Spear & Cauldron

Hey all! We've got a pair of drawings and a painting available for sale. All three are done on heavy-weight, acid-free archival paper, and come matted, framed, and ready to hang on your wall.

"Gawain's Pentangle" - pen & ink; 8" x 10" (matted size); framed

"Sunwise Circle" - pen & ink; 8" x 10" (matted); framed

"Celtic Longsword" - watercolor, pen & ink; 8" x 10" (matted); framed

DM us for pricing if you're interested. Also, if you buy the two pen & ink drawings as a set, we'll give them to you at a discount. 😁

Thank you all!

New product just became available in the shop! This time it's traditional, hand-crafted Iron Gall Ink. Look at these fancy jars! 🧐

Iron gall ink has been made from oak galls for over a millennium; it was one of the most commonly used inks in Europe from the late Classical era through modern times, and has only recently begun to fall out of use in the last 50-75 years or so. It serves as a great ink for calligraphy, pen & ink drawing, and even painting.

Supplies are limited for the time being until we can get a more reliable source for these amazing, UV-protective apothecary jars, so head on over to the shop and get yours while they last.

As always, thank you for the views and your support!

Traditional Iron Gall Ink Oak Gall Ink 100 Ml Handmade Ink Calligraphy Ink Fountain Pen Ink - Etsy This Ink item is sold by SpearAndCauldron. Ships from Federal Way, WA. Listed on Apr 29, 2024

Interested in reading some thought-provoking sci-fi written by an actual scientist? Sci-fi that isn't afraid to ask the difficult questions of ethics that are becoming increasingly relevant to our survival as a species? Sci-fi about a group of children raised by a sentient AI on a starship hurtling across millenia to a (potential) new home, light-years away? Or maybe you're just interested in reading about a bunch of kids from the future playing The Legend of Zelda for the first time...?

If any of these things pique your interest, then The Human Dispersal Project is a must-read! Head on over to Proavia Press and check out the details.

[HDP Log: Projected Launch Date Status] | Proavia Press Book Launch News! | "Pleasantly complex and filled with heart, [HDP] melds exuberant sci-fi storytelling with a compelling existential mystery." – IndieReader

New batch of traditional Iron Gall Ink is done! Once we source some good UV-proof bottles (hopefully in the next few days), this will be going up for sale in the shop. ✒️

This is one of those rare occasions when looking in a bucket and seeing a bunch of mold is a good thing. Happy to infodump about it in the comments, if anyone is interested. 🤓

And now for something completely different...

We have a freshly cured batch of hand-milled soap available over in the Etsy shop. This is a rustic, handmade soap using high-quality natural ingredients, and it was a lot of fun to make. Between this and the experiment of making lye from wood ash, I'm realizing how much of the chemistry I once knew has been forgotten. 😆

Almond oil, Coconut oil, Ghee, and French green clay make a soap that is soft enough to work up a decent lather, very cleansing but not harsh on the skin, and hard enough to last even in the damp environment of your tub or shower's soap dish.

Essential oils of Rosemary and Cedar give this soap a mildly fresh, evergreen smell. And because we like things to be Fancy, the soap is wrapped with craft paper and twine and wax-sealed with our S&C logo stamp.

Each hand-cut bar is at least 3.25 oz. in weight.

Available with free shipping in our Etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpearAndCauldron

I was working up a new design for a wall plaque and decided to run with it as a fine art piece as well, so this original is up for sale.

"Gawain's Pentagram" - 6 in. x 9 in., dip pen & ink

This drawing was done with our house-made Iron Gall Ink on off-white Stonehenge 100% cotton, acid-free archival paper. It has three coats of clear varnish and is mounted on a chipboard backing, matted in hunter green, so it's all ready for framing (matted dimensions 9 in. x 12 in.).

Asking $100, including shipping. If you're interested, please let us know!

Linocut. I really like silver birches

-Liv

🌲 The Winter Holiday Season starts today at Spear & Cauldron! 🌲

With the holidays officially underway, you might find yourself in need of some thoughtful, one-of-a-kind gifts. If great jewelry, art, or woodcrafts are on your list, Spear & Cauldron has you covered. Now through December 26th, everything in the shop is 15% off! Inventory on these unique, handmade items is limited, so get them before they're gone. Not only will you get a good deal, you'll also get the satisfaction of supporting real artists and craftspeople.

