This is my first major work since July and is the successor to my In The Steppes of Central Asia pieces released this summer. After attending the AAW Symposium in Albuquerque I was inspired to try some of the new ideas and techniques I had picked up. After many experiments and creative changes, with two interruptions for some travel, I finally settled on a final design for this set of calabash vessels.
Each vessel and lid were scaled to graduate their sizes. The vessels are turned from big leaf maple and hollowed to 1/8 wall thickness, sanded and naturally finished inside. The rings were turned and frame the textured rings. The outside of each vessel was branded with my own design. The lid bottoms were turned first, natural finished and then reversed and the top side turned. The texture was then applied to the lids and rings on the vessels.
The branded portions of the vessels were sealed and then coated with black gesso and top coated with a clear matt finish. The textured portion of the vessels and lids were finished with various metallic art colors which adds an iridescent metal look. The purple rings and handles were masked and airbrushed. Id like to thank Molly Winton and Andi Wolfe for sharing their techniques which contributed to the design of these pieces.
The height of the three are 7 , 6 and 5 .
