Design Opportunity
River Runs Through Platter is an incredible Maple Burl Platter with Lapis and epoxy to fill in a bark inclusion. The repair displays as the blue line in the center. This is what I call a design opportunity. It is when an unexpected defect appears to derail the direction of the project until a solution is found.
River Runs Through Platter has tons of character from the earth tone colors of the hard wood and sap wood. There was also a bark line that runs through the interior of the wood. I dug out the punky bark and filled the void with blue resin to create the river effect. I have a theory that the ugliest wood yields the most beautiful pieces. One would think that a clean straight log will yield the best wood. Well that is probably true for lumber and furniture grade wood. No knots, the grain is straight, no spalting and no bugs. For me this is a bland piece of wood that will probably require secondary decorations to give the piece character. I prefer twisted and environmentally damaged wood that has taken a beating for many years. When I peel away the layers of wood I expose the character of years of growing.
Here is another piece from an ugly log. River Runs Through Vase
Gift Ideas
If you are looking for an unusual gift and do not see something you like in my website store then you should take a look at my Etsy shop.
Studio
All of my items are mage in my studio in Montvale, NJ, USA. Much of my time I am using a wood lathe to create the form. More often I find I spend a significant amount of time at the workbench refining the item to make it more appealing.