Various signs of the past year… Here are 6 signs I have made in the last year. All of these signs are made from salvaged old growth red cedar driftwood with mortise and tenon joinery. Carved and painted by hand with OneShot black sign paint and finished with 2 coats of OSMO exterior UV protection oil.
The Hawthorn Hill sign lives on Salt Spring Island and is on a property that will eventually host a healing sanctuary and run programs.
The Becher Bay Eagle sign was an interesting commission. This location is near East Sooke on Vancouver Island. The owner has a very large, colourful and beautifully detailed painting of an eagle head above their mantlepiece. The owner wanted me to recreate this eagle for the sign. I had to start by redrawing the eagle with just positive/negative spaces to simplify it for the sign which would be just black. Once I got the design looking like a good representation of the original painting we were able to start on the sign. It is a very tall and large sign to accomodate the image and be visible from the road as the sign sits back a bit on the long driveway.
The Hidden Pond Teahouse sign was one I made for my neighbour across the street. He was building a very special japanese style teahouse with deck out over a small pond (which I also made hand split cedar posts and rails around the deck). This is such a beautiful building and he wanted a sign with the japanese torii design for the entrance. I have had many lovely tea ceremonies here. The most unique thing about this sign is the amazing natural colours of the wood, as cedar can vary in colour so much from light blond through orange and red into dark browns and purples.
The Harpoon Rd sign and the Spyglass Rd sign are linked together through family. The retired parents commissioned the Harpoon Rd sign for their place, and then offered to pay for a sign for their adult child’s house not far away on Spyglass Rd. The design on the Harpoon Rd sign is a rock crab, which is special to the family as they catch this type of crab in the bay off their dock, when the kids/grand kids visit. Again I had to make a design that would work with just black starting from colourful pictures of real rock crabs.
The Tramuntana sign is entirely different, as the owner wanted a single post style sign with the property name printed vertically in bold letters. I made a small cap for the top to protect the cut end of the post from the rain.
If you would like a custom sign for your property or business please contact me, I would love to work with you to make something special that will welcome people into your space.
