Family Portrait

The past few months I have been busy, busy, busy getting all of my Christmas orders finished and shipped out to arrive before the big day. Thank you, Etsy! This is a commissioned family portrait that I just finished today. The photographer did an amazing job setting up the original photograph- I love the stockings in the background and The Night Before Christmas book. I am very pleased with the burning, I love how all the different textures from the clothing bring it all together to make a great work of art.

Now to start the Christmas shopping for my own family! No time to make any gifts for them this year, so off to the mall...on the Sunday before Christmas...I'm mentally preparing myself for all the screaming children and crowded stores. We still haven't gotten our tree yet, hopefully we'll do that today, too. Doncha just love Christmas??

Unique Boutique

Come join me at the Unique Boutique Artisan's Fair on Saturday, November 6th. I'll have some brand new pieces on display- and since Christmas will be near, I'll be doing hand burned personalized Christmas ornaments! Also, if you are interested in a custom piece, you can drop off or email your photograph to NapierWoodburning@yahoo.com .

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Scituate Art Festival

A few weekends ago was the Scituate Art Festival. I took this picture on the morning of the third day, and it was looking a little empty! Which is awesome- because that means that it was a very successful weekend. I sold tons of boxes, bowls, coasters, Christmas ornaments, cutting boards and original artwork! The next few weeks will be very busy- restocking for my November 6th show at the Rotunda on Easton Beach in Newport, and filling the Christmas orders that are starting to come in. So if you are thinking about an original woodburning for a gift this year, get your orders in now so I can have it ready by Christmas!

I'm excited for Christmas this year because Steve has promised me... my very first... REAL Christmas tree! Growing up we always had a fake one- if we even put one up at all- and the past ten years I've lived in apartments which weren't exactly Christmas tree friendly. But this year we have our new house with plenty of space for a pretty, perfect, real Christmas tree! Oh, the little things in life...

Set of Six Refinished Chairs

Here are a set of six antique chairs that I refinished. They were in need of some TLC- very worn with who knows how many years of finishes and dust layered on top of the original paint. I took the seats and legs down to bare wood and hoped to preserve the paint on the tops which had a faint stenciled design on them. I masked the tops and sprayed the bottoms black, then carefully hand sanded the tops to remove the years of grossness, yet preserving the painted stencil work. I couldn't believe it when the designs started to re-emerge, it was like finding a buried treasure! I distressed the freshly painted bottoms a bit to match the look of the top. I finished them all up with a few layers of clear gloss lacquer and the final product looks like this:
Ta Da! I loved this project, and might have started collecting some small pieces of furniture that people have left on the side of the road. One person's trash is another one's treasure, right?? I keep trying to tell that to Steve. He is not very happy that I have started bringing stinky old furniture home. But it has so much potential!! You just wait, I will turn them all into masterpieces.

Girl On Swing

I've recently become addicted to Bravo's new show, "Work of Art". It's like Project Runway, only the contestants compete to create the best piece of fine art based on that week's theme. I would absolutely love to be a part of something like that, so I've decided to begin a similar experiment with my art group. Every week we will choose a theme which each person will interpret into their own piece of art. We will then post all the finished pieces to be viewed and critiqued. I am most interested in seeing how different people interpret things in different ways- so anyone interested in participating is welcome. This week's theme: FEAR. I have a bunch of ideas, and I think I have it narrowed down to one. My goal is to use my own personal fears to envoke the emotion of fear unto the viewer- without being too literal.

I'm also continuing to work on more pieces for my upcoming shows. This is another burning based on an old family photograph. I love the innocent and pure memory that it captures- I still love swinging on a swing set to this day. I added an 'Alice in Wonderland' element with the mushrooms and red rose gardens surrounding her.

This beautiful zen table is made of ash with contrasting inlay squares made of wenge. The top piece is very thick- and very heavy! I only dropped it on my finger once...and it has since healed, thank you for asking.

