Choosing what SS Pattern’s to do?

[FrankEV]

In a reply to my Sands of Time Slipping By post in Bragging Rights, meflick wrote: “I think with Steve’s (Steve Good) patterns, he aims for fairly easy to do projects that don’t take a lot of time for new scrollers and those with little time to work on big projects.  I think that serves a large audience and is needed, especially in bringing new people to the hobby. However, You, Dave and many others on here are much more advanced and detailed in your work so I can see where you would not regularly find things on his site appealing to your needs. That’s why it’s good we have other good artists who do more intricate and detail patterns as well. Plus, you and Dave both like to come up with your own ideas or spin on things…“

The part of his reply is something I have been giving a lot of thought to of late.  I for one, get bored easily so doing the same type of projects over and over makes me get bored very quickly.  That is why finding and choosing what Scroll Saw Pattern’s to do has becomeo difficult.

The following is intended to just open a discussion with no right’s or wrong’s, but maybe just some insite’s as to how WE, as individuals, treat this part of our activity. Here is me waxing out load:

Yes, we have great Artist/pattern makers that produce a wonderful array of patterns for those of us who are not so talented in that area of this hobby.   However, that to me is a slight problem, as I don't care to be a "copycat", if you can understand my meaning. 

Also, portraits (people faces) are not my thing nor is many of the other typical topics such as Indians, western scenes, cabins, mountains, etc.  And even though I have done a lot of Eagle patterns, many bird patterns, a quite a few big cat patterns and others, some domestic animals (Cats and Dogs) as well as many wildlife patterns are not on the top of my to-do list.  And, this is just me, but I do not generally do religious patterns as I feel they are in the category with political work that expresses an opinion that may not be appreciated by all who reads these posts in SSV.   

Then there is the fact that I like to add color to my work, and many of the “typical” Scroll Saw patterns are mainly intended as a B&W (dark and light contrasting wood colors) image. Patterns of florals, birds, butterfly’s, etc. are all subjects that lend themselves to having color added.

Also, as current resident of Florida, my taste in subjects, especially for my “ART”, is more “southern, ocean, beachy, boating, tropical, etc” which, with few exceptions, are not typical Scroll Saw Pattern subjects.

Although I consider myself as a somewhat talented Craftsman who produces “ART” with a Scroll Saw, as I stated above, some of us are not the talented Artist/pattern makers that we would like to be.   As a result, in order to keep from getting bored with the subjects I cut, I have been forced to become somewhat skilled at working in Inkscape and have resorted to kind of pilfering (free, non-copyrighted, royalty free) images from varied on-line sources that I can convert into scroll saw patterns.  Some of which have turned out good and some not quite so much.  I still have a lot to learn.

Now it is your turn to jump in and add your thoughts.

[WayneMahler]

I fully agree with what you had to say Frank. I too really enjoy the more intricate patterns .I do a lot of "Faith" based or "Religious" work and sell a lot of it. Just part of doing business. So the simpler patterns are easy to get out quickly and are a better choice for those selling their art work. There are many great designers out there that do more detailed patterns. There many different aspects to what we do. From cutting to creating to helping others.  Sometimes finding that next piece takes as much patience and effort as the work itself. 

[preprius]

I always have this question, what to do next.  I do not sell my work yet. I am not retired. I don't like being copy cat either.  

I usually try new stuff.  I like to stay away from what a laser can do.  Handwork is fun.

Fretwork patterns I have learned to try to fit them in my next project. Bowls , cowboy hats. 

Intarsia / segmentation  patterns are good to play with. But intarsia just hangs on a wall.  I like to make stuff somewhat functional.  Hour glass is an example of both art and functional.

I love Franks Fine Artwork. He has the eye for elegance. 

Kinetic art sounds really fun. I would add motors instead of springs. But making gears is more for lasers. This is my opinion and my basic rule. 

I also look at stuff beyond scrollsaw projects.   Can I make it with a scrollsaw?  Wood turners projects don't have to be cylinders.  Bottle stoppers are handles,  scrollsaws can do handles.

That is my summary. 

Please comment, add your opinions and join in the discussion.

Me. Mark Eason

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by preprius

[CSull]

I always like thinking outside the typical patterns when I can.  I still haven't been able to make myself sit down and learn the pattern making programs-a short attention span does not help that endeavor.  That being said I often look at a pattern I like and then butcher it in my own way. I posted an example -I took a Steve Good vase pattern and turned it into a blue tooth speaker vase.  I think I understand what Frank is saying and I agree with him.  As an aside one thing I learned while venturing into all of this is to CAREFULLY look over any pattern before trying to cut it.  It seems there are people producing patterns who never try to cut them after they create them. If they did they would have seen that some things are impossible to cut due to size,  position etc.

