Apple Wood Wooden Apples

Yes, they are apples made from apple wood.  The stem and leaves are made of copper with a patina finish.  There is quite a story behind the apple wood used in these pieces.  Over 100 years ago, seeds of the Gravenstein apple were planted in the Summer Haven community on Mt. Lemon in Arizona. The tree grew and flourished and bore fruit for years.  One year a forest fire burned through the mountain community and burned the tree severely.  The tree recovered and continued to supply the residents with fresh apples.  More recently, another huge fire burned across the mountain side and this time more damage was done to the apple tree.  The community lost many summer cabins and businesses.

 In planning to rebuild and expand facilities, the fate of the apple tree which was barely clinging to life, prompted a committee to suggest it be honored in some way in the new community center.  Artists were asked to submit proposals for a fitting creation.  My wife, JoAnn and I submitted one of the three ideas the committee considered.  Our proposal was to construct an apple tree wall relief made of apple wood from the burned tree.  It would be complete with apples like those shown above.

I also finished two small section of a burned-out limb to illustrate how the surface could be covered with sections of apple wood, similar to the construction of my art vessels.  The one shown below used tile pieces of apple wood whereas the second example used round cross sections of apple wood limbs. The second sample was my favorite and it also must have been the architect's.  He took it and that was the last I saw of it. We made a formal presentation to the design committee and all went well.  The other two artist's work were approved.

Several members of the committee started  lobbing for the actual tree being placed as a three dimensional art piece in the main room of the center.  They were long-time residents of the community and were quite emotional about the old tree.  This splintered the planning group with members taking sides and meeting after meeting failed to resolve the dispute.  One of the other artists suggested placing the tree outside or creating a metal tree for exterior placement.  We quietly withdrew from the conflict and took the pickup load of apple tree wood trimmings that had been given to us to work with, to our studio.

The tree was cut down and stored in a back area behind the buildings, covered with a tarp.  The other artists were well along with their projects which used most of the allocated funds.  The committee, in an effort to create additional funds, planned a gala event including a dinner and asked if I would make wooden apples to be auctioned at the event.  I made a dozen like those shown in the first photo. We were invited to attend and received courtesy tickets, but we had a conflict with the date.  That was the last we heard from the committee and so ended our public art project

*More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>.

Rock Dancers

This is an art piece my wife, JoAnn, created with cast resin.  She cast the basic shape with various colored resin layers in a plaster shell mold.  Much grinding, filing, and sanding was required to obtain the smooth shapes this piece has.  The color layers simulates an attractive stone material.  I like this view of the piece, but it changes dramatically when viewed from other angles.  We have this piece in our collect We share the same web site so the same reference can be used as noted below.

*More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Fouquieria

  Fouquieria

This Vessel is made from a native plant that grows in abundance in the desert around Tucson.  I have and continue to use this plant in my landscaping.  For more specific information I have relied on Wikipedia for the following:  Fouquieria splendens (commonly known as ocotillo, but also referred to as coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's Staff,Jacob Cactus, and vine cactus) is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert in the Southwestern United States and northernMexico.

Ocotillo is not a true cactus. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2–4 cm) ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months.

Individual stems may reach a diameter of 5 cm at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 10 m. The plant branches very heavily at its base, but above that the branches are pole-like and only infrequently divide further, and specimens in cultivation may not exhibit any secondary branches. The leaf stalks harden into blunt spines, and new leaves sprout from the base of the spine.

The bright crimson flowers appear especially after rainfall in spring, summer, and occasionally fall. Flowers are clustered indeterminately at the tips of each mature stem. Individual flowers are mildly zygomorphic and are pollinated by hummingbirds and native carpenter bees.

The Ocotillo plant is very hardy and has shown remarkable stamina and a will to live.  A friend had a sun porch roof covered with Ocotillo limbs and after many years took them down to use in a fence.  The ends were buried in the ground and after a wet season many were sprouting new life.  I have taken pruning pieces and done the same thing and currently have new plants growing from them.

Branch pieces were secured in base and top blocks of 2" wood while segments of the limbs were used to build the rest of the vessels surface.  Temporary blocking was used to spread the limbs in the center to increase the pieces diameter.

*More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Arciostaphylos

The Manzanita, a member of the Heather family, is found as 50 different species. 36 of which are native to the U.S. and 4 of the most common grow in Arizona.  "Arciostaphylos" ,the pointed-leaf species is used to make this art piece.  It has low, spreading growth habits with smooth red bark and crooked, twisted limbs.  During drought periods, the leaves twist on their stalks to a vertical position to minimize exposure to the sun and reduce evaporation.  The genus name, Arciostaphylos, means bear-berry and the Spanish name, Manzanita, is intercepted as "little apple".  Indians used leaves and berries as food and for making a beverage that has several medical qualities.

