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Banjo Head Decoration

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A group formed to collect images of decorated banjo heads and technical insight for anyone interested.

162 Members, Created 4/27/2012 -

Administrators: OldTimeGal (owner)

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From SWCooper on 5/30/2012 3:17:00 PM

So I ordered a new head to replace the one the cat pee'd upon. Spent several days doing an ink drawing on it. Came out pretty well, if I do say so myself. Unscrewed the hooks, got ready to pop the new head in place and...

...what do you mean openbacks don't have 11" heads?!

5 Comments
	OldTimeGal says: 5/30/2012 6:59:09 PM Oh no, what happened? Let's see:-). My open back has an 11" head, but it's an old banjo. Is it too large? What kind of ink did you use - is it a Remo head? I hope the cat apologized, is it on kitchen duty? I'm debating whether or not to put a light fixative over my watercolor pencil illustration, as it's a natural head and want it to be able to breathe.
	SWCooper says: 5/31/2012 2:35:19 AM It's smaller than 11". I have a very old banjo openback with a 10" head, but this one is brand new. I had assumed they would standardize on 11", but I would guess this is more like 10.5". I used pen and india ink over a Remo fiberskyn head. It took beautifully (which I guess explains why so many heads are decorated in india ink), but it's still slightly water-soluble. So I finished it off with a couple of coats of fixative - the light stuff intended for pastels, not the heavy stuff intended for paintings. I didn't want a thick, shiny coating. When I get the whole thing finished (i.e. REDRAW it on the original head) I'll post a step-by-step somewhere.
	SWCooper says: 5/31/2012 2:41:58 AM Hm. How do you post a picture in here? Here's the URL of it in progress: direct.hangoutstorage.com/banj...52012.jpg
	OldTimeGal says: 5/31/2012 7:46:46 AM That will be awesome. I love using dip pens, they're my main tool. I was lucky to come across a couple of full boxes of vintage nibs at a local antique store for just a couple dollars, there are over a hundred nibs each box Spencerian No. 1, Poucher's Business Pen No. 21 Extra Fine, and some mixed vintage variety, so now I have more than a lifetime supply...I've tried some of the new Tachikawa manga nibs as well, they have a nice flex to them. I was afraid to use a steel nib on the head when I did my dragon, so I used a fine brush instead. I don't like the thick shiny fixative coatings either, just going to give my floral image a very light dusting. Are there any issues with using a nib on the head? Try not to get an ink splotch?;-). I couldn't find a way to add a photo to this blog format either, wish there were instructions for these group pages. Maybe when you're ready put it in a thread and we can link the thread in tbe upper right corner? As an alternate, I can also set up a folder in the group pages as a demonstration folder of a work in progress. I will add more to those folders soon, this has been a busy month.
	OldTimeGal says: 5/31/2012 9:16:02 AM O.K., I've set up a group folders for "Drawing Demonstrations" :-)
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