And kudos to Frank's work  with the color-like your parrot cuts-the color really makes them pop.

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, CSull said:

I always like thinking outside the typical patterns when I can.  I still haven't been able to make myself sit down and learn the pattern making programs-a short attention span does not help that endeavor.  That being said I often look at a pattern I like and then butcher it in my own way. I posted an example -I took a Steve Good vase pattern and turned it into a blue tooth speaker vase.  I think I understand what Frank is saying and I agree with him.  As an aside one thing I learned while venturing into all of this is to CAREFULLY look over any pattern before trying to cut it.  It seems there are people producing patterns who never try to cut them after they create them. If they did they would have seen that some things are impossible to cut due to size,  position etc.

And kudos to Frank's work  with the color-like your parrot cuts-the color really makes them pop.

 

That's a neat idea! Beautiful work too.

[Dak0ta52]

Well, being somewhat new to scrolling (a little over a year), I still enjoy the portrait type projects although they can be very time consuming. I do like the western themes as well as some of the more rustic patterns. I try to sell some of my work as an attempt to re-coop some of my expense however I know I would never re-coop my time on some of the more elaborate projects. Someone posted a few days ago that it had taken them about 40 hours to finish a cutting. If you value your time at $20 an hour, you would be looking at $800 for just the time alone for a single piece.

Don't get me wrong. I scroll for the relaxation and joy of scrolling. I like to know I can take a raw piece of wood and turn it into something I call art. Selling projects is just a means of a supplemental income to augment my scroll saw hobby. I've done a lot of Steve Good patterns and I'm currently working on a couple commissions using several of his patterns, but I look forward to completing these commissions so I can get back to what I enjoy most, the portraits.

I've dabbled in pattern creating and actually completed my first pattern recently. I haven't posted it because it is a pattern of my best friend Hershey who is a long hair Chihuahua sitting on a stump after Hurrican Matthew. I like the subject and surrounding area but there is a lot of distraction in the background. In other words, I feel it needs work.

I hope to one day be able to tackle one of the large elaborate clocks or towers you see with the very detailed fretwork, but then I see some of Frank's posts with the beautiful colors... or some of the works from other talented scrollers on this forum. I'm in awe at some of the crafts the members on this site create.

I've rambled enough and will close by saying I scroll for ME! It relaxes me, it is something I enjoy, I learn something almost every time I sit at the saw and the outcome is something I, and hopefully others, enjoy looking at.

[Oldmansbike]

I agree with Frank. The portraits and scene cutting isn’t for me. I enjoy making the big fret work clocks. I do other kinds of woodworking too but the scroll saw is my favorite tool.

[TAIrving]

My experience has been much the same as Frank's.  I learned scrolling with Steve Good patterns and the like.  Then I moved into increasingly complex fretwork.  

Along the way I have been studying and sampling many different woods and am intrigued by the qualities and differences.  

I have recently acquired other woodworking tools but still think of my scroll saw as special to me.  

I do not sell my work yet but am starting to get requests for wood projects.  My current project/request is for a sign for the St Vincent de Paul building at our church.  I will post pictures as I progress with it.  Check out their website at SVDP USA – Providing Assistance to Those in Need for Over 175 Years (ssvpusa.org).  

[BadBob]

14 hours ago, CSull said:

seems there are people producing patterns who never try to cut them

I make toys, and I have seen this repeatedly. One designer admitted this to me after an extended discussion via email. One toy designer has never admitted not building his designs, but he posts rendered photos. Never a photo of an actual toy that he built. When you go to build the toys, you sometimes discover obvious errors and design flaws or parts that are near impossible to make or so weak they are easily broken. All of which would easily be discovered if he had done a test build as part of the proofing.

 

[BadBob]

I'm primarily a toymaker. I made toys for girls, and later, when my grandson was born, I started making toys for him. He loves my toys and would keep every one of them if I let him.

I have made many fretwork shelves and enjoy making them and plan to get back to them.

I don't like portraits and probably would never cut one.

I have no problem using someone else's design or paying for it. However, I make changes to almost everything.

I like some silhouettes and have made a few plans to make more in the future.

Bowls, baskets, and ornaments especially compound cut ornaments. Bowls and baskets are still on the want to try list.

I want to make some chess sets. I started one years ago, and my kids kept taking the pieces plus work got in the way. A couple of weeks ago, my grandson asked me to make a chess set, so a chess set has moved to near the top of my list.

