Pat & Karen Miller

Pat and Karen Miller are Central Washington mixed media artists.

Wood has always appealed to both of us. Fences, shade, Christmas trees, firewood, two by fours, our life has been surrounded and bettered by trees and their products. Maybe that’s why in our later years when the need to make a living and make our way was replaced by a desire to make for fun and fulfillment that we turned to wood which over time has evolved toward a mix of media.

Together we have combined our skills and life experiences to travel hand in hand a path  as a “couple of artists”. We collectively turn, cut, carve, shape, burn and color an assortment of woods and other materials into pieces that tell a story, raise an eyebrow or cause to pause but ultimately make us both smile.

We hope to see you on our journey.


Portfolio:

NEW WORK!

Our most recent work gathered in one spot.

"The End Result" “"The End Result"”

A lidded vessel turned from maple, bleached, partially decorated in a faux raku crack pattern.

Colored then topped with an African Blackwood finial and detailed with sterling silver.

The base colored black to match the finial.
Thank you for looking!
*****$650.00*****

"The ARTery" “"The ARTery"”

I told Karen if I were ever to open a gallery I would call it "The ARTery". At my ever ripening age that ain't gonna happen but I did just finish this lovely blood red take on an Asian Ginger jar that was in need of a catchy moniker so there you go. A glimpse into the process...
A sycamore vessel and lid with a carved walnut base and decorative topper held on with two sterling silver pins. The vessel is dyed then coated with multiple layers of gloss lacquer. I used a bit of dyed lacquer to add the royal blush around the opening followed by several more coats of gloss, enough to allow the finish to be sanded buttery smooth and polished. Few heartaches are worse than accidentally sanding through finish and have raw wood peak back at me...
Thank you for looking!
*****$700*****

"Enter the Mimic" “"Enter the Mimic"”

A large wooden hollow vessel detailed to look like pottery. Colored with copper bearing painted, patinated, then burnished to expose the raw copper.

"Finn the Trout Mouse" “"Finn the Trout Mouse"”

In full kit for a day on the river. Turned from maple with Karen's masterful addition of the colors, scales and features of a Yakima River rainbow. The ears are made from small spinners and the perfect fishing hat a work of stitching brilliance. His pole from telescoping copper tubing complete with wrapped line guides. His casting technique still a work in progress as evidence by the tiny barbless fly just seconds from removing his hat. A base from stone and carved burl complete this quiet summer evening diorama.
Thank you for looking!

"Remember" “"Remember"”

A five sided container with a 5 sided lid and 5 feet. As the top only looked correct in one orientation I used a threaded ring set to hold the lid providing the perfect registration. The pleasant colors reside on opposites of the color wheel so they please the eye and the physics.
I hadn't even considered a name but with this completed on September 11, the 5 sides, the somewhat obelisk like shape seemed to attach themselves to the significance of today's date.
Sometimes the muse is a historian.
7.25" x 4"
Thank you for looking!

"The Blind Mason's Jar" “"The Blind Mason's Jar"”

A lidded, footed Sycamore vessel. Turned with walls thick enough to allow for some deep carving.
I liked the look of a faux brick pattern that I used previously to replace a bad spot of bark
so thought I'd try it again with a bit of more is better.
Can't say that I pre-planned the pattern but I have always wanted to use "pareidolia" in a sentence...
8-1/2" x 6"
Thank you for looking!

“The Last Hurrah” ““The Last Hurrah””

They recently removed a pear orchard near our home. Pears may have become irrelevant as a crop but they have been good neighbors for many years. Before the trees were chipped I grabbed a couple of trunks.
The twisty, crack prone wood is not my favorite but it can be pretty. This natural edge bowl with Pewa repairs is a result. Tinted lacquers provide a color fade.
Thank you for looking!

"Dressed to Fill" “"Dressed to Fill"”

A pouring vessel inspired by the work of 19th century British designer Christopher Dresser.
The body is made from three pieces of oak board carved, cut, glued, carved some more then colored with a mix of powdered aluminum and acrylic binder before a trip to the lathe and some fire colored highlights. I chose to make a small matching stand instead of legs keeping the square shape and flat surfaces intact.
Dresser's work from 1879 is currently at auction with a starting bid of £24,000. You can add this one to your collection with a sack of 24,000 nickels.
Thank you for looking!

