https://ritualdust.com/craft/ Recent content in Craft on Ritual dust Hugo -- gohugo.io en-ca https://ritualdust.com/craft/cottage-restoration/ Sun, 11 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/cottage-restoration/ Derelict cottage in the Irish landscape Table of contents Glossary Finding a cottage Inspection and survey Planning Walls Floors Roof Windows and doors Heating Resources I’m building this page to collect my notes, research and resources on the restoration of traditional Irish cottages. It is a project I’m planning to do with some help in the future when we move to Ireland so I’m doing a lot of prep and research work in advance to be ready when we get to it. https://ritualdust.com/craft/tattoo-station-setup/ Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/tattoo-station-setup/ Table of contents Setup Teardown Green soap recipe Setup Step 1: setup surface Wash your hands Put on gloves Spray top of station with water or alcohol Cover top of station with plastic film, leaving some overhanging Cover power supply with bag Tape a dental bib on top of station Step 2: prepare supplies If making a large tattoo or one with a lot of a color of ink it's best to take out more ink cups and fill them than having to refill during the tattoo Take out these supplies and lay them on the station: new disposable razor machine bag (cut a corner) disposable grip (drop without touching) clip cord bag (only touch ends) wash bottle bag rubber nipple ink caps small strip of tape enough strips of paper towels for the tattoo Cover green soap bottle with a bottle bag, while touching the outside of the plastic as little as possible, making sure to cover the bottom, then put it on the station Using a wooden stick, scoop some vaseline and then using the other side scoop some shea butter (or other tattooing lotion), then put the vaseline on the top of station to hold the stick in place and stick it in in with the vaseline and lotion on top Get your ink caps out, dip the bottom of them in vaseline and stick them to the wooden stick Get the needles that you’ll need for the tattoo out and put them on the station Step 3: prepare machine Keep the machine and clip cord on the tattoo bed until they are fully bagged to prevent cross-contamination of the clean station Slide clip cord in clip cord bag while touching the bag as little as possible, protect part of clip cord closest to the machine Plug clip cord in power supply and keep the other end covered with the bag on the station Take the disposable grip and slide the tube part through the small hole in the machine bag, then reverse the bag on your hand and the grip Grab your machine and attach it to the grip, then pull back the machine bag on the machine Plug the clip cord in the machine and tape the machine bag close, now you can put the machine on the station step 4: prepare tattoo bed Once everything is off the tattoo bed, spray it with medical disinfectant and leave it on for the maximum kill time Wrap the area where the tattooed body part if gonna be, plus a bit larger with plastic film If using an arm rest, clean it and cover it with plastic film too Step 5: Prepare and apply stencil Step 6: pour ink Once the stencil is applied and drying, put a new set of gloves Shake your ink and pour it in the ink cup and get ready for tattooing Teardown Wash your hands and put on gloves Remove needle from grip, put all needles in needle disposal container Remove the plastic covering the tattoo bed without touching the top surface, wrap it in a ball and throw it away Remove grip from machine and leave it on the station Drop machine and cable out of plastic on the tattoo bed, leave the bags on the station drop the wash bottle out of its bag onto the bed without touching it and leave the bag on the station Wrap all the stuff on the station in the plastic without touching the top surface and throw it away, removing your gloves at the same time Put on a new pair of gloves Spray the tattoo bed, station top, machine, wash bottle, clip cord and power supply with medical disinfectant and leave on for the maximum length of the kill time Green soap recipe In a 16 oz wash bottle mix the pure green soap with distilled water in a ration of 1 part green soap for 8 parts water. https://ritualdust.com/craft/tattoo-stencil-application/ Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/tattoo-stencil-application/ Table of contents find size Copy stencil Prep skin Apply stencil Step 1: Find design size Print the design in black and white in a size that seems good for the placement Cut around the printed design and try it on the body of the client, making sure the size is good If needed, resize with the printer, print again and double check the new size Step 2: Copy stencil by hand Once the good size was found, get a sheet of stencil paper and remove the tissue paper barrier Tape the printed design on top of the stencil paper to prevent it from moving Using a ballpoint pen, trace over the lines of the design while applying good pressure Before removing the design, make sure all the lines are copied Remove the taped design and cut the stencil to size Place it onto the tattoo bed, stencil side up Step 2: Copy stencil with a thermal stencil machine Once the good size was found, tape the design on a blank sheet of paper, leaving some room at the bottom Get a sheet of stencil paper and remove the tissue paper barrier Place the stencil paper in the machine Place the sheet with the design in the machine Press copy and hold the stencil paper with both hands slowly pulling on it while it copies the design Once the copy is done cut around the stencil and place it onto the tattoo bed, stencil side up Step 3: Prep skin Wash your hands and put on some gloves Take your razor and shave very closely the area you’re gonna tattoo + around 2 inches After the skin is shaved, use an alcohol pad or prep stuff to sterilize the skin Step 4: Apply stencil Once the alcohol has dried, apply a moderately generous amount of stencil stuff to the area, spreading it with your finger to get an even thin coat Hold the stencil over the area and when really sure of placement apply it onto the skin starting from the middle Slowly stick the rest of the stencil to the skin with your finger working from