Happy Autumn, Semi-Aquatic humans!

The sun has shifted, the tides are changing, the leaves are beginning to turn and the days are cooler and crisper! As we roll into this transitional season, we invite you to Dive Deeper into Spencer Reynolds’ most recent artistic exploration.

Always wanting to experiment with diverse media and expand his creative palate, Spencer purchased a laser. By using a laser for etching into wood, he can create detailed art pieces that are not possible to produce with other wood-art methods such as hand engraving or carving. He uses the laser for numerous projects including making gallery signage, art pieces, magnets and decorations.

“Thunder Dreaming” Laser Etching

An original design (text, images, art, graphics, etc) is downloaded to the laser and converted into a format that allows the laser beam to follow the lines of the design precisely. For some pieces, Spencer has the laser create a stencil of the design, then the laser follows the shape of the stencil. For others, the laser etches the wood directly from the program and even cuts the wood around the piece to create a perfect frame! 

The actual etching begins when the laser beam hits the surface of the wood and rapidly heats it up, causing it to pretty much vaporize!  The laser beam continues to move along the contour of the design vaporizing the wood as it goes. The whole process can take many hours.

The laser at work etching “Dream Dweller”       “Dream Dweller” finished       

His first laser piece is called “Dream Dweller.” This cool looking owl-creature appeared to him in a dream as a tiny, transparent, floating friend who was following him while he was walking on a trail. Interestingly, a few days later, Spencer happened to watch the Hayao Miyazaki animated film, “My Neighbor Totoro,” and was surprised and delighted to see tiny, floating owlish spirit creatures portrayed as friends and guides. 

Other etched designs are images of his original pen and ink drawings.

“3+6+0” print                                                       “3+6+0” laser etching with blue wash

These cool magnets and other laser etched pieces are available at Semi Aquatic Gallery or by special order. 

Get out there and enjoy these autumn days and thanks for Diving Deeper with Spencer Reynolds!