SCULPTURAL ART

Three dimensional forms expressing ideas, imagination and creativity...

"The Form of Function" “"The Form of Function"”

I'm intrigued and inspired by some very mechanical bits such as we saw on an abandoned railroad bridge crossing the Columbia River at Beverly WA. Now part of a state long pedestrian path the construction of the bridge can be examined as carefully as one chooses at the pace of self-propulsion. Girders, beams, giant rivets, nuts, bolts and these huge turnbuckles attached to long steel rods several inches in diameter whose only purpose is to adjust and keep the triangles of metal that form the trusses equilateral. They are wonderful, the size and complexion demanded they be photographed and I obliged. Then they demanded replication in my favorite artful medium...
Thank you for looking!
*****$1,350.00*****

"Watching the West Burn" “"Watching the West Burn"”

The wildfires and firestorms since the summer of 2020 have taken lives, destroyed homes, businesses and resources ... Entire small towns have been incinerated. Malden, WA....Talent, Blue River, Detroit, Phoenix, OR, Paradise, Pacific Palisades, Altadena CA all gone for the most part... I have friends that have been evacuated and lost everything. I have never known anyone in this position before this. Wild fire has been part of the ecosystem ever since there was something to burn and as people choose the best places to build their homes and towns they are often in harms way. Proximity to resources and views come with a price..
..but these last few years seem different. There appears a vastness and viscousness to these conflagrations like I have not seen, a personality almost. Science offers explanations that I find reasonable but it's almost like the planet is pissed off. Maybe she tires of our selfishness........
Thanks for looking..

"The Theory" “"The Theory"”

First there was nothing,
an explosion then something.
The something then got very big.***

Big Bang they call it
Offers a small bit
to interpret the depth of intrigue.***

Names followed by letters
that seem to see better
answer most of what leaves me confused.***

A perplex still lingers
As I tap my fingers.
Just who was it lit the damn fuse?
***************************************
A torus turned in two pieces from Black Walnut. Pierced, carved and colored. 14 tapered Birch dowels turned and colored on each end, a detail suggested by Karen. The center cone from Maple colored by spinning it fast while upright and dripping paint into the center.
I intended this as a wall hung piece but decided to add a minimalist steel stand as an option. A good spot to set the curious package which I added as an afterthought, yet another choice for the collector.
Thank you for looking!

"Lost. Then. Now." “"Lost. Then. Now."”

********************
In the jungles of Cambodia
the mountains of Peru,
the heartlands of Zimbabwe
An archeologist or two
Dig under vines, through fire pits,
scour the water’s edge.
Sometime finding pottery
gathered on the ledge.
A silent gaze from then and now
only they have known.
One call to make then comes fame.
Wait! Have you seen my phone!? ********************************
Thank you for looking!
*****$1800*****

"Fear Consumes the Planet" “"Fear Consumes the Planet"”

Fear Consumes the Planet

Fear consumes the planet.
Panic stalks the land.
It’s not disease that makes us freeze.
We just don’t understand.
We feed on too much info,
but facts be scant and few.
From either edge fall off the ledge
as lemmings often do.
Somewhere in the middle.
Truth and sense abide.
From many voices, come prudent choices
It’s all part of the ride.

******************************************

I tend to err on the side of optimism. Mostly I feel healthy, safe and secure.
Then came early 2020 and some disquieting but distant news of a new flu-like virus…. still far from our shores not to be worried over…a month later 35 people died 140 miles from our home and I didn’t feel quite so healthy, safe or secure. Those in charge did not know what to do, media started to run amok and the optimism started for fade.
This piece is a reflection of that fade. It is neither joyful nor uplifting and hopefully not forever.
The vessel takes it’s shape from an old Star Trek Season 2 episode “The Doomsday Machine”. The darkness and caverns and reptilian image wrapping the vessel all evoking fear regardless of the facts. The tendrils with only a hint of color might be virus, might be serpents, might be webs. All the while the orb is being consumed, dissolved by the corrosive brew of worry and trepidation.
I go there on occasion so I don’t have to live there…

"roger" “"roger"”

