Saltwash Oar – An ExtraOARdinary Auction

Happy 1st day of March! I have a fun post today and I’m sharing a Saltwash Oar!

First of all, I must apologize for my absence. Two weeks ago I had PRK eye surgery. My vision is still blurry and I’m still recovering. It actually was very hard to photograph and edit these photos as I’m having depth perception issues and just blurred vision. The doctor said it may be several weeks before I’m fully recovered. As many of you know, I’m not super patient so this has been hard, on so many levels. There’s also been sickness in our family. So I would be grateful for all your prayers and good vibes.

Okay, now I’m really excited to share more about Scituate Education Foundation’s upcoming event! I, along with over 20 artists, have reimagined oars for the ExtraOARdinary Auction.

The oars are on display at the Scituate Town Library through April 4th and can be purchased to support the Scituate Education Foundation. For those, who don’t know SEF funds education programs for all in our community from 0 to 100. The foundation celebrates the importance of life-long learning.

Each artist was given an oar and asked to create something with it. I decided that I wanted to create something very coastal. My oar was done with Saltwash® Powder and paint, much like the pieces of art in my basement studio.

This post contains a few affiliate links for materials used in this project. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

The original oar was raw pine and the first step was creating a wash with Fusion Mineral Paint’s Little Lamp and wiping it back to create a stain.

I used a pencil to trace a rough sketch, and used the grain as a loose pattern for my waves. I applied a Saltwash layers mixed with Picket Fence and Sterling Fusion Mineral Paint. Here you can see the Saltwash layers:

Once dry, I painted my seascape in my favorite blues then sanded and top-coated with gloss mod podge.

My oar is called Summer Breeze and I wanted it to symbolize the happiness I feel when at the beach with the waves crashing, the salt air and those days which feel like they will stretch on for ever and ever.

I hope when you look at my oar you can feel all the things that this beautiful town and the sea means to me.

All the oars are fantastic, and it is amazing to be part of a community with so much creativity, but also a desire to support one another, and education within our town.

I thought it might be fun to highlight a few of the oars here:

Starboard Oar by Kellie Broadrick. Kellie is a shoe designer and I love the patterns she created with paint and the texture with rope.

The Stellwagon SUP Oar by Kjeld Mahoney. How fun is this oar? Kjeld Mahoney cut his oar in half and created a faux driftwood effect with paint. Wouldn’t you believe that was the real thing? I also love his photography which he mounted to the oar.

The Plant-Oar by Stacey Caplinger. Isn’t this fabulous? I never met a plant I didn’t like. How genious is it to mix plants and an oar?

There are so many great oars! Too many to share, but go here to see them online, or head on down to our library. Any oars remaining will be auctioned off at the SEF’s 2nd annual spring fundraiser, Light Up the Night at Kennedy’s on April 7th. Learn more about the event here.

I hope if you’re local you’ll join us for this Extra OARdinary Auction and the Light Up the Night Benefit.