I found when varnishing the box for the girls that the varnish will smear the ink if i’m not careful.

I found this to be a bigger problem if i’m using pure non diluted ink, so vivid red is a problem, as is dark purple.

to compensate i’ve had to do two varnish layers, one for the Om, and one for the background.  When it dries, i’d like to be able to do a full topcoat, but i don’t know of it will smear.

I find the interesting thing about that Om is that the burn makes the image “rounded” and the ink won’t settle into the areas that are burned brown.  So the most vivid colors are in the center, fading as it gets towards the edge.

Practice makes perfect.  Learn a little more every day.

I’ve decided i want to be like varnish. I love it, it has this drippy consistency that oozes into the details of the wood and brings it forward, all these little nuances you would never have seen, and then it vanishes, the only evidence of its passing being all the beauty you would have overlooked before. It doesn’t alter, it only makes the wood more *wood*.

May i bring that to the people in my life. May i not change you, and only show you the nuances about yourselves you may have missed. May i help you see the beauty that was always there.

So mote it be.