I created this piece after learning that a college friend that I'd lost track of had died in a plane crash.
*****
One of those guys that had absolutely everything going for him- well liked, friendly, smart, successful, good looking, star athlete- everything. Indeed my polar opposite but we found a connection. The plane he was in crashed on take-off taking 17 lives. There were no survivors. He was 27 years old. I only found out years later but it still shook me.
*****
He had a little Chevy van when we were in school with a painting on the back door of a fellow with arms out stretched gazing at the universe like it was all his. I later found out that it was inspired by the work of Peter Max a well know painter of the culture of the 60s and 70s. Peter Max died last Monday, 14Sep26...
*****
My take away? Tomorrow is never promised. Don't squander the here and now...
R.I.P.
*****
Thank you for looking!
NFS

"Fini Avec des Chèvres" “"Fini Avec des Chèvres"”

I finished this "rock" but stack seemed to lack something. I liked the colors, shapes, size and textures but it wanted for something. Then Karen said "It needs a couple of goats!" At first I guffawed- I am an accomplished guffawer- but I started to come around which began the search for Oreamnos justrightus....Found these little charms in jolly ol' England. High on goaty charisma and class with limited caricature we began adoption proceedings with their travels well documented in the following rubaiyat.
Now the rocks have a purpose, the little goats have a home and the piece seems finished.....and the title sounds so much sexier in French than the English- "finished with goats"...
Thank you for looking!
**************************************************
From their home along the Mersey***********
by land, by sea, by air.*************************
Arriving in the Colonies************************
Their journey slow but fair.********************
They cross the Appalachians*****************
and the mighty Missipp.***********************
To struggle through the Rockies**************
The last leg of their trip.***********************
Will bring them home to Terrace Heights****
No more planes and boats.*******************
According to the tracking**********************
We soon shall have our goats!****************

"The Guardians of the Truth" “"The Guardians of the Truth"”

A double lidded, double box.....Birch, Maple, Contorted Filbert. Another piece where I struggle to find the finish line and the words..........
Thank you for looking!

"Small Town" “"Small Town"”

"Welcome to Smalltown"
On Sept 7th, Labor Day 2020 a serious cold front generated a day of sustained 50+ mph winds across much of Eastern Washington State with much stronger gusts. Once such gust snapped a large branch out of a troublesome Ponderosa Pine that landed on a utility line sparking one of a number of fast moving wildfires searing the dry land. Directly in the path of what would become the 15,000 acre Babb Rd Fire were two small towns. By nightfall much of Pine City and nearly all of Malden WA were destroyed.
Bad as it was what followed was no better. A sequence of political pissing matches placing party politics ahead of people. A delayed Federal Disaster declaration spotlighting the schoolyard row between the Democratic governor and the Republican president followed later by the Malden Act sponsored by Republican Representative which would force the incumbent to act on future disaster requests in a timely manner being rejected by the Democrat controlled House. All of this puerile infighting leaving a small town of real people in Eastern Washington still struggling to recover...
Thank you for listening......
NFS

"The Journey Out and In" “"The Journey Out and In"”

A birch sphere. I carved deep contour lines and textured the surface. Then I charred the exterior with a torch. After hollowing drilled 6 holes in the sphere, colored the inside and made metal screens for each opening. I added subtle colors to the exterior with Gilders pasted interference paints. T
Lastly it needed a matching stand and a name which came to me as I was writing up the description. Kudos if you can identify the source of the name before going to Google.
Thank you for looking!

"The Pond" “"The Pond"”

"The Pond"
A few years ago Karen and I stumbled across a pleasantly obscure Eastern Washington hike. Six and a half miles round trip with just a little (400') of elevation gain, the Eschure Ranch trail heads south from the trailhead (a somewhat arduous trek in itself) along an abandoned ranch road to Towell Falls. The landscape and water features in this part of Washington are largely created by the epic floods resulting from melting glaciers 12,000 years ago. Rock Creek is a year round stream starting a few miles south of Cheney and eventually finding the Palouse river 52 miles down stream. Along its journey it enters and exits Rock Lake the deepest lake in eastern Washington.
Numerous small ponds and marshlands are also found throughout this beautiful landscape especially in the spring. These are perfect environments for the Yellow Headed Black Birds and their raucous song.
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The gnarly tree is fashioned from Contorted Filbert branches with small wire providing the foliage. A piece of local basalt has been carved to shape the land and shoreline. A couple of Xanthocephalus were carved from holly. I tried a couple of base options and the quiet double pedestals got a big thumbs up from Karen. Lends a bit of sky island vibe...
I've made a few of these fun little dioramas and they always put a smiles on our faces.
This one sold before finding a name, a story or social media. Thank you..