This amazing, one of a kind sofa table is made of zebra wood. I coated it with many, many, many layers of gloss laquer and then it was buffed to create that glassy look. The legs are metal, and were welded to fit the top.

(I was unfortunately unable to be there during final assembly of these pieces...my very good friend Andrea was getting married the next day, and I had to leave early for the rehearsal dinner. Congrats to Andrea and Mike, our newest happily married couple! You both looked amazing!)

The Perfect Couple

Here is my newest piece, "The Perfect Couple". This was burned onto an old cherry kitchen cabinet that we were replacing. I kept a few of them- I really like the tone I get with the warm cherry wood. (We have since made all new cabinets for our customer's beautiful kitchen!) The image is from an old photograph of my great grandparents at their summer home on Martha's Vineyard. I remember driving by the house as a child while on vacation. My mother told us how she had spent every summer vacation there as a child with her family. The property has since been sold.

I call this The Perfect Couple because they both look so content and relaxed, enjoying the simple life. I love the feeling of just sitting on a porch on a beautiful day with the people you love- no phones, no computer, just you and the summer breeze.

Come see this, and all of my other work this weekend at The Providence Art Festival on Saturday, June 12! I will be there from 10:30 am until 6 pm. Afterwards you can enjoy the Providence Waterfires in downtown Providence. See you there!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

It has been raining for 40 days and 40 nights, and luckily my boss is a skilled woodworker and is building an ark. Anyone with animals is urged to contact us right away. Ok so maybe it's not THAT bad, but I might have forgotten what the sun looks like. Evidently it's the worst flood Rhode Island has seen in hundreds of years. The basement got a bit puddled, and closed roads made it a terrible trek home, but other than that we got away pretty easily. At least it forced me to clean out the garage (which was getting a little out of hand) and was also housing all my artwork. Fortunately, it all seemed to avoid getting wet.

On a happier note, here is my latest piece. This is Trinity church in Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard. You will see this and much more of my work at Gallery X on April 17. Opening reception is from 7-9, so come on by and drink some wine and see some fabulous artwork by me, and the rest of the Southern New England Artist Community (SNAC). See you there!

Women With Car

I've finished a few more pieces for my upcoming show on April 17th at Gallery X in New Bedford. This one is from another old family photo and is burned on 10"x 8" baltic birch. The last few pieces have been just as small, (including another one I haven't posted yet) so my next piece is going to be a bit bigger.

I've been working on some new kitchen cabinets for work, and this past week I've been taking off the old ones. I snagged a few that have a nice decorative arch on them that I think will make for the perfect burning. I think doing some pieces on some cool found objects (wooden of course, such as the cabinets) will really liven things up for a while. Maybe an old violin or guitar will be next? Who knows...feel free to send me any old items you may have up in the attic that would make for a great woodburning masterpiece...

My New Venture in Furniture Making...

The past few months I've been working with a cabinet maker and learning all about furniture making. It's a great step forward for me, and I'm really enjoying it. I still feel very new at it and am facing new challenges every day, but I'm quite determined to become great at it. I'm looking forward to the day when I have the skill set to go in the shop and make my own furniture from beginning to end. You'll recognize them from the beautiful woodburnings that will decorate them. I still have a ways to go. But until then, here are some pictures of some pieces we've been working on.

This is a gorgeous mantlepiece that has been one of our main projects for the past few months. The installation took about two weeks and was a huge eye opener for me, as I was still very new to the whole process. I think it came out amazing, and am very proud to have been a part of it.

This corner cabinet was strategically designed to hide the part of the mantlepiece that protruded from the other side of the wall from the living room into the dining area. It has a distressed finish that we created by...well, that's a secret. You might recognize this look on the frames I made for my artwork. The antique style compliments the woodburnings perfectly, as well as this corner cabinet.

Finally we have this cherry vanity. I think the finish on this came out absolutely gorgeous- it's hard to tell from the photo, but it is so shiny and smooth, it's almost like glass. So as you can see, I've been a little busy. More woodburning artwork coming soon!