Technical Information

Size:                             16"h. , 13" dia.

Weight:                         9 lb.

Material:                       Limb segments were adhered to a fiberglass shell. 

                                    larger limb segments ring the opening at the top of

                                    the vessel.  Resin with a dark filler was used to                                                                             grout between the wood segments.

Source:                        Pruning from a friend in Oracle, Arizona.

Finish:                         Finished surface of wood was treated with Danish                                                                       Oil and a paste wax finish was applied to all surfaces.

This art piece was given to the good friends in Oracle that provided a pickup load of Manzanita wood from pruning off their land.

*More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Pregnant Chicken

This is a bronze piece my wife, JoAnn, made while working on her MFA at Eastern Washington University.  She did a number of bronze castings and also cast resin pieces while there.  I like the texture and shape of this casting.  If you look close, the yellow cast resin eggs will catch your eye. The black base is also cast resin.  She has this piece in our collection but offered the right price she might let it go.  We share the same web site so the same reference can be used as noted below.

.More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Hediondilla

I have quite a collection of different woods that I use in my art pieces.  It is very interesting to research the background of each.  The wood used in the art piece discussed in this post has a number of names.  It's scientific name is Larrea tridentata and is also known as creosote bush and greasewood as a plant,chaparral as a medicinal herb, and as "gobernadora" in Mexico, Spanish for "governess," due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In Sonora, it is more commonly called "hediondilla."  So, you see where the title for this post originated.

Larrea tridentata is an evergreen shrub growing to 3 to 9 ft tall, rarely 13 ft. The stems of the plant bear resinous, dark green leaves. The flowers are up to 1 in diameter, with five yellow petals. Galls may form by the activity of the creosote gall midge. The whole plant exhibits a characteristic odor of creosote, from which the common name derives.  In the regions where it grows its smell is often associated with the "smell of rain".

These plants live for many years.  Eventually the old    crown dies and the new one becomes a clonal colony from the previous plant, composed of many separate stem crowns all from the same seed

The "King Clone" creosote ring is one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. It has been alive 11,700 years, in the central Mojave Desert near present day Lucerne Valley, California, shown above.. This single clonal colony plant of Larrea tridentata reaches up to 67 feet in diameter, with an average diameter of 45 feet. King Clone was identified and its age determined by radiocarbon dating by Frank Vasek, a professor at the University of California, Riverside. It is within the Creosote Rings Preserve of the Lucerne Valley and Johnson Valley.

By now it should be obvious that this is a very special plant  and one I am glad to have in my collection.  Hediondilla is shown below.

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                     Hediondilla

.More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

A Scond Try

Using a different approach, I constructed a “second try” vessel shown below.  A wax model of the shape I wanted was made and then wood pieces were pressed into it far enough to hold them secure for the next step.  Plaster of Paris was mixed to a thick cream consistency and applied over the wood pieces, forming a shell that embedded each wood piece protruding from the wax model.

 

The plaster of Paris shell was left open at the top so that when the piece was heated in an oven the wax would melt.   This left the ends of the wood pieces protruding inside the shell.  Various colors of resin were mixed and poured one at a time, into the vessel.  After each batch of color was added and allowed to set up on that portion of the interior surface, the vessel was rotated slightly.  This was repeated with each color pour until I felt a sufficient wall thickness had been reached over the entire inner surface. 

Finally sanding began on the outside surface to remove the plaster of Paris shell, leaving the mosaic pattern of the wood pieces.  My, what a mess that was.  Plaster dust was everywhere.  I even tried to cut the shell down with a router.  The piece was suspended between two points in a frame that I constructed.  With my router attached to the frame, I turned the piece by hand and adjusted the cutter to take off plaster and wood, just as in a lathe.  After the plaster was all removed and the wood exposed evenly, the piece was finished by sanding.  This wasn't the most effective method of working the vessel down but eventually a smooth surface was achieved

This process had its drawbacks.  It was difficult to tell how thick the wall was built up and impossible to keep it a uniform thickness.  The tendency is to apply too much resin in some spots as the attempt is made to get adequate wall thickness in others.  This results in an overweight vessel.  At the same time it was possible to sand through the wall in thin areas, which I did, and then had to patch the hole.  To create a large vessel by this method would be a backbreaking task.  So, once again I went back to the drawing board.

