another mixed media piece

[STROKER]

this was a big one that i did last year. it stands almost 4 feet tall and was super light weight as the walls were only about 1/4 inch thick everywhere.

i start with a 2 inch thick slab of super sweet maple burl with natural edge and cut rings at a 15 degree angle to the shape i desire. then i pull the rings out of the top and restack on the bottom of the opening to form a vessel. i cut as many rings as possible using the previous ring as a template.

when i am done cutting i have several very thin walled rings that i glue together to form a vessel from a board. this way i can make any shape i want and use way less wood than a turning project.

after glue dries, then i grind and sand all the glue marks out from the stack lamination. followed by grinding my signature wavy edge on the piece. once all the grinding is done i progressively sand my work to 400 grit followed by several coats of finish. it takes forever and i make alot of damn sawdust.

if i did my job well, then you can hardly see the numerous rings that i actually cut out from the flat board to make the vessel.

i plan to incorporate this kind of design into my new glass/wood line and was wondering what you guys thought of that idea?

i am going to replace the steel base with a cast glass one as well. something very amorphic and alive. maybe lampwork a two piece stand to support the piece from both sides instead of bottom????

i like my work to flow and i have to figure out how to bring lampworking into it without it looking like an afterthought.

later , jay

[VED]

shes beautiful

[glassdocnc]

That is truly amazing!

[cc_bob]

That is a very pretty piece of wood.

I know exactly what you are talking about. We had one of these http://www.ringmastertool.com/PAGES/RINGMAST.HTM back when I was in high school. It can only do round but if you are doing bowls or canisters it can speed up the process a lot.

Nice work though, that must of took some time!!

[Swampy]

You have good skills Jay.

[dogmaw]

That is stunning. I can see a sculpture in the center of the bowl.

[STROKER]

That is a very pretty piece of wood.

I know exactly what you are talking about. We had one of these http://www.ringmastertool.com/PAGES/RINGMAST.HTM back when I was in high school. It can only do round but if you are doing bowls or canisters it can speed up the process a lot.

Nice work though, that must of took some time!!

thanks very much for the comps.

you are correct my friend about the technique.

however, i dont use the ringmaster because it eats up to much wood on the kerf line. the blade is over 1/4 inch wide and it messes my designs up to remove that much wood.

this is same concept except i use a scroll saw with a blade that is smaller in diameter than a pencil lead. this way i wont remove anywhere near as much wood in between rings and that allows my patterns to look much tighter.

this beast was a monster to turn and it almost got thrown off the lathe and shattered twice.

it is 38 inches tall and light as a feather.

i sold it last year at the american craft exposition outside chicago.

to date it is my largest turned piece and i am not in a hurry to do another one anytime soon. it was very stressfull doing the final turning and cutting.

it is constructed of the same maple burl as the other one i have pictured but i glued up a walnut checkered/ line pattern in it and wraped the edge with walnut as well before i sculpted it with the grinder.

its amazing how different the same wood and same technique can look when done to a different form/shape/style..

hope you enjoy, jay

[dislexei]

Nice man! Do you chop your own burl? I got my eye on a few around town.

I need to get a face plate for the lathe I got...

If you were asking, this is what i would do. I'd rotate the piece so that the bowl is facing up so that the stand can cradle the cone. But if the idea is to show of the burls grain pattern then maybe have it tilted facing the viewer.
I see the piece sitting on a shelf looking towards the room with pebbles, shells, nicknack's, or dried flowers almost spilling out of it.

[Glacier_Arts_Studio]

that is some masterful work...

i'm really impressed with the second one...

fantastic...

..

[seadal]

Incorporate some glass with that. Who knows what you can come out with.

[STROKER]

Incorporate some glass with that. Who knows what you can come out with.

talk to me seadal.... and everyone else that has an idea...

what can you guys envision here with glass? NO AFTERTHOUGHTS ALLOWED. it has to flow and look like it was suppossed to be there.

i love input from other people. its amazing how things that are right in front of you cant be seen at all until someone says it out loud.

who knows i may use one of your ideas for my next piece.

jay

[glassdocnc]

Jay,
Keep posting the pictures. Your work is spectacular and I enjoy seeing it.

For piece #1 - I can imagine a glass anthropomorphic figure reclining into/around the wood contours without obscuring the beautiful wood much.

For #2 - I like the idea of glass "flowers" or similar organic forms which could be displayed either together with the piece - via an internal support framework (my mind envisions a clear glass lattice or framework contoured to the interior of the vessel) with removable or re-arrangable glass forms. Bonus points if the framework is also self supporting (perhaps inverted?) and of sufficiently interesting/beautiful shape out of the woodwork to stand as a work of art in it's own right.

Can't wait to see your next creations.