"Desert Lies" “"Desert Lies"”

Cholla Cactus skeleton, Birch wood.
Turned, carved, colored. The vessel is attached to the pedestal with a magnet so the orientation can be changed. The two exterior colors are airbrushed as the piece is rotated in opposite directions so they change depending on the viewing angle.
Thank you for looking!

"4:17 AM" “"4:17 AM"”

Not quite awake, not quite asleep, not quite dreaming, not quite thinking, not quite false, not quite fact, not quite daylight, not quite dark. That time of day when thought, prose, garbage, worry, false diagnosis, legends, lies, truth and gold jump in the blender and hit the ON switch.......
Just yesterday I learned that there is a name for this phenomenon- "Hypnogogic Hallucination".....I am not comforted..
A Tree of Heaven sphere hollowed to manage the weight and mounted such that it can be rotated to reflect a mood. Steel frame, spikes...............
Thanks for looking.........

"The Tail Wagging the Dog" “"The Tail Wagging the Dog"”

"The Tail Wagging the Dog"
Trench Art #009
A piece of Karen found and rescued rusty sheet metal formed into a round tube mounted using a 5 point interior framework silver soldered to a 1/4" diameter stem yields a coarsely unique, corroded and perforated topper. The term "finial" just doesn't work here. I then turned an analogous vessel from Maple burl, pyrotextured and dyed, setting on four carved feet as a suitable home for the topper. 9" x 6"
Thank you for looking!

"Bessemer's Vat" “"Bessemer's Vat"”

To start with I wanted to make an open vase shape that did not have a bottom on which to sit and had a textured and decorated interior.
As I continued I was reminded of some older English foundry vessels used in the production of steel which led to the interior design and eventually a name. As often as not this is how my work evolves.
I quite enjoy these journeys as they help me take my ideas and abilities into materials and components mixed liberally with the accumulated wisdom and words of all that has come before. An amazing tool this internet thing...
I turned the vessel from Black Walnut, one of my favorite timbers to work. I used power carving tools, pyrography and my favorite colorants, graphite and Gilders Paste to combine elements of precise manufacturing and the ravages of use and time. The support structure involved planing some walnut into thin pieces that could be steam bent and assembled into that very industrial of shapes, the I-beam. Again precision mixed with deterioration and decay. I purposely chose not to permanently fasten the vessel to the structure. Industry is steeped in motion...8-1/2" x 9" x 5-3/4"
Thank you for looking!
To start with I wanted to make an open vase shape that did not have a bottom on which to sit and had a textured and decorated interior.
As I continued I was reminded of some older English foundry vessels used in the production of steel which led to the interior design and eventually a name. As often as not this is how my work evolves.
I quite enjoy these journeys as they help me take my ideas and abilities into materials and components mixed liberally with the accumulated wisdom and words of all that has come before. An amazing tool this internet thing...
I turned the vessel from Black Walnut, one of my favorite timbers to work. I used power carving tools, pyrography and my favorite colorants, graphite and Gilders Paste to combine elements of precise manufacturing and the ravages of use and time. The support structure involved planing some walnut into thin pieces that could be steam bent and assembled into that very industrial of shapes, the I-beam. Again precision mixed with deterioration and decay. I purposely chose not to permanently fasten the vessel to the structure. Industry is steeped in motion...8-1/2" x 9" x 5-3/4"
Thank you for looking!

"Good Night and Good Luck" “"Good Night and Good Luck"”

A modified old hanging light bezel sent by a friend began the vision...I borrowed Edward R Murrow's war time reporting sign-off for the title. Not everyone with a microphone and an audience is a journalist as evidenced by much of what I see today.

