Thursday, November 19, 2009

bowl










i love it when i can look at the photographs i've taken of my work and actually watch it progress. i made something! so, we started with the chunks of tree from the two trees my dad cut down for me. and i just looked and realize that i never posted about it! i posted some photos on flickr, but never on here. i think that would be good to do.

so, this is the first bowl in a series of them that i am making for my woodshop class. i'm taking the wood from my home and hand turning it on the lathe into a bowl. a receptacle. i'm kind of taking the concept of home and its meaning for me. which is largely a receptacle for memories and love and my growing up and my life. it still holds me there, despite the fact that i am not living there anymore. so, bowls.

since i'm turning these green (not dried yet, still full of moisture), i have to keep them in plastic bags and let them dry slowly before i can finish them (sanding, treating, etc.). i just want to make it beautiful right now! as it dries, it will warp and maybe crack. that's why i'm turning it green. i did a ton of research looking up other bowl that were turned green and the warping can be so beautiful. i just hope that any cracks that form don't crack the bowl in half. there's already a crack in this bowl, as you can see. the crack is from the carving process. when i carved out the inside, the friction produced heat, so the inside started drying out while the outside was still more wet. boo. oh well, i like it if it doesn't break.

P.S. the chunk of wood on the bottom that doesn't look like part of a bowl... isn't. it's just the part of the wood that has screws drilled into it (to attach it to the piece that i put on the lathe), so i can't turn there unless i want my chisel to collide with metal screws. ouch!!

it will be a bowl shape, plain and simple like the antique dough bowls i was inspired by, but it'll have a little foot and such. we'll see.


can't wait to start on my next one!

9 comments:

French Press Knits said...

*Love*

Ashley said...

Ahh, I'm so excited!
I love it already, can't wait to see the finished product!

Brittany | the Home Ground said...

Thanks, Melynda! I'm glad you approve :)

Ash, you will see it!! I'm going to try to have at least one more done before T-giving, too.

Fiona Cartolina said...

Wow that's so cool Brittany. Not what I was expecting - I was thinking of plain round bowl - this is way more interesting. How long will it take to dry?

Brittany | the Home Ground said...

Oh no! It will be a plain round bowl. Well, kind of. It will have a nice little foot and I'm planning on carving into it and possibly incorporating textiles somehow... Thread, fabric, something. The bottom part is just the chunk of wood that was attached to the lathe. When you hold it, though, it feels like a goblet!

Anonymous said...

beautiful photos of a beautiful project; love the concept of this piece!

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

So cool! I always forget to take before and action shots...I usually just get a pic of the final product.

Brittany | the Home Ground said...

Thank you! I think showing the concept in the final objects will really depend on if I carve them or add anything. It might be a secret :)

Brittany | the Home Ground said...

I love taking progress shots. The process of doing something is so important to me. I love seeing the progression when it's done. And that way I get to show everyone else, too!