Best Project Design Contest 2009: Fretwork Portrait

Contests

Best Project Design Contest 2009: Fretwork Portrait

The People’s Choice winner, the Editor’s Choice winner, and other entries in the fretwork portrait category.

People’s Choice and Editor’s Choice: Battle Cry

Battle Cry by Kerry Hallam earned both the People's Choice and the Editor's Choice in the fretwork portraits category.

Battle Cry by Kerry Hallam earned both the People’s Choice and the Editor’s Choice in the fretwork portraits category.

by Kerry Hallam

Kerry Hallam of Sumter, S.C., used a photo of a medieval reenactor as a basis for this design.

“When I came across the photo, I immediately envisioned a commander leading his army into battle,” Kerry explained. “So I wanted to give the Viking a fierce look. It actually turned out better than I anticipated.”

The original photo was taken by Dan Landrom at the Washington Renaissance Festival. Kerry received permission from Dan to create a pattern based on the photo and enter the design in the contest.

“I changed the look of the beard three times until I was satisfied,” Kerry said. “I also changed the focus of the eyes a little.”
 It took Kerry a week and a half to create the pattern and 20 to 25 hours to cut.

“The hardest part was cutting the chain mail,” Kerry added. “There are 300 cuts in that area alone.”

Kerry stack cut three blanks and finished this oak plywood version with two coats of semi-gloss polyurethane. Black felt is used to back the portrait.

 

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