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>