Mike Foster/Paul Hedman Illusion

[David DeCristoforo]

I have long been an admirer of Mike's amazing, mathematically derived pieces and Paul's heavily textured multi axis work. So I decided to combine the techniques of both into a "tribute" piece. Being me, I could not resist the urge to place the finished piece on a pedestal and add a finial. This took a ton of hours to design and layout. Turned on dozens of axises. Then weeks of painstaking carving, texturing, burning, coloring and other stuff. Nights of sleep lost and days passing in a haze while my wife despaired of me assuming I had lost my mind. And when I finally returned to reality and presented her with this, she was convinced that she was right. "What the (bleep) is that???" she asked. "It's a piece." I replied. "Of that there can be no doubt…." she answered.

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OK… It's all BS! The other day, I was visiting a friend who is a retired botanist and a total "plant freak". By his front door I noticed a large bowl full of these things. It's a seed pod from a liquid amber tree. It did remind me of some of Mike and Paul's work so I thought…. well… what the heck. OK… I was bored! Since I have also wondered at some of the fine miniature work I've seen, I thought I might give that a go. It's really too big to be called "miniature", being a full three and a half inches tall and, therefore, plainly visible to the naked eye. But it's as small as I have ever attempted. Here it is sitting on a nickel.

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[Nate Davey]

Did you turn the pedestal and finial on your new monster lathe? Nice mix of natural and refined.

[phil harold]

Kewl looks like a sycamore seed pod
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[Robert Henrickson]

Kewl looks like a sycamore seed pod

Not sycamore -- sweetgum or gum or red red gum (and half a dozen other names just in Kentucky]. "Liquid amber" is from the scientific/botanical name Liquidambar styraciflua A single tree can produce 10-20 bushels of these things.

[Paul Gallian]

Notice the difference in the photo238506

[Tim Rinehart]

David,
You almost had me in! I was reading the first paragraph, but looking at the pic out of corner of my eye I thought "looks one of them dang sweetgum balls"...but I held off to absorb the leadup on this piece of ...ahem...art.
Actually, I think it's a wonderful bit of detail work on finial/stand, but I'm not so sure of the market in these parts.
I love trees...but like most others, won't hesitate to find a reason to take one of these down that border my yard. The ones in the woods...they're welcome to stay as long as their little droppings stay out there!

[Roger Chandler]

Very nice detail on the pedestal and finial........how did you connect the sweet gum seed pod? With glue on an area where you took off the spikes? I like what you did here, David.

[Allan Ferguson]

A very interesting concept. The imagination at work.

[Steve Schlumpf]

That is cool! Love the mix of natural and turned! Really nice work on turning something so tiny!