the middle towards the outside Rub it slightly when it’s all stuck to the skin Slowly peel the stencil off Leave to dry for around 10 minutes https://ritualdust.com/craft/agroecology/ Fri, 25 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/agroecology/ Small stream with native plants and logs Table of contents Introduction Concrete examples Links Introduction There’s no mystery that our relationship to nature and the way ecosystems work has shifted dramatically over time, basically almost from the time we started large scale cultivation of crops. Things got further aggravated during colonization with the import of exotic plants, animals and bugs that disrupted the existing relationships and balance present in the native ecosystem. https://ritualdust.com/craft/crust-paper-props/ Sat, 19 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/crust-paper-props/ I recently had the chance to work on the soundtrack for a narrated story called “Crust” released on the Library of the Occult label with Blood and Dust . The story is set in 1976 in rural England in the little town of Greenwood located close to a bog called Andertons Moss where in 1951 a well preserved prehistoric bog body apparently offered to the waters as ritual sacrifice was discovered. https://ritualdust.com/craft/vampire-lock/ Wed, 29 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/vampire-lock/ I sculpted this vampiric lock on top of a real steel padlock and kept it functional. The inspiration for it was a drawing I made last year which you can find in my Sketchbook of December 2020 . My intent was to make something that feels old and a bit out of time and slightly threatening, something you think twice before unlocking. The completed and painted vampiric lock We used this lock in a recent photoshoot for our band Blood and dust . https://ritualdust.com/craft/flail-prop/ Fri, 10 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/flail-prop/ I made a handle for an existing chain and spiky ball that I got as a gift in order to turn them into a flail replica. The feel of the leather on the handle and the weight of the chain and ball is really nice, makes you want to fight enemies in a dank dungeon. The flail, it's long chain and spiky ball The whole thing in context https://ritualdust.com/craft/repainted-toy-scythe/ Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/repainted-toy-scythe/ I repainted and added a wooden handle to this toy scythe we found in a thrift store. I find it has quite a Giger-esque feel to it and works wonders as a photo prop now. Detail of the head of the scythe The whole thing in context https://ritualdust.com/craft/research/ Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/research/ Where I keep my references for crafting, woodworking, low-tech, permacomputing and low-bandwidth web projects. Table of contents Small web Woodworking Tools Electronics Drawing Other crafts Small web Local first apps Notes on writing better image alts Notes on permacomputing Solar protocol for solar powered websites Woodworking Reproductions of early furniture Tools A very complete website on billhooks A website with a lot of instructions on how to make things, all kinds of things The museum of other things Electronics How to broadcast to a CRT TV with a raspberry pi Tool to develop and prototype eurorack modules PCB manufacturing website Drawing and illustration tool to find animal references in a specific angle Other crafts Atelier able - ancient pottery reproduction source for lamp parts https://ritualdust.com/craft/tattooing/ Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/tattooing/ Table of contents Terms Tools Supplies Technique Safety Links Terms CYCLE; Refers to the cycle of motion of the motor of the tattoo machine, pushing the needle out and back in the tube. DWELL TIME; How long the needle is staying in the skin during it's cycle. GIVE (or SPRINGYNESS); The less dwell time a machine has the more springiness or give it has. https://ritualdust.com/craft/leather-belt/ Wed, 28 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/leather-belt/ I made this leather belt out of scraps of leather and metal rings years ago, I recently added some removable chains and straps to it. I carry on it my small sickle, a mask and sometimes I hang other useful things from the rings when I go out. Leather belt and sickle in it's sheath Leather belt with chains https://ritualdust.com/craft/make-yourself-a-website/ Mon, 26 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/make-yourself-a-website/ Table of contents Interesting websites Practical knowledge The same way as I can’t imagine living in a space designed and decorated by someone else based off a generic pattern, I can’t imagine my words and my work exist solely in the conformist and reductive spaces that are current day social media apps. When making this website I craved the freedom that I felt when I first started interacting and making stuff on the web as a kid. https://ritualdust.com/craft/resilient-computer/ Mon, 19 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/resilient-computer/ I’ve been thinking about making a portable low-power resilient computer for quite a while and have been slowly assembling the parts that i’ll use to make it. My main goal with it is to have a backup computer if my macbook crashes. Inspirations: https://back7.co/home/the-raspberry-pi-quick-kit http://opacity.ru/cyberdeck https://cyberdeck.cafe/build https://alternativebit.fr/posts/ultimate-writer/ It needs to run all the software tools I need to daily and creative tasks work offline and connect to the internet run on battery power, grid power or solar power is easy to repair and upgrade if needed Parts acquired so far Raspberry Pi 4 (dimensions 4” x 2. https://ritualdust.com/craft/vambit-conversion/ Fri, 18 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/vambit-conversion/ The original vambits were a small run of laser cut acrylic toys designed by the folks at Hundred Rabbits , I had it laying around on my desk for years and it always had a missing art and antler. Since it was already a bit damaged it gave me the idea of making it really rough looking while practicing my miniature painting skills at the same time. The final vambit with its