"The Path of Some Resistance" “"The Path of Some Resistance"”

Chinese Sumac
The black and white of thought regarding the time an artist might spend continuing in a relationship with an argumentative piece of wood are those that cut and run at the first sign of trouble and those that take the 'till death do us part" thing deeply to heart. Do as you will. I judge no artist. Most of us seem to inhabit the gray area.
This one was dark gray. Almost tossed this several times but with each attempt to save the investment became greater. It's not always the case but I achieved a result that I found appealing...and Karen likes it....The top is from a piece of copper tubing.
Thank you for looking!

"It's Lonely at the Top" “"It's Lonely at the Top"”

I wasn't sure where I was going to start other than trying to render an interpretation of the myriad eroded sandstone columns in the desert southwest of the US (and a hidden specimen here in Central Washington) but inspiration is as often a process as it is an event. I looked at some photos of actual landforms but purposely did not print photos to reference. Abstraction from the actual is much of what I find that is challenging and satisfying in the creation of art. Treading a line between the draftsman's accuracy and the cartoonist's caricature sometimes I hit, sometimes I miss........

Thank you for looking!

"Eve" “"Eve"”

At its core she's just another footed, lidded vessel....
Thank you for looking!

"Shelley's Fountain" “"Shelley's Fountain"”

This piece has traveled far from the elevated box that I initially started. A piece of cherry crotch that wasn't as pretty as I'd hoped when I finished the basic shape. This left the door open door for a series of embellishment journeys some of which were dead ends some were not. I spent a lot of time playing around with the top. I'm not a good critter carver but I'm finding it fun to try. 9-1/2" x 11-1/2" x 5"
Thank you for looking!

POURING VESSELS!

Teapots, pitchers, coffee pots, ewers...If it has a spout and a handle it qualifies. Are they usable? Well they're all usable once....
Enjoy!

"Bam Bootea" “"Bam Bootea"”

The 4 footed vessel, handle and lid are from Black Walnut with a sleeve of birch dowels. A small ring of the same dowels on the lid pull help tie the two pieces together.
Thank you for looking!

"Bronteasaurus" “"Bronteasaurus"”

A pouring vessel with an art deco inspiration. Wood and copper
Thank you for looking!

"Tahitea" “"Tahitea"”

This has nothing to do with meditation other than to say that every time that I try to quiet my mind something random quickly arrives to fill the void. Nature does indeed abhor a vacuum.
One such daydream involved me stranded on a South Sea island with food, water, a lathe, tools, wood all subject to the whims of the resident genie. His proposal to me- "You can have all this but you can only create one kind of piece for the rest of your days. What'll it be?" With only a moments hesitation I told my bottled up friend, "Teapots".
Several pieces of maple and Tree of Heaven, a tiny bit of Pink Ivory (not normally found on desert islands.) turned, cut, carved, steam bent, textured (hours with an engraving tool), colored.
Thank you for looking!

"Tea-L" “"Tea-L"”

A minimalist vessel turned from Mesquite, darkened with aerosol graphite, highlighted with Guilder's Paste.
Thank you for looking!
*****$450*****

"Tea Beyond Phlegethon" “"Tea Beyond Phlegethon"”

A pouring vessel from Maple. Textured and colored over the course of a month. Final touches are often the longest part of the process.
I believe that a piece will tell me when it's done.
I heard this one whisper “stop"...
Thank you for looking!
*****$550*****

"Teafertu" “"Teafertu"”

A footed teapot turned thin from a single piece of maple, carved, pierced, pyro-textured and colored with airbrushed interference paint. The lid, two cups and saucers all made in the same manner. A bit of gorgeous Cocobolo for a tray, the airbrushed colors playing well with the natural colors. The teapot measures 4-1/2" x 7" x 4".
Thank you for looking!
*****$850.00*****

"Tedium" “"Tedium"”

Turned from Elm with 4 feet carved on the bottom. I ripped a number of Contorted Filbert branches into small curvy sided planks to cover the exterior. The spaces between are filled with colored resin.
Thank you for looking!
*****$550.00*****

"Tea Along the Nile" “"Tea Along the Nile"”

