>Here's my second try at burning.... This piece of wood had been laying around for years in my shop. No idea what it is. It was so ugly that I ended up staining it. I used the coil tip branding pen that I bought and then on a whim decided to burn some bamboo skewers and incorporate them as well. After the fact I thought perhaps I should have left the bamboo behind. This bowl is about 6" in diameter. Finished with Rockler wipe on gel poly and Lee Valley Conservators wax. The photos need a ton of work,...one of these days I'll figure it out. Your comments are welcome.
Your having way too much fun. I really like this one. Don't get me wrong I like the others also but this one shows originality and experimentation. I'm jealous. I'm still probably 3 weeks to a month away from having my shop operational. Seeing work like this really makes me want to get into the shop. and do something besides move boxes, unpack boxes, build shelves and put things away. John
Very nice. I like the total branding effect. The burnt bamboo is a nice touch as well.
There is a practical side to work like this. While the piece looks striking now and the impact is fresh and invites closer inspection I wonder how this (or any piece) will look in 3 months, a year 10 years. I can't imagine that this piece will hold up well over time. How do you keep it clean so that the crisp detail it has now will be around in a year? Or will the piece age in a pleasing way that give it new and continued life.
You learned a lot about branding and burning bamboo. That is well worth the effort in this piece.
There are solutions to the keeping it clean issue. One solution is to just not care. To understand that the piece will be difficult to clean and expect dirt to accumulate in certain places. Another solution could be to use finish to filet the corners so that there is less opportunity for dust to remain when cleaning. A collateral effect would be to make the bamboo more secure. Unfortunately every joint and corner is a potential point of failure for a film finish. I can see a glass donut placed over such an enhancement which could provide protection from dust and dirt, extend the utility of the piece and give an additional impact to the piece. Cutting a class donut would be tricky as all inside corners are in cutting glass. Filling the space with clear resin would eliminate the dust issue but would change the impact of the piece from it's organic nature to more of a biological "specimen" (not something I would find particularly attractive.
I think branding has a lot of potential and I think that adding "stuff" like the burnt bamboo has some very good potential. From a practical aspect doing that on the side of the piece might be a better place. Also texture like that wants to be touched. Having those textures on the side would encourage touching. Indeed every time the piece was picked up that texture would become a part of the experience associated with the bowl.
Thanks
Richard
P. S. If you would rather I could say something like: Terrific work your imagination never ceases to amaze me. Which is of course true.
While making this or any other piece actually, I've not put much thought into how it will collect dirt or dust. I do think about how well it will hold together down the road, such as in how I attach collars and such. As for the dust and dirt issue, I guess that could be said for any piece of art? My recommendation is dust it :) ...a can of compressed air from the computer supply store always comes in handy too.
With this piece I think I was more into the natural, organic look. The branded rim alone seemed a bit much on this small piece so I wanted it to just be a back ground for the bamboo. Still not sure if it worked or not. I'm just looking for ways to move my work from sanded and oiled pieces to something a bit more. Texturing, coloring, burning....enhancements from other places. The sky's the limit I suppose?
Thanks for your comments Richard. As always, very interesting to read.
