Question for those who sell their work

[Nate Davey]

This is going to ramble a bit, kind of how my mind "works" so if you want to skip ahead to the question go to the second paragraph.:D I was out in the garage today taking a 6" dia x 8" piece of Osage down to a tooth pick. I wanted to try a two part turning like David and John K. do with a pedestal and form atop. I got the general shape of the form then cut my tenon and got the pedestal blank on, matched the curves and then decided I wanted to adjust the shape of the form just a little. This is where the wheels came off and I ended up with a yellow tipped dowel. As I was furious with myself for not stopping and taking a step back, I looked and saw an osage scrap I had turned into a cone for my tail stock and notice it had turned brown with age. This started me thinking about Raffans book and how he mentioned over time beautiful graining, spalting and such go away over time and leave you with the form. Which started me thinking about a piece of art we had commissioned for our shop at work and the artist insisted we get UV protective glass so it wouldn't fade.

So, do you artist who sell your work recommend to the collector to protect the pieces from UV, do they already know this or will it matter at all? Is it just a matter of time, decades, that the interesting colors fade into the wood work:D and you're left with only the form????

Sorry for all that, ADD is a heck of a drug.

[David DeCristoforo]

Here is an excerpt from my "standard contract" I used when doing custom woodwork. It still applies:

"COLOR AND GRAIN MATCHING
It is the nature of wood to vary in grain and color. This is part of the natural beauty of wood. While we make every effort to select woods for consistent grain and color, some variation will inevitably occur. In time, all hardwoods will develop a fine patina. The patina will tend to even out slight color variations as the wood mellows. This aging process will darken the wood to some degree. The patina on fine antique furniture is highly prized. THIS SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A DEFECT!"

[Jim Burr]

A lot of that isn't UV either Nate, it's oxidation of the tannins in the wood. Look at Purple heart...cut it and leave it in the sun and it's purple...cut it again and it's brown. Lot's of photoreactive chemicals in there....wish I'd avoided organic chem all together :(:o
So I guess the point is no...shouldn't matter but there should be a notice as to what will happen.

[Jeff Myroup]

I recommend to all my customers to keep the piece out of direct sunlight. Since I do a lot of pyro, I explain how it can fade over time. I normally include a care sheet with the piece when shipping.