OWL FROM A FAIRY TALE

Send

Recently, more and more owners of private houses and suburban areas, tired of the ubiquitous plastic decorations, prefer to design their possessions in ethnic, folk, and sometimes even fabulous style. Such a situation allows adults to get rid of technogenic stress and gives vent to the children's imagination, contributing to a full family vacation.
One of the main elements of the fairytale style is a garden sculpture made of wood. Finished products are quite expensive and not always suitable for a particular site, but with a simple tool, desire and a couple of evenings of free time, everyone can make a garden sculpture of wood with their own hands.
In our example, a wise and keen owl will be a fairy-tale character. Possessing easily recognizable features, the sculptural image of an owl looks spectacular both on the veranda and among the garden.
It is convenient to use linden as a material. Suitable wood, lying in a dry place for at least six months, with a minimum number of knots, cracks and other defects.
• First, saw off a workpiece with a length of 40 - 50 centimeters and fix it for convenience with a self-tapping screw on a piece of plywood.

• With the help of an ax and, if there is such an opportunity, a special disk for wood on angle grinders, we will form the outlines of a future sculpture.

• The following is the development of small parts. You can pre-outline the main lines or rely on your own eye. Work should be sharpened with a regular knife or a jamb knife. It will be great if there are one or two semicircular chisels in the arsenal. The tip is periodically corrected on a leather belt with polishing paste. Extreme care must be taken to prevent personal injury. If possible, hold the tool with both hands, and secure the workpiece securely on the table.
An approximate result of this step is shown in the photo.

• Now you need to take care of the finish. The resulting product is processed tinted protective compounds designed for outdoor use. Color is best chosen closer to natural.

• In order to remove the raised pile and revitalize the plumage, lightly treat the product with sandpaper with fine grain.

• The sculpture thoroughly cleaned of dust formed during grinding is covered with two layers of weather-resistant varnish.

• When the varnish is completely dry, finishing touches are applied: fill in the pupils with black paint, and cover the very circumference of the eyes with a composition glowing in the dark, for example, Firefly varnish.