The Pender Island Conservancy asked me to make them a business sign for their new storefront and educational space recently opened at Hope Bay, here on Pender Island. They also had a new logo design with the Kingfisher which I really liked and we were able to put this on the sign as well.
The sign is made from old growth red cedar driftwood I salvaged. For the body of the sign I used a lighter coloured cedar and the for the frame I used a darker grey cedar (most likely the colouring is from metal leaching into the wood). I then sanded the cedar smooth in prep for carving the logo and lettering. To get the image I want onto the wood I use an old art projector. I can finalize my design and the lettering on the computer and save it as a 4″ square image to print and use in the projector (this is the biggest image I can use!). I do the projection at night when it is dark in my shop and I copy the image onto the wood with pencil. Then I clean up any pencil lines needed in the light and start carving! I use a Foredom Professional Carving tool which has a motor with flexible shaft and a handpiece that can handle many different burrs and carving bits. Once my design is carved I paint it with Oneshot sign paint. Then I finish the sign with 2 coats of OSMO exterior UV protection oil finish which brings out the natural colours and helps protect the sign from the outdoor environment.
