A Bump on a log

[Kathy Marshall]

A little over a week ago I was at my tree trimmer friend's place picking up some Chinese Elm and I saw a small, 5" or so, diameter Eucalyptus branch with a bump on one side. Not sure what it was, but I thought it might have some interesting grain, so I grabbed it along with the elm.
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Now that all the Christmas turning is finished, I finally had some time to see what was inside. I put it between centers and started roughing it out. Didn't have a particular shape in mind, just thought I would see what the wood wanted to be.
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I stopped at this point and pulled the bark off.
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The lighter wood is where the bump was. Not a normal shape for me, but it's what it wanted to be.
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Finished pics in the next post.....

[Kathy Marshall]

It's about 5 1/4" x 3 1/4" with a coat of BLO so far. The shape is kinda growing on me, but it helps that it's got some figure and other stuff going on.

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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[Dan Forman]

Has a nice smile. :)

Dan

[Michelle Rich]

yep, the shape is different, but it is very cool looking. The wood always knows what it wants to be, & I think this is quite fun to look at & wonder about.

[Dan Hintz]

If this was a standard HF I would say the shape doesn't "amaze", but the natural edge brings it back into the running... reminds me of a gourd-based water jug. What a unique (and immediate) transition of the wood from branch pith to burl in pics 2 and 4 of the last post. I've never seen such a thing, and that alone makes the piece quite unique.

Nicely done, Kathy :)

[Steve Schlumpf]

I like the form! The wood is pretty cool and I like how the different types of wood compete for attention!

[Steve bellinger]

kathy i think this is really cool. nice wood and i do like the form

[Hayes Rutherford]

That piece just goes to show that exploring pays off sometimes. I would be almost certain in saying that this is an area where an old wound or pruning has healed over.

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks for comments!
I'll have to try something out of the rest of the branch, it turned really nice and looking at the cut end, it looks like it might have a fair amount of curl or figure. It'll be interesting to see how it looks after it dries, I expect a fair amount of movement.

[Joe Watson]

Pretty wild... You did a great job of working with the wood rather then working the wood. Hope you don't forget about us when you finish it, would be nice to see.

[Jamie Donaldson]

That growth is sometimes called a cat's eye burl, which is a growth pattern around and over a branch that has been removed. They are often not sound all the way around, so you were lucky to find it was solid. Good eye for the orientation to place the light wood at the top opening.

[robert baccus]

I love it. very unique and you let the wood guide you. looks like an overgrown knot to me.