"Tea Along the Nile"
Every school kid knows that the Pyramids at Giza are the only vestiges from Antipater of Sidon's original list of the 7 Wonders of the ancient world. Often when I get to making something I end up spending some time researching the inspirational originations. I think that I am a bit curious by nature and often obsessive...Whether is be through those ancient wonders or math, architecture, $ schemes or episodes of Ancient Aliens pyramids are here to stay....and that's all I have to say about that......... Almost.......This little teapot is cut from a block of Maple as are the handle and spout a bit of texture and color pay artistic homage to the famous originals. Easy to work with given the plethora of tools that I have at my disposal both for removing material and measuring the results. I wasn't trying to duplicate the exact shape (I wanted a bit more height )of the those made by Khufu Konstruction of Cairo but I was shooting for a square base with equal length sides and did pretty damn well I thought, the four sides averaging 112mm long are within 1.1mm of each other less than a percent, invisible to the eye. Out of curiosity I hunted around the web until I found base dimensions for the famed structures in Egypt. Without getting all mathy I found that those base dimensions are within .09% of each other using materials infinitely more resistant than wood and tools that seem completely inadequate................Unless....
Thank you for looking!

"Pekoe's Clevis" “"Pekoe's Clevis"”

I still have a thing for handled, lidded, spouted pouring vessels. After seeing the initial turned carved shape Karen thought that black and white might be a good palette but my proclivity toward using lesser timber first (another story, another time) took that option from the list. No, this piece would require some texture and decoration and black and since we were at it some copper highlights. In the end we were both happy with the decisions and choices.
Thank you for looking!
*****$600.00*****

"the Devil's Cuppa" “"the Devil's Cuppa"”

aka "Mashed Potatoes".....
Maple wood and a bit of steel....Turned, burned and textured with just a hint of color.
Thank you for looking!

"Seedy Ecks" “"Seedy Ecks"”

A teapot made from utility grade plywood. One of those things that has been on a shelf in the back of my mind to try. I cut some pieces of 3/8" thick plywood and glued them together to make a 5" x 5" x 5" block for the body and lid and another thinner block to use for the spout and handle. Very few voids which I was glad to see. Plenty of lacquer to finish, sanded and buffed. The name derived from the 3 letter plywood grade.
Thank you for looking!

"Juice for Zeus" “"Juice for Zeus"”

Birch, Koa, compressed wood and cord. Turning, cutting, carving and assembly. 12-1/2" x 6-1/2" x 5-1/2"
Thank you for looking!

"The Pretender" “"The Pretender"”

In the midst of the global lockdown in September of last year emerged a story from England about a rare 17th century Chinese wine ewer that was found in a box headed for a church charity shop. I found the shape of the little pourer unique and intriguing- it was kinda asking to be reproduced in wood.
Without attempting to duplicate but taking cues from the original I obliged. After I finished but before doing any finishing I took it to Karen and asked if she'd be interested in decorating the piece. I got a quick and resounding "Yes!". She worked her magic with a similar but non-duplicate pattern. It is after the shape, color and floral pattern that appealed to us both. Originally estimated to sell for somewhere between £40k and £100k Hansons Auctioneers of Derbyshire England sold this at auction for £390k!! That's just over $542,000.00. We would be willing to let this go for a bit less....
Thank you for looking!

"S-tea-L this Pot!" “"S-tea-L this Pot!"”

"Pour Me"
Birch wood. Turned, over thought, cut, drilled, contemplated, assembled, scrutinized and colored.
7" x 2-3/4" x 10-1/2"
Thank you for looking!

'The Midnight Oil" “'The Midnight Oil"”

Another collaboration with an unknown artist....
A pierced and pyrotextured citrus tube and a turned, carved and pyrotextured base from the same wood. The spout and handle are from compressed ash with a bit of texturing to tie them to the base. Everything given a bath in red dye darkened with black, finished with satin Deft and matte acrylic to kill the sheen.
The bottle, rescued from an eternity in the ravine surrounded by all manner of rust, is partially filled with found, tumbled stones including amethyst, peridot, sunstone and garnet. The lid(s) remove easily so the new family can add their own treasures..
Thank you for looking!

"Scurrier and Ives" “"Scurrier and Ives"”

A darling blue and white teapot Inspired by the myriad of artfully themed mouse characters that Karen has created over the years. Maple turned on 2 axes with a compressed wood tail. A lid with carved ears like one might find in that Southern California theme park.
3.5" x 2.5" x 6"
Thank you for smiling...