I needed a process that gave me more opportunity to develop free form shapes of various sizes with walls that give the finished vessel strength and beauty.  I want to have a smooth inner surface and uniform wall thickness.  The capability to use a wide variety of materials on the same vessel would expand the design opportunities.  With all these desired requirements in mind, I finally arrived at the process currently being used.  There are modifications in the process from one piece to the next but by following the basics of the process, I have been able to produce a variety of vessels.  The photo below is a picture of the first vessel made with the process I currently employ. More specific detail can be found in my book,"Unique Vessels: How Do You Make Those Things?"

.More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

My First Vessel

My interest in creating vessels from wood segments and other materials has driven
my quest for a long time. About thirty years ago I tried to make a vessel by gluing
various types and shapes of wood together to produce a free-form art piece. After
all pieces had been glued together and dried, I worked this mass of sticks down to
a smooth outer surface. Then I applied a finish and my first attempt was done.

The problem with this first attempt was that there wasn't any way to complete the
inside of the vessel. A jumble of ends of sticks protruded at various lengths into the
vessel’s cavity. It also took a long period of time to construct the piece, as glue had to
dry in one small section before I could add another. I felt it would be overwhelming
to construct a large vessel using this method. Also, how was I to incorporate other
materials that didn't glue up like wood into the vessel wall? Finally, I was concerned
about the strength of the walls, as it was difficult to clamp each glued section in the
process. A glue joint should be clamped for maximal strength.  My first Vessel attempt is shown below.

More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

The Titanic

                 The Titanic

My wife's uncle had a small piece of property in Wenatchee, Washington he was cleaning and developing trails on.  He wanted to make it park like, a place he and JoAnn's aunt could come and relax after a days work in the orchard.  I asked him if I could help and also take some of the wood to my shop for my projects.  He was more than glad to get the help and get rid of some of the pruned material  I was particularly interested in the Black Locust which is a hardwood with a lot of character.  I worked quite a few hours with him and gathered a sizable pickup load to take to my shop.  The wood was green so I coated the ends of each piece with hot wax to keep the piece from developing splits caused by drying too fast.

It was many years before I got back to working with the wood.   We moved several times with job changes, but I made sure my collection of woods always moved with us.  The wood was well seasoned when I got ready to use it, and we had moved to Arizona so this dry climate further reduced the moisture level in the wood.  I wanted to display this beautiful wood on a large, interesting shape.  The photo above shows the cross-section pattern of the wood while the top surface is covered with 3/4 inch boards of Black Locust.  A metal band around the base and metal lining of the slit in the top adds contrasting material to the piece.



































                                            Titanic

    This second photo, seen above gives more of a side view of the piece so that the image of a ships prow as the vessel is going down is suggested.  l  this fits the Titanic title. A better view of the wood segment that cover the lower portion of the piece is afforded by this second photo.  good sized limbs were used to produce these slices.  A word about the tree, Black Locust, indicates the original trees grew in the eastern United States but over time were propagated in the west.  Reference information had this to say about the wood.

• Bark: Dark gray brown tinged with red, deeply furrowed, surface inclined to scale. Branchlets at first coated with white silvery down. This soon disappears and they become pale green, afterward reddish brown. Prickles develop from stipules, are short, somewhat triangular, dilated at base, sharp, dark purple, adhering only to the bark, but persistent.
• Wood: Pale yellowish brown; heavy, hard, strong, close-grained and very durable in contact with the ground. The wood has a specific gravity 0.7333, and a weight of approximately 45.7 pounds per cubic foot.

         A medium sized Black Locust tree

More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Sermon on the Rock

This title was selected because it fits the art piece, not because I wish to preach to post readers.  My belief in God is a personal matter just as your beliefs are personal and will not be explored in any of my posts.  I was modeling in wax and this shape  evolved.  I had several interesting pieces of volcanic rock so chose to use one as the base for mounting this art piece.

I had wanted to show off the volcanic rock found around Spokane, Washington and also in the area of  Grand Coulee Dam.  Spectacular columnar basalt formations (formed as the basalt flows cooled slowly and evenly) can be found in the road cuts west of Spokane along I-90, Sunset Boulevard, Geiger Boulevard and Garden Springs Road. These rocks are shipped around the world for decorative purposes.  The photo below is of similar rock formations in the Quency area.

Of course my art piece is using a very small portion of one of these basalt columns.  I found it fascinating how these shapes were formed from a lava flow as it cooled slowly and evenly  producing stress resulting in geometric shaped as shown above.  Nature's work all around us is mystifying and beautiful.

This post is as much about the nature we have around us in ever-day life and often don't pay attention to or notice of, as it is about my cast resin art piece. We miss so much of life by not noticing life.  Come to think of it, maybe I am preaching to you.  Sorry.

