Russell Neyman
09-21-2011, 11:34 AM
208121
My latest work: "Chief Colby" -- a tall, graceful alder urn with my "trademark" banksia feather finial. I picked the alder because I wanted the extreme contrast with the dark trim. The stand and finial round are Moroccan ebony. The finish on the alder is two coats of shellac (to enhance the figuring) with four coats of wipe-on poly. Interestingly, the ebony simply wouldn't take a finish -- just too oily, I guess -- so it's simply buffed it out and waxed with good results. It has taken me a couple of years to perfect the banksia feather process so that it's great-looking but still sturdy enough to be mounted this way, and the final coats on it are poly, too. 6" wide by 23" tall.
There was a bit of debate surrounding the size of the feather/finial. The locals who enjoy wandering by my shop to see what I'm up to were split on whether to put a large banksia feather, a small one, or none at all. Because many of my pieces are sold to designers through art galleries, I went for the "dramatic effect" of the largest one I could make. The interior (below) has a emerald green texture paint.
This piece will be on display at the Valley Art Gallery in Forest Grove, Oregon.
208124
My latest work: "Chief Colby" -- a tall, graceful alder urn with my "trademark" banksia feather finial. I picked the alder because I wanted the extreme contrast with the dark trim. The stand and finial round are Moroccan ebony. The finish on the alder is two coats of shellac (to enhance the figuring) with four coats of wipe-on poly. Interestingly, the ebony simply wouldn't take a finish -- just too oily, I guess -- so it's simply buffed it out and waxed with good results. It has taken me a couple of years to perfect the banksia feather process so that it's great-looking but still sturdy enough to be mounted this way, and the final coats on it are poly, too. 6" wide by 23" tall.
There was a bit of debate surrounding the size of the feather/finial. The locals who enjoy wandering by my shop to see what I'm up to were split on whether to put a large banksia feather, a small one, or none at all. Because many of my pieces are sold to designers through art galleries, I went for the "dramatic effect" of the largest one I could make. The interior (below) has a emerald green texture paint.
This piece will be on display at the Valley Art Gallery in Forest Grove, Oregon.
208124