VESSELS of CONTAINMENT

Must have a lid...or not.

'"The Royal Cookie Jar" “'"The Royal Cookie Jar"”

A lidded and footed jar turned from Mesquite wood and embellished with pewter including a pewter finial.

"Ternary Turnery" “"Ternary Turnery"”

"Ternary Turnery"
A continuing exploration of multiples on a single. The vessel is a piece of Myrtlewood, turned with three feet that align with the three "bowls". Details matter. The lids from a board of Goncalo Alves.
3-1/2" x 9-1/4"
Thank you for looking!

"Lighting the Way" “"Lighting the Way"”

Turned, carved, pierced and textured. A subtly colorful interior sleeve glowing through in contrast with the medieval harshness of the lantern body. Yet another expression of an age old dichotomy.....
Thank you for looking!

"Almost Divided" “"Almost Divided"”

Almost Divided"
Starting with a Myrtlewood cube......Turned, split, decorated, colored, lidded and topped with a bit of handworked brass...
3" x 3-1/4" x 3-1/4"
Thank you for looking!

"The Scofflaw" “"The Scofflaw"”

A lidded bowl turned green from a piece of Bradford Pear to a final size and shape, textured and colored then allowed to warp, distort and twist to a final size and shape. Most times this doesn't work. This time it did.
Thank you for looking!

Fuji and the Saint “Fuji and the Saint”

"Fuji and the Saint"
At one time two of the most perfect cones in the Pacific Ring of Fire. A morning in mid-May of 1980 blasted the comparison into the history books...
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A piece of Maple burl turned on two centers leaving an overlapping pair of "bowls", the underside textured with a Manpa mini carving bit. The vessel was blackened with India ink then sanded back and colored with a green fiber reactive dye. The lids were turned from Goncalo Alves, cut to accommodate the overlap, textured with an engraving tool, dyed, painted and topped with an eruption of Pink Ivory.
Thank you for looking!

"Birds without Borders" “"Birds without Borders"”

What started as a single, hollowed, spherical vessel, one of those skill building (spheres, hollowing), "tweener" projects. Good for keeping me in the studio at the lathe, thinking creatively whist I await the arrival of the ever-transient muse and her bag of goodies.
One leads to two, two leads to three and the next thing I know a triptych emerges.
Anyway the little troublemakers kept rolling around on the bench and I was afraid they'd eventually hit the floor so I fashioned three individual, free range perches with a bit of textural connection to the vessels. In certain poses they reminded me of robin triplets awaiting the feathered doordash. The largest vessel is 3-1/2" in diameter.
Thank you for looking!

"Too Squared" “"Too Squared"”

A square opening as a change up. It's unique enough to stand by itself but I prefer lidded vessels to the open top variety so I tried to come up with an appropriate lid. Four feet because 4 is the digit du jour. A fun place to play with some texture and color. Rotund, measuring 7" to the top with a 16.5" girth.
Thanks for looking!

"Coquille" “"Coquille"”

Coming back from San Jose a few years ago we drove 101 up the Oregon coast. The southern coast area is home to lots of Myrtlewood and Big Leaf Maple and having just attended our first AAW symposium we were obliged to stop and check the offerings of the numerous wood purveyors along the way. I picked up this piece of maple burl and recently got around to turning it. It proved to a rather spectacular piece of timber and as is often the case there was a good sized spot of punky, hard to turn cleanly material. I soaked the whole thing in lacquer to help firm it up and it seems to have worked. I asked Karen about filling the voids and she said to just leave them. Proved to be a good decision. Lots of pictures but every surface has something to show. Final finish with wipe-on satin poly and buffed. 152mm x 190m (6" x 7-1/2")
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"Breaking Free" “"Breaking Free"”

"Breaking Free"
A maple hollowform carved and selectively pierced. The grid has been pyrotextured and highlighted with copper and gold Gilders paste. The vessel surface has been colored with several flavors of Transtint dyes then buffed with gold Gilders paste. Satin Deft for a top coat. The stand is from soldered and carved bronze splash polished smooth and flame dulled topped with Krylon matte to keep it that way. The top and finial from maple and bronze. 6-1/2" x 4" x 3-1/2".
Thank you for looking!