Fuego

[Alan Trout]

This was a recent demo piece that I did It is a fairly small piece at a hair under 4 3/4" buy about 4" and a 1/8" thick. The finish is CA.

Being productive in my turning has been very tough lately as my business has been very good. While that is nice this is generally my most productive time of year for my turning. This year it has not been.

The wood is a piece of mistletoe burled Osage Orange. I had never seen this happen with Osage before but was in North Texas last year and saw some in a tree. The owner of the tree trimmed them out of the tree for me. What is interesting about the piece of wood is that it did not oxidize like oasage usually does. It is just as yellow as it was when it was cut/turned a month ago. Maybe the way the mistletoe reacted with the wood may have something to do with it. But I am not sure.

The resin is red and gold poured together.

This is kind of a dumpy little form but I like it. It is very thin and translucent so I left the opening a bit larger than I normally do. It really does attract people to look inside which was the point.

The photos does not do it justice. When you see it the piece almost looks like it is on fire. So I decided I would name it "Fuego"

Thanks for looking, Cheers and jeers are always welcome.

Alan

[Dan Forman]

Gorgeous!!! Nice form, makes the most of the wood, especially in the first pic. If you had taken it down any further at the bottom, you would have lost a lot. Great color combination.

Dan

[John Keeton]

Alan, like Dan, I am not sure you could have gone much smaller in the base and still have enough wood. A different form for you, but very attractive, as is the brilliant color of this piece. Nice work!

[Cory Norgart]

That is probably some of the nicest wood Ive ever seen Alan... I like the form and I think youve named it succcesfully.. Thanks for showing.....

[Doug W Swanson]

The name is very fitting. I really like how the grain of the wood flows with the curves in the resin. Beautiful!

[Bill Hensley]

That dumpy little form looks awesome! It's a beauty. I get the urge to pick it up and hold it up to the light.

[Bob Rotche]

I really love your wood and resin combination forms and this is no exception. Would love to learn the technique.

[Jim Burr]

That just can't be beat! Beautiful casting and the form fits is perfectly!

[Alan Trout]

Thanks to everyone,

I really appreciate the compliments. The piece of wood was a little bit of a challenge to work with. Just getting it in the chuck took a bit of pre-casting to make the tenon. The shape is usually dictated by the piece of wood. Or at least that is what determines the shape that I make. It is a little different shape for me But I do like to experiment from time to time. For me trying to keep a piece looking proportional that is essentially square was a little tough. I am working on another piece of osage from the same tree and it oxidized almost immediately to the standard osage brown color. That piece did not have as much mistletoe on it. I used different colors with that piece and it is a bit of a different shape as well, hoping the different colors will work better with the color of the wood. We will see how it turns out.

Again Thanks,

Alan

[David E Keller]

That's a beauty, Alan! Great color combo!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice piece Alan. Color combo is outstanding.

[Baxter Smith]

Great colors in this one Alan! Not as fond of the shape as your others but it sounds like you didn't have much choice in the matter. Still a stunning piece of art!

[Scott Lux]

That screams to be lit from within. Very nice casting and turning.

[Wally Dickerman]

A well turned piece of gorgeous wood. I just hope that the colors don't fade too much.

[Richard Kennedy UK]

N I C E wow! very like it lots hope the colour stays as fiery!!!

[Ken Glass]

Alan,
I think you have pulled everything you could from that piece. Good form and the colors are alive. An excellent use of the resin as well. Great looking piece.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Alan,
That's a turning I would really like to see in person, especially in good lighting. Beautiful job.
faust

[Tim Rinehart]

Alan, this is a bit different for you and it's nice seeing some diversions, and yours always leaves us scratching our heads on the details of how you carry it out in practice.

I like the color contrast, and the name seems appropriate. Very nice piece, I think leaving the opening intentionally large for the reason stated is a smart choice.

[Scott Hackler]

Great piece Alan. I love the color combo in this, but am a little concerned what the sun will do over time to the yellow Osage.

[charlie knighton]

congratulations for turning of the week on AAW board, btw.....very nice

[Alan Trout]

Scott, Wally,

I understand your concern with the color. This piece acts very different from any osage that I have ever turned. I rough turned another piece for casting and it changed to brown overnight. This was rough turned for a couple of weeks before casting it sat in my truck in the sun and has never changed color. I am not sure why but I will keep my fingers crossed that it stays this way. But so far so good.

Again thanks to everyone for the nice comments.

Alan

[Nate Davey]

Very intense piece Alan. While it doesn't "Pop" like the blues, it is spectacular.

[Alan Trout]

Nate,

I have t agree. The reds just don't photograph as well as the blue pieces, and it really is hard to realize the visual impact without seeing in person. There is gold resin behind the red and it almost pops like a candy color paint job, it is a really neat effect but the photo's just don't show the visual depth. And thanks I appreciate the compliments.

Alan

[Eric Gourieux]

Well done. You did a great job on the form and colors. BUT, I'LL BITE! What is mistletoe burl? I've never heard of it before?

[Alan Trout]

Eric,

Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on trees.We all know this but Mesquite in particular will burl around the parasitic plant and is the cause of the burl. I have never seen mistletoe in Osage Orange but these trees had them and they were acting much like mesquite and making burls around the parasitic growth.

Thanks,

Alan