|
Introduction
Artist
Gallery
Equipment
Shop Notes
Shows
Contact
Links
|
Latest
Work
|
Mesquite
Veneered Sweetgum Vase |
 |
This is a
design that I have been thinking about for a long time, but just
recently got around to executing. I turned the Sweetgum vase a
couple of years ago, but never finished it. Some time prior, I
had veneered the end cuts from a colorful piece of Mesquite that was
used to create
this
bowl. I finally cut the veneer into small pieces and laid
them out on a grid created on the surface of the vase. The
Mesquite veneer was glued using CA glue and finished with Krylon
Matte finish. The inside of the vase is finished with black
Gesso paint and Krylon Matte finish. |
|
Carved and
Dyed Pecan Bowl |
 |
Unfortunately, this picture does not do this piece justice.
Recently, I've been using a digital camera (Canon EOS 350D) in lieu
of my old, but highly reliable, Canon EOS 650, a film camera.
With the film camera, I can bracket an object with three shots and
guarantee perfect results. With the new digital camera, I'm
still learning how to achieve that level of quality...as shown by
this picture and the two immediately below. This Pecan
bowl
has been carved and dyed. It looks better "in
person" than this picture--really! |
|
Pecan and
Walnut Bowl |
 |
Here are two
views of a recently completed Pecan and Walnut bowl.
This large bowl (15W x 6"H) incorporates a segmented Walnut rim
and solid Walnut foot. It's finished with Waterlox. |
|
Sweetgum
Bowl with a Rolled Rim |
 |
This is a piece of Sweetgum I acquired a little over 12 months
before I finalized the bowl.
I allowed the wood to spalt (age), rough-turned it and then let it
dry completely before turning it to final dimension. The bowl
is approximately 15"W by 6"H (I forgot to measure it before I gave
it away). |
|
Sweetgum
Vase with Blackened Interior |
 |
This piece of Sweetgum came from a neighbor's tree. I turned
it to final dimension shortly after the wood was cut. The pith
ran through the long axis of the piece, thus it didn't warp at all.
I finished the exterior with Waterlox and the interior with black
acrylic gesso.
|
|
Spalted Sweetgum Bowl with
Blackened Rim |
|
Sweetgum can be a rather
uninteresting wood unless it possesses some natural color, like the
piece immediately above. Most of the time, Sweetgum is a
"blah" white and I prefer to let the wood spalt to achieve a more
desired look. The trick with Sweetgum is to catch the spalting
process before the wood gets "punky." I was able to do that
with this piece and it turned out quite well (if I say so myself!) |
|
Spalted Pecan Bowl |
|
Pecan, which is my favorite
wood, spalts nicely too and is more forgiving when selecting when to
use the wood during the spalting process. This piece spalted
for about seven months, but I could have used the wood any where
between six months (less spalting) and nine months (more spalting). |
|
Naturl Edge Bowl of Unknown Wood |
|
I recently attended a local
woodturning retreat and took a class on natural edge bowls.
I've turned them before, but I wanted to refresh my abilities.
The instructor supplied the wood and I failed to write down what
kind of wood it was, so I'm at a loss to share that knowledge with
you.
The toughest thing about
turning natural edge bowls is balancing the piece so that the two
lower sides are even and getting the bark to stay on (CA glue help
the latter problem).
|
| Spalted
Pecan Bowl with Blackened Rim |
|
Here's another spalted Pecan
bowl, this one with a blackened rim. I used Waterlox as a
finish and India Ink on the rim. |
| Spalted
Pecan Vase |
|
Another piece of spalted pecan,
this one from a limb. To learn more
about spalting, click here: spalting
|
|
Spalted Pecan
Hollow Form |
|
This is vase is
hollow. To access the interior, I cut a small section off the
neck, hollowed out the inside, then glued the neck piece back on and
finished the turning.
|
Back to Main Gallery - Next Gallery
|
