I was buying some wood blanks at the local exotic wood supplier and noticed some pictures of vases that an artist (sorry but the name escapes me) had turned. The vases were very Asian inspired and it is exactly the type of thing I am interested in doing. This vase was my first attempt at turning something in that style. I didn’t want to buy expensive wood (the artist was using some type of burl and ebony) so I used cedar.
After rounding the wood with the roughing gouge it was obvious that I would have to paint the piece due to the knots. After finalizing the shape the top developed several small cracks as well. The top was made from an extra piece of cedar that we had laying aroung the workshop. To make the “horns” I turned a donut shape, cut it in half on the bandsaw, then cut it into quarters. I taped the two pieces together and then cut the tops at an angle. After drilling a small hole in the top and the horn I glued them together with super glue.
After turning
The paint job was based off an old japanese scroll I found online. I drew the pattern on with a charcoal pencil and then painted it with some acrylic paint. Next time I’ll be sure to prime the vase before I paint it because I had to put on about 4 coats! I decided to paint the fish black and cover it with copper leaf to simulate the shimmering scales of a fish. The scales were created by stretching it across the fish before putting on the copper leaf.
I decided to also cover the top with the copper leaf. I wanted give the impression that the top of the vase was celestial. After covering the top with the copper leaf I applied a patina of potash and sodium sulfide to make the copper leaf a little more interesting. I attatched the crosspiece with some artifical sinew.
4 Comments
Mitch, I had no idea you had such talent. This is really great stuff. I’d love to learn how you do it so I can make my own.
I LOVE it…I will be buying a home soon I think that I will be contacting you..hopefully you aren’t BONGERS with prices..jejeje Beautiful piece.
@ Amanda: Thanks! I’m going to try and post a project from start to finish. The hard part is getting all the tools…. so many tools…
@ Carol: Thanks, I really haven’t even thought about selling anything yet. I’m still learning and I’m not 100% satisfied on the quality. Maybe someday though!
Wow, that is cool stuff. I would love to create something like that. My Nephew and Brother are both wood workers, I ought to learn a thing or two from them.