“"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"”

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

“"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..

“"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*****

“"Bronteasaurus"”

A pouring vessel with an art deco inspiration. Wood and copper
*****$950.00*****

“"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!

“"The Midnight Oil"”

Another collaboration with an unknown artist....
A pierced and pyrotextured citrus tube- inspired by beautiful work from friend Pat Carroll- 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.
*****$550****

“"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*****

“"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"”

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*****