Collaboration with Time and Elm

I originally turned this well over a year ago (here’s a link to the original gallery post). It was a solid spalted Sugarberry egg that I ebonized a large band in the middle via India ink. Ultimately, it was an exercise in form and black and white. Of course, being solid, including the pith, and being Sugarberry, it developed a bunch of cracks. On the shelf it went--I was still in the "can't burn anything" phase, so it just sat around taking up space.

Fast forward around a year later, and my toddler son Elm (I was fascinated with Elm wood when he was born) started to get interested in drawing and painting, as most toddlers do. I thought it would be a fun idea if he painted on something other than paper, so I offered up the cracked egg and a bunch of my acrylic paints. He went to town, and we had a good time together. I decided to preserve the memory of the painting day by pyro stippling everything that wasn't pigment (his acrylic work and my India ink band).

I plan to keep this one for a long time, and when Elm is much, much older I will give it to him and tell him the story of the day.

Here are some alternative views:

Pretty cool piece Michael. Loved the back story too.

Paul May said:

Pretty cool piece Michael. Loved the back story too.

Click to expand...

Yep, that collaborative effort between you and your son will become a great father/son connection between the two of you that will only get better when you are old and grey......like me!

My son and I spent the day together traveling up to Flathead lake yesterday, and toured the "Miracle of America" museum in Polson. What a fantastic collection of Americana that is, and we spent some great moments together in discussion! We went on this trip to inspect some work a fellow member of the Big Sky A's Ford club was doing on my Model A Ford pickup.

-o-

I like the egg and love the story!

The egg will be a great memory reboot for you both sometime in the future. I like how the cracks sort of give it a longitude & latitude feel in some of the photos. IMO - a definite improvement over the original.

Awesome Michael! It has that impressionistic art style!

What a great project
Elm will have an evolving perspective at around 8, 12, and 27
You both will get many memories from this collaboration.
Thanks for sharing

Great memory piece Michael! I have introduced both my adult son and daughter to woodturning and they have both turned several small bowls. My son chose to imitate one of my earliest turnings which he has always liked and affectionately calls the "Pot o' Gold". His version turned out better than mine is the homeliest bowl ever/
And now my daughter will be in town next week and she has expressed that she would like to turn a peppermill with me while she is here.
My daughter-in-law has really taken to turning and is independently pursuing it as an art form. Last week she was is in town and we spent a day in the shop where she turned her first large green bowl. It is very satisfying to have these bonding experiences!

From the burn pile to a keepsake memory, how inspirational is that!! It’s always a pleasure to see the creative mind at work Michael! Make sure Elm understands he saved the day!! Well done!!

Wow! You're just getting better and better. I see many demos in your future.