 Above: I've had this piece of cherry around for
several years and used an adjoining log section for the bowl
"Cherry Lace" which was just completed. You'd never know there
is a sculpture hidden in there. 3/31/2005.
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 I've laid out the basic shape and am working
the form down to the lines drawn on the piece. Here you can see one of
the wonders of nature one is likely to find in the center of a log. |
Here is a close up view of the end of a branch that died many years ago
- kind of where I thought the bottom of the bowl should be. Adjustment
time. The bottom of the bowl just moved north an inch. 4/2/2005
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The bowl shape is beginning to emerge. No the piece
hasn't acquired a navel, that hole gives me someplace to carve into with
a bent spoon gouge. You can see the system I'm using to secure the
sculpture during this stage of relatively heavy gouge work.
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Here's a shot of the ol' woodcarving guy hard at work. Just looking at
him you'd never guess he's been working with wood for over 50 years ...
or maybe you would. In the background you can see part of the rack that
keeps my gouges safe and handy. 4/3/2005
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A bit more refined, though it still weighs in at around
nine pounds. You may wonder why I seem to mention the weight of a bowl
so often. Other than a slight reduction in size and the change in form,
the most noticeable change during the craving process is the reduction
in weight. As a piece loses mass you become much more aware of the
impact of tools as well as clamping pressures. Near the end of the
process this bowl will be quite fragile, relatively, and will need to be
handled with some degree of care. 4/6/2005
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Coming along now but a lot of rough shaping to do yet an the pedestal
section. The inset barely shows the current status of the pedestal/bowl
connection. The design is for the tip of each leg to pass through a hole
in the bowl just below the rim. The bowl will be suspended loosely on
these three projections. I've left a thumb-tip sized bit of wood on the
inside from which to carve a small retaining knob on the inside. 4/14/2005
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Update: 2/5/2006
Those of you who have been monitoring this page may go into shock
but I'm actually back at work on this bowl! I have pierced the bowl at
all three suspension points and it is coming along fine. One problem
with leaving it so long in the half-finished state is that the cherry
wood has done its natural thing and darkened quite a bit. Areas that I'm
working on show up lighter so when I am done, which shouldn't be too
long, I'll have to set the bowl in the sun every chance I get to let its color even out. Other than the fact that it would be a lot easier
to work on it the bowl came off the pedestal, it is working well. Lots
and lots of sanding and finishing yet to go.
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This bowl was completed mid-March 2006 and After being
shown in a local exhibit is now in the permanent collection of the
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.
< Click to see the finished bowl
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