I sell online, so the business and my grandson drive what I make.

 

[Blaughn]

AS I progressed, I started out with pictures found on Steve Good's website.  They were plenty challenging and I learned the needed techniques needed to branch out into other projects.  I stumbled across Sheila Landry's website:  http://sheilalandrydesigns.com/free-pattern/  and started word art plaques done in cherry.  These have been gifted to people on various occasions and seemingly appreciated.  Then, thanks to Travis' great work in teaching the ins and outs of Inkscape, I started designing my own word art plaques.

I enjoy the process of making the board stock out of cherry and the process of cutting the pattern and the finishing of the final product.  

[kmmcrafts]

Portrait art is what I started out doing. My very first projects was more complex and not really beginner type portrait projects. I do not have pictures of my very first few projects as they was given away and the pictures are long gone from a computer hard drive that crashed and wiped out all my patterns and pictures. Fortunately I learned to make back-ups and back-ups to my back-ups and also have cloud storage for some of the more important things like patterns. 

Frank is quite fortunate to be able to get into the art museum to sell off a few of his works of art. Portrait work is what I started with but as has been mentioned, finding subjects to cut and in my case finding shoppers that like the said subjects.. Portrait art is probably one of the hardest things to sell as it is just that.. " wall hanging art " not to take away from shelf sitting art. In one way shape or form we all are creating art.. I think some use the term with a lot of emphasis while others don't put in enough on the term, including myself LOL.. some see portrait work as just a piece of wood full of holes.. Just as I see some of those art paintings that look like several paint cans exploded onto a canvas just that.. paint can exploded, LOL  I'm probably one that doesn't use the term art strong enough.. BUT, I do that because of the wide open opinion of the term and many forms of art out there. I show pieces to my friends / family / customers and let them say the term for me if they see fit. I've had many "most" folks say my car clocks are works of art.. I've seen people say they're just a clock too.. and that's okay.. In my head they are art and I don't need to prove it or point it out to anyone.. I just don't push the term. 

My favorite things to make is the things that people want, LOL.. ie I like making that special personalized gift that's exactly what the customer wanted. Aside from that my favorite is Christmas ornaments because being a Christian, Christmas time is a special time of the year for all Christians. Making ornaments that people buy ( some personalized ones ) that are gifts bring a couple different things to mind. First being the purchaser got a gift for someone special in their lives. Second is the fact that that person digs out the gift every year for decorations and is reminded of the moment / gift giver etc. of the said gift. Many return customers come and custom order a design that is themed to special moments of the said year.  I have pieces that are special to people that they hang up as a decoration in many peoples homes all around the world.

Selling online ( in my experience ) opens up a communication / friendships so to speak with many customers. While craft shows you get the one on one in person interaction but many of those customers you never hear from unless you run into them at the show again the following year. You hardly ever hear back from them or get any kind of feedback.. While you hand out business cards.. most get lost / tossed so said customer may not ever give you any feedback or reviews. I have a large number of emails/ messages because the customer has online records of their orders and my contact is all over the place for said customers to freely contact. It's really cool to get a follow-up story and some even send videos of my item ( their gift ) being opened to see the reactions etc. 

So at the end of the day, I do this for the smiles and the special gifts.. doesn't really matter to me saw time is saw time.. doesn't matter what I'm making. Some think it's about the money for me and it's totally not. But without the money I couldn't stay in business to do this kind of thing so it does have to be a little about money. If I was mostly worried about the money I would be doing a different business that created larger profits. 

This portrait is one of my first few projects.. How to know? I didn't learn about the stability of plywood until I progressed 6 months or so into my scrolling. This piece is made from solid 1/8" red oak. I also learned that red oak while it was widely available in 1/8" also has a lot of distracting grain when doing portrait works.. I switch to basswood after red oak, before finally discovering plywood. LOL

  

 

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by kmmcrafts

[timelett]

 What I wanted to learn when I started with a scroll saw, thanks to Kevin, for offering to sell me a nice saw to practice on. I learned a lot on this project. Inlay is what I like to do. 

 

[BadBob]

22 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

some see portrait work as just a piece of wood full of holes

That would be me. Although, I occasionally see one I like.

[BadBob]

One thing I do not get is signs/plaques. Steve Good makes a lot of patterns for these. Most of them look like a waste of time and wood.

[kmmcrafts]

11 minutes ago, BadBob said:

One thing I do not get is signs/plaques. Steve Good makes a lot of patterns for these. Most of them look like a waste of time and wood.

