GETTING CREATIVE
It’s a beautiful thing when hands and mind work together so well
WATERCOLORS
During 2020 (when the world was hunkered down) I took up an interest in painting with watercolors. I enjoy how the water makes the pigment bleed or blend, crash or pool, and ultimately brings to life the depth of the image. It’s a great medium to start with visual arts like painting because the way shadowing and saturation occur almost naturally really helps a beginner painter.
PHOTOGRAPHY
For my dell’Ancora website (read more about that on my Academia page!) I bought a Canon E0S Rebel T6i camera for product photography. I’ve learned to balance light and shadows, colors and movement. I’ve used the camera and a variety of lenses to create some pieces, but really only as a hobby and a beginner. In 2021, I hope to expand my toolkit for videography and photography, and add a drone to the arsenal. Watch this space, and check out my YouTube channel for any travel videos or visual projects!
METAL CASTING
I got started with metal working in general around 2010, making various projects for school and as a hobby. I really started to hone my skills in 2016 when I joined a Viking Age reenactment group and learned how to make historically authentic reproductions of items like belt tips and buckles out of sheet brass and cast bronze. Currently, I have a jewelry and accessories shop for all of the items I sell related to Viking reenactment. Check out my shop at dell’Ancora.com.
WOODWORK
Alongside metalworking, I got started with simple wood projects in 2010, back when I was just graduating High School and starting to build little trinkets related to my interest in History. Likewise, my woodworking passion kicked into overdrive in 2016 when I joined a Viking Age reenactment community and saw the need for everything to be made of wood. Here you can see the two rafter posts connected by a ridge pole that I cut and carved for an A-frame tent. I’ve made 4 of these along with shields, game boards, wooden swords, and more. My favorite projects so far are Viking sea chests. I’ve made several, all using dadoes, mortises and tenons, glued dowels, and hand forged strap hinges. Each time I make a chest, I’m reminded how rewarding it can be to figure out all of the different wood working techniques needed for them to come together with a custom fit. To follow these projects, check out my personal Instagram as well as my Heathens Horns Instagram.