Wood Art

[Trent Watts]

Here are my studio shots of recent pieces from three woodworker friends in Saskatoon.

Randy Sawchyn used hollow turning to make this vase and iridescent paint to create the flower shape.

Mark Noete turned this platter out of Yellow Cedar and filled the voids with coloured epoxy.

Jamie Russel designs these complex pieces at full size on a drafting table and then proceeds to carve all the pieces and glue together. The wood is curly maple from the West Coast of British Columbia.

 

[AlanLichty]

Beautiful wood work in all of these pieces and a nice job taking their portraits. I love the platter but the table in the last image is some incredible wood carving.

That maple is a bit on the soft side compared to eastern hard maple but the grain can put on quite the show when it comes to quilting and fiddleback patterns. For those of us out on the west coast it's actually kind of cheap per board foot and I use it a lot in my furniture work.

 

[Trent Watts]

Beautiful wood work in all of these pieces and a nice job taking their portraits. I love the platter but the table in the last image is some incredible wood carving.

That maple is a bit on the soft side compared to eastern hard maple but the grain can put on quite the show when it comes to quilting and fiddleback patterns. For those of us out on the west coast it's actually kind of cheap per board foot and I use it a lot in my furniture work.

You have that correct Alan. Yes Jamie is quite an amazing furniture maker. The cost of Big Leaf Maple has really gone up over the last few years. Especially the highly figured wood that is highly prized for instruments. It must be wonderful to have ready access to that beautiful wood as reasonable prices.

 

[AlanLichty]

You have that correct Alan. Yes Jamie is quite an amazing furniture maker. The cost of Big Leaf Maple has really gone up over the last few years. Especially the highly figured wood that is highly prized for instruments. It must be wonderful to have ready access to that beautiful wood as reasonable prices.

Not just reasonable pricing - at $2.90/bd.ft. for 4/4 lumber it's cheaper for me to buy than poplar. They do have some separated out for fancy grain but I can often find fiddleback boards (the grain pattern in the horns above) in the common stacks. Eastern hardwoods that are considered common lumber east of the rockies are another story and quickly reach eye watering numbers in a hurry.

It's one thing to buy the wood - being able to make a table like the one Jamie made above takes a type of artistic carving talent that is far beyond my woodworking skill levels.

 

[Ben Egbert]

These are simply fantastic works of art and your images are perfectly lit and composed.

 

[JimFox]

Your woodworking friends are such artists! I am really glad that you share these here as it's a pleasure to view them. And I enjoy the info from both you and Alan on the woods, it's very educational.

All of these are spectacular, #1 though is so amazing as it looks like pottery, not wood at all.

 

[Trent Watts]

Your woodworking friends are such artists! I am really glad that you share these here as it's a pleasure to view them. And I enjoy the info from both you and Alan on the woods, it's very educational.

All of these are spectacular, #1 though is so amazing as it looks like pottery, not wood at all.

Thanks Jim.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

That first one is my favorite. Although all are very exquisite.