new look https://ritualdust.com/craft/hammer-handle/ Sat, 12 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/hammer-handle/ A while ago I found this little ball-peen hammer in an antique store, it had a handle at the time but it ended up breaking with use at the thinner part. The head sat in my tool chest for a couple years until recently when I started to work on my new tool chest project . With this new motivation to get all my tools together in a new home, I wanted to give this little guy a new handle. https://ritualdust.com/craft/tool-chest/ Fri, 04 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/tool-chest/ After years of thinking about it and pushing the project back, I finally tackled the building of a proper home for my hand tools. I’m trying to use as much of the wood I already have around to make it and the actual structure once was the case containing the first ever modular synth that I put together as a teen. Since I didn’t wanted to draw a full precise plan of it and every tool, here are the guiding principles that I used as I fitted the tools: https://ritualdust.com/craft/wood-species/ Thu, 03 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/wood-species/ First and foremost, the most sustainable form of timber is reclaimed wood. Good sources of reclaimed wood are wooden pallets (commonly built of white oak if the wood is hard or pine if soft), timber from demolition of buildings and barns, old furniture. You can find more information on identifying pallet wood here: Identifying pallet wood . Notes on sustainably harvested timber: buying European wood is usually a good choice because since 2010, the EU Timber Regulation enforced the replanting of trees, better forest management and limiting annual harvests. https://ritualdust.com/craft/coat-hanger/ Mon, 22 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/coat-hanger/ This coat hanger is built in a mix of neo-gothic and eastlake styles out of knotty pine, with moldings and cutout details. The hardware is cast iron and comes from a local company. The whole thing was stained and weathered to look like an antique piece of furniture and hopefully it lives long enough to become one. https://ritualdust.com/craft/guillotine/ Mon, 22 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/guillotine/ I built this model guillotine for fun when I decided to go back to building miniature things, it also was a nice exercice in timber framing since I used real wood joints to assemble the structure. It is built with wood, cardstock and aluminium for the blade. https://ritualdust.com/craft/scrying-mirror/ Mon, 22 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/scrying-mirror/ A mirror to look into the darkest depths. I made this scrying mirror frame out of two pieces of black-painted spruce wood tied together with waxed string - as above, so below. The pieces were carved hollow to hold the mirror without any glue - held safe but still free. https://ritualdust.com/craft/dread-pedal/ Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/dread-pedal/ This was my first effect pedal built. It is based on a clone of the Boss DS-1 classic distortion pedal. I was built for my music project Blood and Dust as part of an effect chain we use on a cello. It is primarily used to make sounds heavier, grittier and add this sense of dread that is permeating our music. Dread distortion pedal Dread distortion pedal Blood detail on the bottom of the pedal Input and output https://ritualdust.com/craft/wands/ Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/wands/ All of my ritual tools are crafted by hand using hand tools with respect to the tree from which they came from. They are finished with natural linseed oil and wax for durability. After being completed they are cleansed over a flame. Unless specified, they are not created with a specific magical practice in mind and it is up to you to imbue them with your own personal meaning. I am also open for custom work and commissions, feel free to reach out about those if you’re interested :) https://ritualdust.com/craft/ritual-doll-fox/ Thu, 05 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/ritual-doll-fox/ The cunning fox escapes the hunter with its prey, crawl underneath brambles to the safety of its lair. Its power lies in its curiosity and ability to see through deceptions. https://ritualdust.com/craft/low-tech/ Tue, 03 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/low-tech/ Table of contents Examples of low-tech Resources With the ongoing climate crisis, the destruction brought forth by the unsustainable push for constant growth of capitalism and a world filled with increasingly complex and disposable machines and tools, there is very strong need to scale down and simplify our technology and engineering. Design has become on a lot of ways a self-referential discipline, focussing more and more on aesthetics over creative problem solving or, at the even more basic level, just taking the time to see if there is a problem to solve. https://ritualdust.com/craft/ritual-doll-death/ Mon, 02 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/ritual-doll-death/ With his hollow ribcage, emaciated face and dark tattered robes, he is standing at the crossroads to help souls cross to the other side of the veil. This small ritual doll was crafted during the times leading up to Samhain this year, channeling the transformative energies of the dying season. https://ritualdust.com/craft/off-grid-living/ Sat, 31 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/off-grid-living/ This is a very organic gathering of my notes and research on living off-grid, either in a home or in a vehicule (like a boat or a van). I have a dream of building a timber framed house in the woods at some points and to have a van or a boat setup for short-term living so these notes act as preparation, planning and inspiration for those projects. https://ritualdust.com/craft/inspiration-altar/ Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://ritualdust.com/craft/inspiration-altar/ Small altar made of found and hand-made objects to inspire creativity. The little casio keyboard got a ritual burial in the making of Blood and Dust video . Inspiration altar Inspiration altar Inspiration altar