July 26, 2012

My artistic vision

So the other day I posted a picture on Facebook of this "band saw box," made of walnut. To my surprise, it attracted many "likes" and positive comments, for which I am grateful.

While my ego rejoices, I think that the description I posted may have had something to with people's response:

Walnut "bandsaw" box in an organic style. Antique oil finish.

Hmm ... "in an organic style," eh? Classy! Or is that just a fancy way of saying "can't cut a straight line on a band saw"? Maybe, but it certainly sounds cool ... perhaps to the point where I must admit that I oversold the box.

Anyhow, that was the end of my rumination on the topic until my wife told me that her coworker admired the photo but thought that the box was actually a large nightstand or dresser sized object ... and I guess that, at a casual glance, the baseboard in the photo (because that's what it is) could be taken for wainscoting.

That would be a hell of a bandsaw, and a hell of a chunk of walnut. But I do like the box, and it's pretty good for a first attempt. It was a lot of fun to make, but LOTS of sanding, meaning lots of walnut dust to inhale and ingest. The piece may be a keeper, but it's not big enough to keep your socks and undies in. 

Now I'd like to show you my latest artistic creation, "Bol Cedre III."


"These fragments I have shored against my ruins"


As you can see, this unfinished piece deconstructs the very nature of the bowl: its "lip" is jagged, its peaks and striations suggestive of an almost lunar landscape. It is the death of bowls.

And it demonstrates what happens to a finely turned, almost-done cedar bowl when the wood splits and cracks at about 1700 rpm. Another one for the burn pile.

But ... I don't know ... to me, it looks kind of ... "organic" in style, no? I wonder what it would like like with an Antique Oil finish?

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