how you make a pen out of bamboo? maybe you have some pics?

Sometimes you can find bamboo pens in art supply stores.

Same basic principle as making a goose quill pen. Cut the bamboo on a diagonal, take a knife, carve a point, dip the point in ink, and draw. When the point gets dull or if the pen doesn't work very well, sharpen/shape the point some more. Different shapes of points make different kinds of lines, like different nibs in calligraphy pens.

oops,double post.

So many uses for bamboo, it's said to be one of those materials that has greatly impacted humanity in such a positive way. I'm still not finished with the pergola yet, I have to harvest more of my bamboo and prep it and it takes time.

I did however explore what's involved in making a musical instrument and I went to work on making a Native America style bamboo flute. Well actually I first tried making a traditional transverse flute, I went through about 12 pieces of bamboo before I was able to get any sound from it. When I finally did get one to make a decent sound, trying to play it was very hard for me. So much that my lips hurt.

I have no musical training at all and don't know one note from another, but I have always loved the sound of the flute. I put the transverse flute down and decided to make one that is easier to play and I chose the 5 hole pentatonic Native American flute. This one is much easier to play and has beautiful sounds. This one is and end blown flute and all you have to do to get sound is blow, that was much easier on the lips for sure. I made two, one in an F key and One in G, the F one didn't come out so great, but the G one has really nice sounds. I have not tuned it yet, but it's very enjoyable to play it. I was really amazed at the sound of this simple instrument. I plan on making more of these and I will post photos when I get a chance.

Cool. Looking forward to seeing the musical instruments. Maybe you could try pan pipes.... the challenge would be finding bamboo sticks in the right range of sizes.

What's involved in prepping the bamboo?

Cheryl, when I say prepping I'm referring to cutting down consistent sizes, then cutting them to size without splitting the ends. The side limbs need to be removed and even more time consuming is cutting off the limbs from the nodes and then grinding or cutting the node which can be very hard and smooth it out.

The flutes where a real challenge for me, I really enjoyed making them, today I made another two. I might post pics later. Some thing about the sound of the Native American flute that captivates me, I really want to learn how to play it well, it's voice is very spiritual and relaxing.

So these are my Native American Style Bamboo Flutes, they all play and each has it's distinct sound, the largest one which has a 3/4" bore plays the lower tones in G and sounds best, the next larger one is a 5/8" bore and plays in the range of F, these two are 5 hole and play the pentatonic scale, the other one is also a 5/8" bore and also plays the pentatonic scales but is slightly higher pitched and the position of the holes is lower. These being my first ever instruments I have attempted came out better than expected and the sounds are truly amazing. Time for some professional instructional videos on how to play them. If the videos work out for me, I may post some sound clips of the voice of each flute.

Those are beautiful. Definitely post some clips of how they sound.

If I can carry a tune I will. lol

Ok Cherly, you asked for it, this is the first sound clip, be warned I have never been trained in any musical instrument , well many many years ago I took a few lessons which I totally don't remember anything. This is recorded on my porch in the dark while it's raining and storming. I only played the three lower keys, this is the larger of the three flutes and my favorite.

Wow, it works! It has a nice tone. Thank you for sharing ( -:

Thanks Cheryl! it's my kind of instrument in that it can be played with no musical understanding, the pentantonic scale it plays in makes it sound good and is very forgiving. A very relaxing experience to play. I recommend it for anyone who has wanted to play an instrument and thought that because they don't read or understand musical notes it's not possible, with this instrument it is possible.

Hello. That is a nice piece of work that you made. There are a lot of decorations that you can make from the bamboo plant. If you are creative enough, you can also make some decorations that you can put inside the house. Have a nice day decorating your home.

Hey Mario, and all, I have been away because I did not have much of my craftier work posted. So I made a new gallery with only my flint knives and walking stick/canes. Just for the fun of it. Here are a couple.

Kevin, all your pieces are very unique! I especially like your knifes. I am also interested in primitive weapons, I am looking into the ones I can make with bamboo.