Actually a pretty big market for them too.. but not so much for a generic one maybe.. I can't tell you how many request I get on etsy for a sign to hang out in front of a campsite with names and a campfire graphic or other graphic added. Actually just got a request yesterday for one, LOL.. Big reason I bought my CNC router was to make this type of signage.. Now to find time to actually run it.. LOL  

[Norm Fengstad]

I am retired and also a nuisance in the kitchen so shop and scroll saw has become a passion I buy patterns from pattern makers, use the help yourself pattern makers from SSV pattern site. I have tried a few pattern making projects using the HB pencil as the inkscape programs are bit beyond my computer ability. A few days ago I down loaded a picture of a kitten that I found on Frank Ev's  brag site. A simple easy cut pattern . 

[BadBob]

22 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Actually a pretty big market for them too.. but not so much for a generic one maybe.. I can't tell you how many request I get on etsy for a sign to hang out in front of a campsite with names and a campfire graphic or other graphic added. Actually just got a request yesterday for one, LOL.. Big reason I bought my CNC router was to make this type of signage.. Now to find time to actually run it.. LOL  

Custom signs I understand.

[FrankEV]

22 hours ago, Norm Fengstad said:

... A few days ago I down loaded a picture of a kitten that I found on Frank Ev's  brag site...

I share many of my converted patterns in Pattern Announcements, or just message me and ask.  I don't share patterns that aready exist by others (like fron the pattern gallery) or those I may have purchased and have not done any kind of conversion that makes it unique to me.  Just note that most of my patterns need to be printed on 11x17 paper.

Edited April 24, 2022 by FrankEV

[Gene Howe]

I'm just now learning or, trying to learn  the ins and outs of my gifted De Walt 788. But, I'm intrigued with Catol Rothman's bowls and boxes. I don't think fret work will be in my future. Though, intarsia looks interesting. And, puzzles, too. I like to build functional and/or manipulable stuff, best. Combining scrolled work with power carving seems a good avenue to venture down, too. Possibly some marquetry as well. 

[Ctutor]

Interesting discussion.  I bought a bunch of Alex Foxe's pattern when I heard about him losing is home and stuff when the Russian invasion of the Ukraine hit his area.  Never intended to cut the patterns but the more I looked at them the more intrigued I became in particular some of the more intricate patterns.  Am now a fan of his.  The cutting is a challenge in some cases but the assembly and final result are worth it.  He sells them at a very dirt cheap rate on Etsy.  What talent that person has.  Don't see how his sales keep family going but apparently they do.

[don watson]

On 4/24/2022 at 5:02 PM, FrankEV said:

I share many of my converted patterns in Pattern Announcements, or just message me and ask.  I don't share patterns that aready exist by others (like fron the pattern gallery) or those I may have purchased and have not done any kind of conversion that makes it unique to me.  Just note that most of my patterns need to be printed on 11x17 paper.

As a 'still learning' scroller I love the stuff you do Frank. The timely reminder that your patterns are best printed on 11" x 17" paper reminds me that here in the UK we (mostly) use A4 paper and a lot of stuff we get is Letter size from the USA. This presents an initial problem as when I see a pattern I like and dash of a print it never fits my paper. I must start with an A3 paper copy, this size is twice the size of A4 (420mm x 297mm) and is an ideal size for cutting on a normal 16" scroll saw. Any patterns I get that are Letter size are plonked in the middle of the page with a lot of room around them and I can use Inkscape (or Gimp) to resize them to A3 or A4, in fact I have beside me a letter I just received from a friend in Canada and the Letter size paper is around 1/4" wider and 5/8" - 3/4" shorter than my A4 paper. Not a big problem when you know what to look for but a real pain when starting scrolling.

[crupiea]

I started out with fretwork like most of us did.

One day I was working on a piece and couldnt really tell what I was lookin at so I put the pieces I had cut out back in to sort of get some prespective.

Then it hit me thats what I want to do.  Cut the pieces out, paint them and put them back in. 

Created a learning curve of course like what to do with the holes and such but it was simple enough to figure out. 
 

After that I can now basically just find any old picture, print it out and thats my pattern.  no longer need to worry about bridges and the like because basically, all of the pieces are going to become detached.  The hardest part is saving the tiny pieces, labelling as to not only the color but where they go back in. I came up with my own coding system for that with just some lines and x's and such. 
 

Now I can do ones with hundreds of tiny pieces but of course it took my some time to work up to that.  Fun process though and always more challenging. 
 

Flowers are one of my favorites, that and military type plaques and signs.