From begin to end Bohemian Girl Steampunk Violin-commission work

 

 

 

 

This is the first one I made for the DSO in Naperville a few months back, "Steampunk Gal."

It happened to make a big Hoopla and two people were bidding on it, and it finally went for $1500.

Service work when does it end....I look at it as a challenge to see if I can do it and well not only can I do it once but this gal was able to do it again.

 

 

1. sheet music, The Bohemian Girl from 1843, balsa wood, and parts to add on and parts that I took off.

2. Some tools that I've used to disassemble the violin and cutting out the whole. This is one of the some assembly is required...with parts left over.

3. My box of small copper and carpet tacks plus some misc. tacks and nails.

4. Hole  cut out. I ended up using the exacto knife to do it the wood was so soft and easy to cut through.

5. small box I build, nothing special, or to exact measurements...got to have some character to it...I let go of perfect on this on. The small blocks on the bottom are for the box to lay flat in the violin. I guess I could have built it deeper but didn't. Mainly so I could adjust the area where it was needed because of the bow in the back of the violin.

6. Box slipped in for test run.

7. Old piano leg that split apart from weather and to my advantage it works wonders with the flat black. What it is...hmmm is to the viewers imagination.

8.Working with the sheet music and then starting to add the patina of age to it. Test run on the glass bottle to see how it would look with the moss and the rose...Question was should I have one bottle or three? 

9. Yesterday I was able to get to this point with the violin. As you can see it went pretty far... I had to sand the violin first though to scuff it up and give it some character and also it provides a great surface for the next layer of glazing to on and sink in.

 

 

10. Finished piece. Title-Bohemian Girl.

 

 

 11. Close up.