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"Heron sunset"- lots of corian, stone, pearl, and even some flamed Koa for the cattails.

This is for the Chesapeake Bay guitars group of six, the other two were the osprey and the crabs. There is one finishing up and two more slated.
The logo needs to be on all of them, so it was consciously decided to leave them where they would lie, and have the scenes interact or go behind them. In this case the sun is behind it blacking it out like the bird. Lower on down through the grass and cattails is another heron looking into the scene.
Thanks for looking . More soon...

CL

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www.handcraftinlay.com

"getting sick of this...." Not a chance. This is certainly a very unique piece and very much unlike anything that I recall that you have ever posted before. Great to see that you continue to push the boundaries of your craft.

Excellent and beautiful work Craig.

Simply beautiful, Craig. Keep those pictures coming!

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Jim Womack

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. "
Will Rogers

WOW!

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Kurt Thomas

"There's a first time for everything even if you do it by mistake."

I think this is one of the nicest inlays I have see in a long time!!! Not much bling, not too busy, very lifelike. Love the colors

Thanks for sharing this

And please - we will never get sick of looking at this!

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John Ressler

Craig I too will never tire of being afforded the privilege of seeing your magic and artistry - Thank You!!!

I have a different sort of question for you that occurred to me several times recently while viewing your work.

Would you mind providing us with some insight into your creative process and more specifically where do you seek your inspiration from? For example, the beautiful work above is this from a place that you know of, a picture, a customer spec, all of the above?

Many thanks!

Cant wait to see them in person!
Looks awesome Craig!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Looks really nice Such an amazing artist

Wow Craig-
That looks great! You are impressive

Wow, Craig! Get tired of it? Never! It's like going to an exciting new place every time I see one. They are so realistic, and bring your skills to life on a guitar. How cool is that?

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Too cool. Beautiful.

Wow Craig-
That looks great! You are impressive

Hi guys.
Thanks.
I wasn't sure what you would think of think one since it's so different.
I'm glad it has some fans. of course not all pieces are liked by everyone, that's normal.
Hesh, this one was actually inspired from a photo (the headstock part) that a well known photographer up in Maryland did for the Save the Bay calendar, pulled form his book. The next thing then is, YES, I did contact him and get his permission to use the photo as a model, since it was for a non-profit and a cause he believed in he said yes no problem, and that was it.
That was really cool of him. I then went and added the fretboard scene to go with it and used photos I took of heron at the gardens near me for the lower bird.

Other than that the inspiration comes from the same places you guys get it form, nature, people, music, spiritual feelings and beliefs, client ideas. The list can go on forever.
The next piece should be done by weeks end or at latest Monday, and it was inspired by the Francis Scott Key buoy in the Chesapeak bay. It's the only real buoy with the stars and stripes on it in American waters, and it marks where the song was penned overnight while he remained a captive of the British.

I took that idea, and realized the striper is the Maryland state fish, and came up with "Stars and stripers" Kind of maybe something Guy Harvey would do, but he hasn't yet! I got to it first!!! Na na...
You'll see it next week...

Thanks!
Craig

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www.handcraftinlay.com

Yes, I keep getting sick of saying Holy S... when looking at sweet inlay and guitars.

Like Hesh said, I'd love to see some more of your process as well, not just the finished product. Any insight on techniques for inlay would be great. Keep it coming.

Outstanding work Craig!! How could we ever tire of seeing such great inlays?

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Awesome work, Craig! Just spectacular. Your work is far beyond inlay - you're an artist discovering segments of your finished works in bits of shell, stone, and composite materials. Frozen poetry.

Thanks for sharing your work!

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

It's nice to know that Masters of Art are still around, Brilliant!!



Woody

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Woody O'Keefe

I never noticed before that cat tails look kinda like corn dogs...

Seriously though, REALLY nice work!

-Mark

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Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

Some beautiful stuff. Reminds me a lot of some of the stuff that Judy Threet, a local luthier here, does. I'll never come close to doing what you're doing Craig but will copy snips of it.

Dude,
you're getting good at this!!

Please keep sharing!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I never tire of seeing the beautiful art you bring to the trade. This one is as pretty as any of the others you have done. I look forward to seeing more and more and I am in awe at your ability to turn mundane pieces of material into such beautiful art.

Thanks for sharing !

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Reguards,

Ken H

Well Craig, someone has to say it, so it might as well be me.
I am getting sick of this.
I'm sick of looking at my work, then looking at your work, and the resulting feelings of inadequacy.
It makes me want to throw sticks at my own inlay attempts. Or superglue my fingers together.
The way you can capture not merely a scene, but a mood just nauseates me. And the fact that you can do all this with a minimum of fuss, with a few carefully chosen pieces inlaid expertly and flawlessly makes me want to run straight to the bathroom.

So yeah, I'm green alright.

Green with envy!

Steve





P.S.-- Please DO read between the lines. Don't let my facetious nonsense deter you in the least from posting such glorious work! I may still feel revulsion over my own efforts, but yours does inspire to improve.

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Craig, as compared to your other works that I have seen I think this composition is a quantum leap forward in terms of design and overall aesthetics. The materials go so well together and show off your growing talent.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Craig,

Wow man you do beautiful work! I just don't see how you do it! You are truly as much an artist as you are a craftsman. How long does it take you do do something like that? I really like the way you can take such a small area and put a section of a scene in such a way that makes one "see" the whole scene. Simply amazing! I don't think I'll ever get sick of looking at your work. Thanks for sharing.

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Brad Tucker

Getting sick of this?

Can someone get sick of seeing a Rembrandt, or a DaVinci?
I second Steve K's comments.

Bravo....

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."