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Embellished Bradford Pear Calabash

Joined
Aug 7, 2021
Messages
124
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31
Location
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Managed to do a little bit of bowl work last night. I started to carve some of the rectangles, and then got paranoid about messing up. So, I took a step back and used a pencil to (roughly) shade in the areas that I need to focus on first. Originally, I was going to begin with carving chisels/gouges, but I think I will start the relief carving with a rotary tool. Then I’ll use hand tools to refine everything. Then I’ll finish with files and sandpaper to smooth the curves.

View attachment 57687
Good idea shading with pencil. Really helps identifying where to carve
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2023
Messages
40
Likes
476
Location
Placitas, NM
Michael - Great project, the final results look awesome! Thank you for sharing your journey with this piece. Really enoyed reading all the friendly and supportive comments you got along the way from other turners/members. Congratulations on the finished work - it really is inspiring!
 
Joined
Jan 9, 2021
Messages
24
Likes
21
Location
Strathmore, AB
Great follow along Michael, and fantastic end result.

Couple of questions: How many coats of paint did you end up putting on? I tried to count, but a couple of the posts didn't really say how many, just more :)

The last bit of pyography you did was to burn the sides of the rectangles (post 93). The result was great, but why did you go back and use the razor tip there instead of just using India ink (which you did use later)? Was this just part of the evolution of making the piece, or did the extra razor tip step add something that I'm just not understanding?
 

Michael Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
TOTW Team
Joined
Aug 22, 2022
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Chattanooga, TN
Hi Doug, thank you and great questions!

How many coats of paint did you end up putting on?

I lost track of the exact amount. Thinking about it now, I probably put something like 15+. Give or take a couple. I started with a plan for the gradient, and then added layers until I got close enough. Sometimes this was just to smooth a previous layer, other times it was to add back a bit of color that was lost. Also, each layer didn’t necessarily cover the entire rectangle.

The last bit of pyography you did was to burn the sides of the rectangles (post 93). The result was great, but why did you go back and use the razor tip there instead of just using India ink (which you did use later)?

This was a bit of both: form and evolution. The primary purpose of burning the sides was to match the texture to the rim texture. The rim was hatched, so I had to do the sides as well. I also had hoped this would darken the sides completely; however, you could still see a lot of the wood surface (and eventually this ate at me), so I had to go back with the India ink. I may have said this, but in hindsight I wish I had coated the entire exterior in India ink prior to coloring. That would have saved a significant amount of time.
 
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
39
Likes
301
Location
Corcoran, MN
Congratulations, Michael. That’s a wonderful piece, made all the more inspiring by your detailed explanation of the process. I really appreciate your superb sense of form and design.

I would add that the quality of your writing is very admirable. It made the process of following along very easy and rewarding. I’m betting that you’ve been employed in a job that requires a lot of good writing. Either that or you had some very good teachers of grammar and English!

Thanks again for your hard work and patience in explaining this project to us. You’ve set the bar quite high.
 
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