November Newsletter
Working through design and fabrication
I got the idea to try making icicle ornaments from Richard Findley’s annual December Skew Challenge. Last year, he provided a design for a stylized icicle for other woodturners to try making with a single tool, the skew chisel, which is one of the most difficult tools to learn. Recently, in my annual rush to make as many ornaments as I can, I finally tried it out. I don’t have the skills to complete it with only the skew, but I have been wanting to try an icicle design.
This shape is a faithful copy and I added some blue dye to the bottom for interest, but it came out much too dark.
Setting out to try other woods, shapes and variations, I chose hickory to work with because it is so hard that it will hold delicate details while I shape them, whereas other wood will chip off. I also like hickory’s whitish color and open grain.
I made an inverted teardrop shape and then another one in ash that turned out much too yellow and the grain pattern too dark. I tried more forms in ash and painted them white only because I have more ash on hand.
Again, I don’t love the results. The grain texture is mostly lost and it doesn’t even look like wood anymore.
I tried again with red oak and one coat of paint. A reliable wood to work with, red oak holds details well and I like the grain texture.
Then, I needed to refine the form into something more interesting. I tried a traditional finial design in hickory with added blue dye.
The design and my execution of it worked out in this piece, but I want to make a design that feels more my own. Working in maple, I made a series of simple forms with added dye on the bottom portion. Maybe they read more like water than ice, I’m not sure, but I plan on going in a different direction with my red oak instead.
There are several other ornaments that I made in this whole design exploration that did not turn out well enough for me to show here. The whole process of figuring out what works and which direction to go in feels like a looping-line forward. There has to be an alignment of what I want to make, what wood I have and the ability to make the controlled cuts to shape it. It’s hard to have patience with this whole process at times, although it is rewarding when I figure out an authentic design and develop the skills to produce it.
Upcoming classes at Brookfield Craft:
Make a Bud Vase November 23, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Holiday Ornaments Workshop November 30, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Shop:
Rivertown General in Dobbs Ferry
Somers General Store in Yorktown Heights
Holiday Markets:
Honeybee Grove Flower Farm, Mistletoe Market, December 8, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
HoliYAY Market at Station Sq, Peekskill, December 14-15, Noon to 4:00 p.m.