Ebony, blackwood, pink ivory and fresh water pearls
I'm not sure what the inspiration for this was - some kind of formal chalice or a dribble glass.
Amboyna, blackwood, bloodwood and fresh water pearl
Another Asian inspired vessel. Again, the bark on the side reminds me of a defect in the glaze.
Pink Eucalyptus
Another piece with an eccentric base. The blackwood spear running through the base provides support for what would othewise be a very weak part of the stem. .
Grenadillo.
Another piece inspired by Greg Lossing
Olive
This was an amazingly beautiful piece of wood. The long block I bought must have been lying around for a long time because it was very difficult to see the figure of the wood The "spider" shape you can see on the lower right came as a complete surprise and ran entirely through the block.
Another piece of the "spider" olive. The color in the picture above is more accurate.
Madrone
I wanted to leave as much of the edge of the burl on this piece as I could. While this piece looks nice, it feels a bit top heavy because of the amount of wood left in the top. If I were doing it again, I would change the shape of the top to reduce the amount of wood while still leaving the natural edge.
Maple
Another eccentric piece - this time the ball and the base are a single piece.
Walnut and pewter
A piece I liked so much I was sorry to sell. The piece was turned from a walnut root. Unlike normal walnut, the root was very dense and hard. It was also full of rocks and dirt. When I finished it, it had a large crack in the side which was not very attractive. I thought about throwing it out. But then I had the idea to fill it with pewter, which melts at a fairly low temperature. The contrast between the dark walnut and the bright pewter was very attractive.
Cherry
My original plan was to put decorate a cherry box. At first I tried silver wire to make the little dots, but that didn't look very good. Then the box took on a new direction.
I decided to use porcupine quills to make the white dots. (I use the quills to tie trout flies.) And then I decided to leave the points on on the inside. Its fun to watch people open this box.
Cherry and walnut
This salad bowl was inspired by a bowl my wife and I bought at a craft show over twenty years ago. It is also a way to make a large bowl without having a single large piece of wood.
Another "sandwich" bowl
Box for secrets
This was inspired by a turner, whose name I can't remember, who put small thorns on cups and other objects. It started with an oak box that, by itself, wasn't very inspiring . I painted it with a metal based paint and then put on an oxidizer to make it look rusted like a piece of metal. Then I added the thorns - collected on a cross country skiing trip - and painted them with gold paint. Finally I added the two drops of blood - bits of epoxy painted red. The box opens very easily by lifting on the top thorn. This is what happens when you spend too many days in the shop.
Ebony, blackwood, pink ivory and fresh water pearlsI'm not sure what the inspiration for this was - some kind of formal chalice or a dribble glass.
Amboyna, blackwood, bloodwood and fresh water pearlAnother Asian inspired vessel. Again, the bark on the side reminds me of a defect in the glaze.
Pink EucalyptusAnother piece with an eccentric base. The blackwood spear running through the base provides support for what would othewise be a very weak part of the stem. .
Grenadillo.Another piece inspired by Greg Lossing
OliveThis was an amazingly beautiful piece of wood. The long block I bought must have been lying around for a long time because it was very difficult to see the figure of the wood The "spider" shape you can see on the lower right came as a complete surprise and ran entirely through the block.
Another piece of the "spider" olive. The color in the picture above is more accurate. Madrone I wanted to leave as much of the edge of the burl on this piece as I could. While this piece looks nice, it feels a bit top heavy because of the amount of wood left in the top. If I were doing it again, I would change the shape of the top to reduce the amount of wood while still leaving the natural edge.
MapleAnother eccentric piece - this time the ball and the base are a single piece.
Walnut and pewterA piece I liked so much I was sorry to sell. The piece was turned from a walnut root. Unlike normal walnut, the root was very dense and hard. It was also full of rocks and dirt. When I finished it, it had a large crack in the side which was not very attractive. I thought about throwing it out. But then I had the idea to fill it with pewter, which melts at a fairly low temperature. The contrast between the dark walnut and the bright pewter was very attractive.
CherryMy original plan was to put decorate a cherry box. At first I tried silver wire to make the little dots, but that didn't look very good. Then the box took on a new direction.
I decided to use porcupine quills to make the white dots. (I use the quills to tie trout flies.) And then I decided to leave the points on on the inside. Its fun to watch people open this box.
Cherry and walnutThis salad bowl was inspired by a bowl my wife and I bought at a craft show over twenty years ago. It is also a way to make a large bowl without having a single large piece of wood.
Another "sandwich" bowl Box for secretsThis was inspired by a turner, whose name I can't remember, who put small thorns on cups and other objects. It started with an oak box that, by itself, wasn't very inspiring . I painted it with a metal based paint and then put on an oxidizer to make it look rusted like a piece of metal. Then I added the thorns - collected on a cross country skiing trip - and painted them with gold paint. Finally I added the two drops of blood - bits of epoxy painted red. The box opens very easily by lifting on the top thorn. This is what happens when you spend too many days in the shop.