WIP: Part 2- Carving a crazy nature theme back scratcher!

WIP= "Work in progress"

I just finished all of the initial carving this afternoon, then I lightly touched it up with 220 grit sandpaper and steel wool. I didn't sand it to death but just enough to give it a slightly worn look when finished. The sanding phase was also needed this time to remove all of the body "gunk" that three weeks of carrying it around the campus tucked in my belt like a policeman's billy club and you know that the kids have enjoyed trying it out by scratching every body part known to man! :)

After the carving and sanding I got to looking at it and was thinking about how Lynn Doughty on the Woodcarving Illustrated message board highlights most of his caricature carvings with his woodburning pen before applying paint. With that in mind I decided to take the plunge and experiment with highlighting the raised relief carving on my backscratcher with some woodburning of my own and hope that I didn't make a big mistake. So far I really like the look but I haven't even added any color yet so if distractions are kept to a minimum I will discover the final result tomorrow when I begin applying my color washes. Sometimes you've just gotta try new stuff even if it means putting 3 weeks of carving work at risk. May the games begin!