How To Make A Driftwood Sculpture

What are the driftwood sculptures? What are the steps of making a driftwood sculpture?  How these amazing artworks are being made?

Creativity and human art, these are not endless.

There is a wise sentence that says: if there were no art, the facts of life will be choking the man.

Movie: Poetry (2010) – directed by Lee Chang-dong

Sometimes along the rivers and beaches, you may see some pieces of wood that are very worn out and appear to be unusable, except to be used to burn in the fireplace.

but with the help of creativity and artistic ingenuity, these seemingly worthless woods could turn into artwork.

In this article, we are going to introduce this art to you. We’ll review how to make a driftwood sculpture.

You can also try out. Maybe you create beautiful sculptures too.

What is Driftwood?

To define the driftwood, it must be said that driftwood is a wood that has been washed by water and soil or other natural agents during the time.

The driftwoods are found mostly on the shores and rivers.

Due to long-lasting contact with water and sand, the texture of this wood has undergone a change and transformation.

The driftwoods are of interest because of their unique color and texture.

Driftwoods can be Part of the trees around the seas that have come to the shores of the sea by the tide.

Even maybe it is a part of a sunken ship.

Anyways, any driftwood has its own story, which has made them mysterious.

Perhaps the interest of some people on the driftwoods is due to their vague history.

What is a Driftwood Sculpture?

A driftwood sculpture is a handmade sculpture which contains one or a lot of driftwoods. Driftwood is the basic part of it but other materials such as stones and metal may be used in them.

Usually, driftwood sculptures are made of multiple parts, but there is one piece that is considered as a base.

The driftwoods are free to use. Use them to make sculpture projects that you can sell at art festivals or give them to friends and family as a gift.

Steps of Making a Driftwood Sculpture

Well, are you going to make wooden art? It’s great, making a driftwood sculpture like making everything else has different steps that we’ll mention here.

Selection of Driftwoods

For Selection of the suitable driftwood, open your eyes and let your imagination decide.

Your selections are possible to be based on the natural shape of an available piece or it may be for a specific purpose.

When you look around at the beach, you can find a piece of driftwood and select it as the base of work.

Cleaning Driftwoods 

After selection of driftwoods, you must clean them.

To cleaning, boil them in a container filled with water to free them from tiny creatures, dirt and dust, bacteria and fine worms.

Rinse large parts thoroughly with water to prepare for making a driftwood sculpture.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Fill a bucket of water. Let woods stay inside it for one day. Change the blackened water several times.
2. Remove the woods, clean it with a long old toothbrush and remove the remaining sand.
3. Boil them for 2 to 3 times. Do this for two days to eliminate any bacteria that have survived from the driftwoods.
4. Let the wood dry in the sun. It takes three days for it to be completely dry and ready for polishing.

Tip:

You can use lacquer to make a glossy driftwood. Wait a few minutes to dry. Use a woolen cloth to rub on the woods.

Joining Driftwood Pieces

Now it’s time to join the different pieces of driftwoods for making a driftwood sculpture.

Before that, according to your design, some pieces maybe need sanding or carving. You can use metal or wooden pins to join driftwood pieces.

To do this, it is necessary first to specify points and drill holes.

Then put the pieces together in the same way by placing the pins in place and using glue. For this, you can use a hot-glue gun.

Coloring and Burning

You can paint your statue if you wish, also use the art of burning on the wood and you can make it more beautiful by painting parts of your statue.

By burning, you can create a special texture on it and make it more amazing.

Anyways, you need to have a little artistic imagination. The choice is yours. I myself do not want to paint driftwood sculptures and agree with burning because of its natural look and attractive shape.

A Few Ideas For Making Driftwood Sculpture

You can use your creativity to create a variety of driftwood sculptures.

Here are some examples of artworks which are made by different artists.

These simple projects are just for inspiration here. You can make countless driftwood sculptures, depending on the strength of your mind and imagination.

In this article, you saw the steps of building a driftwood sculpture. But driftwood sculptures are very diverse, and anyone with their own taste can make a new shape.

If you’ve also made one of these sculptures, send us the picture of your artwork through our contact page to put it here with your name.