Okin Craft 05

We've seen the making of the boxes... now we'll be taking a look at how they're painted.

All of the Okin boxes were either painted with milk paint or left raw.

Milk paint is made from natural pigments with a casein (milk protein) binder. It's an ancient painting medium that produces a durable finish.

The paint comes in powder form to be mixed with water.

It's an easy paint to use. Pretty much any brush will work. Two or three coats was applied for full coverage.

Mixed to a thinner consistency the paint tended to dry down a bit smoother and felt like sandstone to the touch when dry. Mixed thicker and applied heavy the paint would create even more texture, with crackling effect emerging wherever the paint pooled.

The sandstone texture could also be lightly sanded back to produce a buttery smooth surface.

Most Okins were painted in a solid or two-tone colour scheme.

Raw kraft alongside painted units.

Early on in the design process I tested various finishes for the milk paint, raw kraft, and wood.

I tested linseed oil, shellac, beeswax/oil blend, and microcrystalline wax.

Of those, the beeswax/oil blend ended up being the best choice for all three surfaces. It gave decent protection from stains/water while being easy to maintain over time with more coats.

Water bead test. The beeswax/oil blend is third from the left.

A logo stamp was used to apply my artist signature to every box. Here is the creation of that stamp, starting with a blank of African blackwood.

A rotary burr was used to carve the logo.

The logo is the symbol for Neptune. In alchemy this symbol represents sublimation. It's a visual diagram of the soul (the crescent) rising out of and sitting above physical matter (the cross).

The cross at the base represents earth-bound plant material, while the crescent at the top acts as a cup that catches the volatile essence as it is liberated by heat.

Neptune is also commonly symbolic of altered states, art, and all that cool stuff.

For the stamping ink I used maple wood charcoal. This was the exact same charcoal that would have been used in the Okins themselves.

They were ground up into a fine powder...

...and mixed with amber shellac dissolved in alcohol (pictured here in its raw, flake, form). Shellac is a natural resin secreted onto trees by the female lac bug.

Testing, testing... looks good.

Because I have the only stamp in existence, this logo functions as a mark of authenticity. Replicating the exact shape of the logo as well as the look of this very specific ink would be... pretty difficult I think.

I never really considered this feature a requirement... to me it was merely a fun idea. In recent years, however, I've seen these Okins go way up in value on the used market... So, who knows... maybe one day this authentication stamp will actually serve a purpose!

After the stamp ink dried, I'd apply the beeswax/oil finish.

The whole package coming together at last!

Little card stock boxes were made to hold charcoals inside of each box.

I made these charcoal drills out of roasted bamboo. The coloured thread wrappings would match the colour scheme of the Okin box that it was paired with.

These were used to drill holes in the charcoals before they can be used.

Here you can see how each charcoal has been pre-drilled. Usually four holes was about perfect.

I investigated methods for producing the charcoals so that no drilling was required, but no solution was found. If I ever do a re-release of the Okin, I'd do a deeper drive into figuring that part out...

In the next issue, the final chapter in the Okin crafting saga, we'll take a look at the charcoals themselves, how they were made... and what makes them so special.