                              Sermon on the Rock

.More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Elevated Cedar Urn-eP 14

                  Elevated Cedar Urn

This piece is called a Urn because it fits the dictionary definition of the word.  According to the Random House College Dictionary, a Urn is a large or decorative vase, especially one with an ornamental foot or pedestal.  I think that description fits Elevated Cedar Urn quite well.  The dictionary definition continues; a vase for holding the ashes of the cremated dead.  I assure you there was no such plan in mind for this art piece.  It would work very well however for the urn is built around a glass jar.  This is #14 in  my e-P series of vessels.  Earlier posts described this series and how they are developed.  The e-P code stands for e= "empty" containers like the glass jar in this piece and the P represents the "promise" of an art piece.  For further information the earlier posts that deal with this series are clearly marked for easy reference.

This piece is made with Tennessee Red Cedar and Ginkgo wood.  The parts were turned on my old wood lathe and assembled.  The wrapped  copper wire wasn't in the original plan but was necessary to correct a problem.  The assembled piece was setting on the workbench in my crowded little shop and was bumped, fell to the floor and snapped the pedestal in half.  I drilled into both halves and mounted them on a piece of dowel but the broken joint still showed.  The pedestal was stronger than the original but had to be dressed up to cover the brake seam.  Now you know the truth about this piece.

Elevated Cedar Urn is 18' high and 54" in diameter at the largest point.  After finish sanding it with 220 grit sandpaper, two coats of paste wax were applied, and buffed to a shine between coats.  I didn't want to use an oil finish as it darkens the wood and I like the natural colors of these two woods.  The finish will have to be refreshed periodically

.More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Low Tech

                               Low Tech

The term high tech describes the most recent developments in our technology.  As research and development continues much of what we call high tech today could be classified as low tech in time.  My art piece represents that technology that has been left behind.  I sculpted this head in wax and let the poor fellow sleep as the world passed him by.  A mold was made and the bronze cast poured that you see above but what you don't see is the other side of his head.  This is his best side if you can imagine that.  A large portion of the other side is missing.  It has been reconstructed in wax and another mold made of the head.  The wax was melted out of the mold and all was ready to cast the reconstructed side of his head.  One additional step is needed before we cast.  I had a supply of old electronic parts, radio tubes, capacitors and resistors.  All were placed inside the mold through a hole in the top.  Now we are ready to cast.  Wont the molten bronze melt and burn up the electronic parts I put in the mold you ask?

Just stay with me on this as I mix a batch of resin and catalyst.  That's right, this side of the head is cast in clear resin,small batches at a time and watching the amount of catalyst carefully so it doesn't overheat and crack the resin.  The tricky part is that each successive pour add heat to the mix so the catalyst is throttled back to compensate for the residual heat.  When the cast is filled it is set aside to cure before attempting to remove the mold.  When the last of mold is removed the cleanup, shaping and smoothing begins.

This was all done a number of years ago, but it seemed to take an extended period of time to polish the resin side of the head so that nothing obscured the view into this guy's head.  I was striving to give clarity such as looking through a window pane.  I don't recall if I reached that goal.   Unfortunately, Low Tech isn't around or I could check that out.  A nice lady from California really fell for him and took him home with her.  I think there is a picture someplace that would show that other side of his head.  Let me look for it and if I'm successful I'll tack it on the end of this post.

                                              Low Tech's Good Side

More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Hot! Hot! Hot!

We live in southern Arizona now and after moving down from Washington, State,. it took some time to adjust to the climate here.  It wasn't hard to adjust to the mild winter temperatures and the fall and spring are wonderful.  Summer is another situation all together.  I don't know how the early settlers made a go of it with out air conditioning.  When you step out in the summer sun on a day with 110 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, it feels as if your skin is being Bar-B-QED.

It was June when we drove down to look for housing.  My job started on July 1 and we would have to move all our possessions down and get settled before I got on the job.  We checked into a motel in Tucson and enjoyed a dip in the pool before retiring for the evening.  Morning comes early in June with a quick buildup of heat.  We appreciated that when we opened the car to find the rear view merrier had melted its seal to the windshield and lay on the floorboard.  We have adjusted with the help of good air conditioning in the home, in the car, on the job and all businesses.  It's dashing between these cool islands that is limited and planned well in advance.

                      Southwest II

This brings me to what I wanted to say about my art piece shown above.  I titled it Southwest II but it has taken on the nick name of  Hot! Hot! Hot!  The shape was achieved by placing Fiberglass over a two foot diameter balloon.  A mosaic of wood pieces establishes a rigid shell.  The balloon was taken out and a base of saguaro ribs attached.  Saguaro ribs also form the neck at the top of this vessel.  A band of small smooth rocks was attached around the center of the piece and tinted resin grout was worked into all spaces between wood segments and rock.  The color of the grout varied from white on the top and bottom, then transitions to blue, yellow, and finely red around the rocks in the center.  This is a global temperature vessel and the grout colors lead you from cold at the polar caps through temperate regions ending at the equator rocks and Hot! Hot! Hot!.