[Din]

Jay, your work is absolutely beautiful. Wood is a tricky medium that I tend to have no luck with, so extra respect to your work. I can see what you mean for incorporating glass without disturbing the flow of the piece, and not making it an add on or afterthought. Considering the scale of your wood work, lampworking is a bit of a hurdle. Right off the bat though, I have a couple of ideas (if your asking).
If I understand the layering of rings concept correctly, then a glass ring could be incorporated as one of those layers, like an encalmo vessel. Even clear would look awesome. Like I said, scale makes life difficult there. Alternately, windows (for example, a bow-tie or honeycomb or retticello window. The sort of thing we see on pipes all the time) could be inlaid into holes cut into the sides of the vessel. A big glass stem could be made to join the foot to the bowl of a vessel not unlike that second turned one you posted. Lastly, (I'll see if I can accurately describe what I'm thinking) if you were to make a cast of the outside of the wall of the vessel, and coat it in bead release (like a core-formed vessel), you could draw a figure (to illustrate, say a bass clef or something), then inlay that into the walls of the wooden vessel like the pearl inlay on a guitar neck.
Just a couple of ideas that might flow. Hopefully they trigger something for you. Again, great work.

[sertaiz]

cornucopica of glass fruit?
latticework that starts at the top of the second and goes up in proportion?
putting drilled holes in your work and affixing mibs/etc at key flow points?
drips that contour to the wood so it looks like they were poured off?
you could make a mold of it and pour glass wherever you wanted, then have it fit and be removable to the viewer
I could also see some kind of face or tree spirit in the first one, or just filled with liquid glass dripping out....mmmmmmmmm

[STROKER]

Jay, your work is absolutely beautiful. Wood is a tricky medium that I tend to have no luck with, so extra respect to your work. I can see what you mean for incorporating glass without disturbing the flow of the piece, and not making it an add on or afterthought. Considering the scale of your wood work, lampworking is a bit of a hurdle. Right off the bat though, I have a couple of ideas (if your asking).
If I understand the layering of rings concept correctly, then a glass ring could be incorporated as one of those layers, like an encalmo vessel. Even clear would look awesome. Like I said, scale makes life difficult there. Alternately, windows (for example, a bow-tie or honeycomb or retticello window. The sort of thing we see on pipes all the time) could be inlaid into holes cut into the sides of the vessel. A big glass stem could be made to join the foot to the bowl of a vessel not unlike that second turned one you posted. Lastly, (I'll see if I can accurately describe what I'm thinking) if you were to make a cast of the outside of the wall of the vessel, and coat it in bead release (like a core-formed vessel), you could draw a figure (to illustrate, say a bass clef or something), then inlay that into the walls of the wooden vessel like the pearl inlay on a guitar neck.
Just a couple of ideas that might flow. Hopefully they trigger something for you. Again, great work.

thanks again for all the positive response.
din , you are correct with wood being a very unforgiving medium. i made a lot of firewood in the beginning. now mostly just alot of dust. one of the reasons i like glass so much is the flexability you have while doing most things. and the speed. some of my wood projects wrap up hundreds of hours sanding and it drives me nuts somedays.


din you said
" Alternately, windows (for example, a bow-tie or honeycomb or retticello window. The sort of thing we see on pipes all the time) could be inlaid into holes cut into the sides of the vessel."

i like the idea alot but i am not sure how to make accurate measurements for the glass pieces without messing up the wood vessel. i imagine i have to make a cast mold of some sort???

i am putting a pic of a window bowl that would work great for the fill in with glass application if done right.

it may be too complex of a piece but i can do another without as many windows and so many tricky angles.

this one is made of mahogany and then i chip carved the texture in it afterwards. its the only one of its kind so far. i may do another if i can get galss into it.

thoughts?????????

[jr23]

That is nuts. Good god if I had the big money that piece would be mine and if sold you would have a order. That is right up my alley damn that's cool. I can't even wrap my mind about adding glass to that already kick ass piece.But if done right it would make it even more kick ass.

[Din]

In my mind, I was thinking of using a clay mold that mimics the wall of the wood vessel to blow against, and having the window first so that wood would be cut afterward. But now I see what you mean. So in this case I might make a series of molds out of a kaolin clay mixture, to push (presumably solid) gathers into, and then finish the glass pieces up with a grinder. But if you aren't stuck on boro, you could probably kiln cast soft glass pieces and come up with some pretty cool results, which would be easier to execute and cold work. In either event, cold working tends to take the "fast" out of glassblowing.

[Pilgrim]

what wonderment you bring before us to see. I am amazed and bewildered

[jethro]

I have never been a big fan of woodwork, but everything I have seen you post is amazing. Speechless.

[STROKER]

I have never been a big fan of woodwork, but everything I have seen you post is amazing. Speechless.

thanks alot for the very kind words.
i work hard to seperate myself from the pack.
i have always believed that wood has endless possibilities as do most mediums if you are willing to work hard at it.

here is another from the same maple burl done with the same ring technique but i angled all the rings before i glued them up to give the piece a twist.

it stands about 3 foot tall. the tendrals are american white holly, and bubinga

this was a bitch to sand and took forever.

i did quite a few metal stand pieces and they sold well. i will look into another run with glass included this time.

thanks again for looking, jay