SOFA 2007 Presentation
01 / 20
I was asked to give a 10 minute talk at the SOFA Chicago 07 exhibition. While some of the photos have appeared before, this folder should put a lot of it in historical perspective. The structure of the site permits me only 20 photos, so I have combined two or three into one.
02 / 20
I started turning in 1997. Sometimes in 2001 I had an idea!!! While turning the maple bowl, I attempted to put inserts into it. At the time I was into my plastics phase so I also incorporated some plastic. I built a jig, actually a table that I put a router onto and routed grooves into the bowl. I then cut out strips of purpleheart and inserted them into the bowl, along with a piece of plastic. While the effect was interesting, it was a lot of work. I decided to build a better jig to simplify the processes. Picture # 2 is the result. It was more work than the original idea, but going in the right direction.
03 / 20
After a few more improvement$ to the jig, I started to get the hang of it. The original idea of doing inserts quickly evolved into the idea of making decorative cuts with the router. I also realized that there is a big difference between cuts and CUTS. The cuts on the piece on the left has cuts, but the scale is wrong. it looks like a gap tooth smile. If they were smaller the piece would look much better. The two photos on the right starts to get it right. It is about 5" in diameter. The cuts, scalloping and form is almost perfect.
04 / 20
Here is a piece that uses a different processes. Rather than cutting through, I used a ball tip cutter to create flutes. That, mated to the cuts in the top, created another avenue of exploration. Appx 4" d x 4" h
05 / 20
A word about creativity. The picture on the right is the creative processes that any creative person would have you believe is the way it looks. Don't believe it! The one on the left is how it is. While this story makes it look linear it is any thing but. But stories need form so they can be understood.
06 / 20
Every so often I get a piece of wood that suits my mood at a particular time. This was one of them. The Cocobolo slab was 16" x 3 1/2' x 36". The minute I had it on the lathe the form and details came to me. Being that I was working with a very hard wood, I knew that the details could be very fine. I recall planning and measuring until I was sure that I had it right. And I did! Appx. 16"d x 31/2"h
07 / 20
Harvey at the lathe. Headphones to quiet the router, magnifiers to see details and sitting because I get better control. As you can see, the jig has grown.
08 / 20
The following photos are some of the different forms I explored. I made many of each in different combinations. The piece on the left was purchased by the Museum of Arts and Design in NY. All appx 16"d
09 / 20
These 2 pieces went to an exhibit "Far From the Tree" at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. Olive on the left and Claro Walnut on the right. They are 2 examples of what I find inside the wood determining what the finished piece looks like. Both appx. 16"d
10 / 20
One of the things I have always been looking for is a way to escape the radial lines of my earlier works. This is one of the ways that I accomplished it. I made a template of the shape of the line I wanted. In this case I chose a portion of the line (just 2 waves) and cut it onto a maple bowl. This presentation is supposed to be about the art of what I do, but the art really can't separate it from the mechanics or the tools. David Pye in his book "The Nature and Art Of Workmanship" talks about the interconnectedness of the two. As you can see from the setup there is quite a lot going on.
11 / 20
The AAW, a woodturning organization, had a exhibit in Kansas City called "reTurn to Oz" For my entry I took the maple bowl in the previous slide and added some gold leaf, done by a friend. The result was "Yellow Brick Road". I was accepted.
12 / 20
I bought a large Coolabah burl and started turning. As it came into shape, two sections developed. First the area on the perimeter and then the round thing in the middle. Rather than turn the round thing away, I took a saw removed it, and put it in my "To Do" box. The result was this incredible surface. After looking at it for the better part of 2 weeks, I decided that I didn't know how to proceed, so I took it off the lathe and moved on. (off the record, Coolabah comes from Australia and is mentioned in the song "Waltzing Matilda" "under the shade of the Coolabah tree")
13 / 20
Some months on, I was rummaging around in the "To Do" box and I came across the piece of burl. It seemed the perfect piece for an idea I had. The idea was to feature some extraordinary piece of wood in a platter. I also had a large piece of Babinga that needed some excitement. I made some drawings to get the scale right and started to turn. Not knowing exactly what I was getting in to I measured 4 times instead of the usual 2 before cutting.
14 / 20
As it turned out fitting the burl into the recesses took almost as long as making the piece. I only had one chance to get it right. A lot of the details, like the flutes around the center, were done on faith.Once the first cut is made you have to go forward. sanding, fitting, oiling, polishing, completion....
15 / 20
I call this piece "Look at Me". Babinga, Coolabah Burl, 19" d x 3" h
16 / 20
At some point I made the piece on the left and realized that I liked the idea of the back of the bowl showing through to the front (The ring in the back is visible on the top right). After thinking about the idea for a while I took the form of the center piece and sort of duplicated it and then started carving. The result was a piece that exposed the mysteries of the construction, while creating more mysteries.
17 / 20
Another attempt using Moluccan Ebony. The strong horizontal stripe directed the pattern. The middle piece, called "Amazing" is just that, a maze. The third piece is the the result of yet another modification of my lathe.
18 / 20
Without going into detail now, I created what is called a "Rose Engine" from my lathe. My pieces no longer need to be round. Talk about possibilities! This piece is Amboyna burl and is 16" in diagonal
19 / 20
Finally this piece. Cocobolo and Yellow heart. More mystery and challenge. What would a finial for this box look like? (For a detailed description about what I did to create the non round, or faceted, pieces go to the "Three Stories" folder)
20 / 20
I see by the moderator that my time is up. For those of you that would like to see some of the pieces presented today, please stop by the delMano Gallery booth. Thank you.