Nick Vidakovic from Bradenton, Fla.
Nick is no doubt making his family proud. He not only learned the family artistic skill of intarsia, a process of creating pictorial inlays through a mosaic of wood pieces, but he took the process one step further. In this project, he brings a little color to the beloved pastime of his Croatian grandfather and uncle with a playful sea turtle wall hanging.
Materials:
2' x 2' x 5/8" BC plywood
2' x 2' x 1/4" sand ply
wood glue
polyurethane (spray can)
various airbrush paints
craft paint: black, cinnamon
band saw
sander
airbrush
jigsaw
pencil
aluminum duct tape
Steps:
1. Use protractor to draw outer circle on 5/8-inch plywood. Also draw an inside circle.
2. Place turtle pattern on circle to figure out positioning. Trace turtle onto circle. Draw in background waves/curvy lines.
3. Trace lines dark enough to see. These lines will serve as a guide to cut out the pieces.
4. Cut 1/4-inch wood a little bit bigger than the actual design on the 5/8-inch plywood. This will serve as the backboard.
5. Now start to cut out designs: turtle, waves and rim.
6. After cutting all pieces, pick out pieces to be re-cut and replace with different grain types--grain will be going in a different direction than the original pieces. Trace and cut new pieces from different wood and then sand them down.
7. Clean off sawdust and make final inspection of sanding job.
8. Next, stain rim and let dry.
9. Paint turtle with airbrush and let dry for a few minutes.
10. Hand paint detail on turtle and let dry for 10 minutes.
11. Spray polyurethane over turtle and let dry for couple minutes.
12. Next airbrush the background waves and let dry.
13. After all parts are dry, place all pieces together on backboard. Trace outline of piece on backboard. Remove pieces and then add glue to area. Place each piece down on top of glue.
14. For the turtle shell, place small pieces of wood underneath the turtle shell pieces to raise it up a bit. This will give the shell a domed dimension.
15. Position weights around the edge and let the whole piece dry for 24 hours.
16. Trim excess wood from backboard; sand and stain outside edges. Finish edges of turtle by airbrushing and hand painting some detail.
17. Attach hardware and wire to back. Hang and enjoy.
Website: www.intarsiabynick.com
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