No promo code necessary; just head to https://spearandcauldron.etsy.com/

Thank you all, and Happy Holidays! ☺️

We've been kind of quiet lately, but that doesn't mean we've been idle. The latest rabbit hole is making me realize just how much chemistry I've forgotten in the last couple decades... Re-learning it has been an interesting challenge. 🤓

(Bonus points if any of you nerds out there can guess what I'm up to from these hints)

Found some leaves on campus. Might make some of these into prints if there's interest.

Thank you for modeling at last night's drink and draw at ! Here are a few of the drawings and paintings that happened! Myself, and , will tag the other one when I get her info 🥰

Pairing up crystals for earring sets. No two are alike of course, but I like finding out who their sister will be.

Got myself a bigger light tent because shooting product photos in my tiny one was such a pain, and I had to do a lot more editing to make up for the lack of space than I wanted to. Photo editing makes me want to unalive when I could be making stuff. Dog for scale.

Credit is the link in the bottom of the title.

"Generative" AI is being used for theft. I have heard the argument many times that all art is theft, but it's such a gross misconstruction of how motor learning actually works.

There is a big difference between influence and plagiarism.

Sometimes, we still moonlight as illustrator.

Commissioned very long overdue update portrait of a friend in the coastguard. He just got promoted and the uniform needed to match his rank :>

I'm not accepting any new commissioned work right now since I still have ancient backlogs to tackle, but when those are done I might consider it again.

Litha is come and gone.

The growing dark is a good reminder to find, create, and care for your own light.

There are plenty who only come around when the sun is shining. Look for candles in your darkness, too.

Summer beginning sale! Get 10$ off if you spend 50 or more in the shop. Use promo code RITESOFSPRING at checkout. ;)

SpearAndCauldron - Etsy Shop Selling jewlery, woodwork, art, and decor by SpearAndCauldron located in Seattle, Washington.

Hey folks! So we are THIS CLOSE to gaining Star Seller status on Etsy! Just one or two more orders will totally get us there. If you've been contemplating placing an order and just haven't pulled the trigger yet, doing that before June 1st would be a huge help towards getting our shop more online visibility.

There's a bunch of new stuff listed, and we're offering free shipping on just about every item, so head on over and check it out!

As always, thanks so much! 😁

Our hand-crafted Oaken Longsword is now up for sale! Head on over to the Etsy shop and check it out.

🗡🗡🗡

Oaken Longsword Training Sword Wooden Waster - Etsy This Martial Arts & Boxing item is sold by SpearAndCauldron. Ships from Federal Way, WA. Listed on May 22, 2023

A couple more photos of the new oak longsword trainer. This item will be going up in the Etsy shop soon!

Gorgeous wooden sword with a hand stitched leather wrap that Jon made. We like to try out new things that challenge us as makers and artisans.

That feeling when you plan a simple, sturdy wheel pommel for your sword, but you don't drill a large enough pilot hole for your nail and split the wood as a result, so in order to salvage the project you decide to hand-carve the remnants into a Frankish-inspired lobe pommel instead. 😐

WIP - Oak Longsword trainer. More pics to come!

More new items are up in the shop! We have a gorgeous candlestick, a pewter & maple bottle opener, and a madrona chalice or goblet that appears to be cursed?! Also, don't forget about our refurbished antique hatchet with the hand-carved haft! More items will be going up soon, so check back often.

Oh! and don't forget most items qualify for free shipping! 😎

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpearAndCauldron

Hey folks, new item listed on the Etsy! Get yourself a refurbished antique hatchet with a handmade haft. 🤠

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1474235509/antique-olympia-hatchet-refurbished-hand

New finished piece! You're looking at an antique Olympia hatchet head mounted on a hand-carved, seasoned Madrona handle.

The wood for the handle was harvested last year from my own property, and this piece was carefully selected for its straight, tight grain with no cracks, knots, or splits. It was carved by hand and meticulously sanded up to 400 grit. I then stained it with my homemade iron oxide solution to give the handle the deep, "antique wood" shade you see here, and finished it with our homemade finishing paste of linseed oil and beeswax for an attractive, satin sheen.

Due to the antique nature of the axe head, I opted to remove only the active rust and leave a nice, well-worn patina on the head. This also serves to preserve the original maker's mark and safety warning. Finally, I ground a new edge, then sharpened and polished it up to 1000 grit. The end result is a gorgeous, sturdy, and very functional antique hatchet.

This will be going up in the shop in the coming days, so check back soon!

Progress

Roughing out a piece of madrona for a hatchet handle. We'll see how it turns out!