More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Mexican Bird of Paradise

                       Mexican Bird of Paradise

I am asked quite often, “How long did it take you to make that thing?”  The time varies with the complexity and size of the vessel, but I keep a log of actual work time.  For the “Mexican Bird of Paradise”, it took approximately 153 hours, including time to prepare materials

The next question I get is, "How do you make these things?"  That Question is so frequent that I decided to explain  the basic process I follow in constructing these vessels in a book.  Considering the energy and time it took me to completer this publishing project will take a while to balance out my time in answering that question, but it has been a pleasant new experience and I find it fits well with my art work.  The art piece. 'Mexican Bird of Paradise'  was constructed step by step and recorded with photos and text through the entire process.  The book was published by Wheatmark and is listed on Amazon where it may be browsed electronically. The cover is shown below and access is also available on my web site:  www.apatchablue.com

The wood used in construction of this vessel is locally collected Mexican Bird of Paradise. This plant, a native of South America and Mexico, has become naturalized in the U. S. Southwest.  It is not to be confused with the tropical African Bird of Paradise.  The scientific family name, “Caesalpinia”, has been replaced in most general reference with “Mexican Bird of Paradise”.  It is a member of the pea family, producing poisonous seeds in long slender pods.  The foliage and blossoms have an unpleasant odor but its bright colors have given it an important role in landscaping.  The shrub can grow to 10’ in height and withstands desert heat and low humidity.  It drops its leaves in winter and can be pruned back severely because it is a fast grower.  Its bright blooms last throughout the summer.  The wood is soft and the branches contain a pithy center.  This adds to the design and texture of the vessel.

             


           Mexican Bird of Paradise plant

Technical Vessel Information                                      

Size:  36”h x 10”w x 8”d

Weight:  10 lb.

Materials:  Mexican Bird of Paradise wood segments, Fiberglass shell, and resin.

Source:  Tucson, Arizona

Construction:  A Styrofoam core was developed and then covered with a fiberglass shell.  Wood segments from the Mexican Bird of Paradise plant were then attached to the shell with resin.  Resin-grout was used to fill between segments and when cured the surface was worked down to #100 grit sandpaper.  The Styrofoam core was removed and cast resin top and bottom sections were added.  The vessel surface was smoothed and finished to the desired result.

Finish:  An oil finish was applied to the wood segments and two coats of paste wax were applied and buffed down.

More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>

Beauty and the Pests

                 Beauty and the Pests

The artist, yours truly, checking on the display of 'Beauty and the Pests' at the Tubac Art Center.  This was a special show focused on a local authors publication, "A Beautiful and  Cruel Country".  The author had lived in the area in the early days and describes the beauty of the unspoiled land.  On the other hand it was a tough life with an  unforgiving climate and limited basic necessities for subsistence. Artists that wished to enter a piece in the exhibition were instructed to read the book and tie their art to some feature of the story.  It was an interesting challenge, more-so than fitting your work to a broad, general topic.  My vessel was of good size using segments of cottonwood and a solid cottonwood piece at the top opening.  Cottonwood comes in a wide variety of types but all belong to the Willow Family.  The Fremont cottonwood is the type found in this part of Arizona.

As a kid growing up in Montana and attending a small country school, I have fond memories of the huge cottonwoods that circled the school yard.  They were wonderful climbing trees and their seed berries were just right to wage war on other students.  When they matured and split open a cotton substance was spilled into the air.  Seeds were attached to this cotton sail and they flew far and wide to plant new trees.

I decided I would do a contrast between the plants and bugs found in this area, presented as specimens like we did as kids.  The challenge was to incorporate them on or in my vessel.  For example a butterfly would be a beautiful thing as apposed to a scorpion.  A flower was beautiful but a bur would be considered a pest.  I collected a quantity of this type material and cast each piece in separate clear resin blocks.  Each was numbered and assigned a spot on the surface of the vessel.  Next, cottonwood segments were attached to the vessel surface leaving the spot for each resin covered specimen open.  When all wood segments were attached and grouted together this left numbered pockets where the specimens were mounted and covered with more clear resin.  The total surface was sanded smooth and finished with oil and wax.  A close-up view of the finished piece is shown below.  The inside surface of the vessel was covered with sharp thorn material.

More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>