Sanding and Finishing
Once Melody's masterful art of stone inlay is complete, its nearly ready to reside in its new home. Final sanding of the wood is the next step. Kurt starts with a lower grit sandpaper and uses finer grits as he progresses. Each time he advances to a higher grit sandpaper, he removes the scratches from the previous layer. When there are no visible sanding marks, it is now ready for a finish.
“This is the most difficult work we do, sanding the stone and glue without touching the wood while using the coarse sandpaper. Melody is not allowed to sand anymore because of the large divots she creates in the wood. ”
Kurt is fairly certain, if Melody is in a foul mood, she puts extra glue on the inlay to make him work just that much harder to sand it down to a smooth surface. There is no comment from Melody on that claim…
Each piece is signed by the artists with the location of where the wood was sourced and the date it was completed. It is then hand finished by Melody with many coats of a food safe tung oil.
“I love how the finish allows the woodwork to shine, this is one of the most rewarding parts of the process”
One last go at the buffing wheel to bring out the smooth, mirror finish and the artwork is ready to live it’s second life as a beautiful and functional piece of art.
You can see the breadth of Melody and Kurt’s finished art at their home gallery in Millcreek, Utah or browse the website for highlights of their work and opportunities to purchase your own Spirit and Soul of the Tree creation.
