2017 Eclipse Revisited

OK, I'm a tad disappointed, I thought more visual artists

(and poets and dancers) would be documenting their

creative reactions to the 2017 phenomenon, the eclipse.

Maybe makers are still processing and digesting; maybe

there is work yet to be created.

Gene Smith prepared with filters to capture the event

I am often accused of being overly-enthusiastic.  Guilty.  But in checking around with all my arty friends as well as on the web, I am not finding too many others who documented our recent eclipse.  Many for-profit organizations produced tee-shirts and posters but I was looking for artist reaction.

However family-DNA proved strong as, unbeknownst to me (and totally unprompted by me), my sister did choose to make a mark on the occasion producing one of her clay bowls in commemoration of the event she experienced at the Washington DC zoo.

AmyH, Washington DC potter

untitled, thrown bowl, 2017

Cool, huh?  And I called my photographer buddy, Gene, to see if he got creative that day.  He did not disappoint:

gorgeous

just a few of the pieces he did

Gene Smith, photographer

There is/was a quilt ART project spearheaded by NASA which is really open to all media (not just quilting) but will be displayed as a collage or quilt when finally assembled.  Pretty nifty idea and I hope folks respond.  Check out the link to read more about it.  And then I found this:

Isn't this pretty?  It's a quilt square designed by Susan Davis from Bozeman, MT.  You can see her work and/or order a pattern for this commemorative design here.  It is part of her Awareness & Special Days collection.

My Uncle is a woodworker and alerted me to this:

This is a mirror crafted by John Lucas, a wood turner from East TN, a part of his galaxy series and done especially to commemorate this years eclipse.  I tried to get a link here about him and his work.

My search efforts were meager at best, and yes, I am still processing and wondering how to work the event into future art pieces of my own.  If you missed my blogs, Eclipse I and II, find them here and here.  So I guess I should promise now to drop the subject?  Three blogs? O.K., I'll let it rest a bit.  

How are you going to spend this glorious, last week of official summer?  My heart goes out to those in TX who are still sifting through the aftermath of Harvey, so much to remind us that Nature is still in charge.  

THOUGHTFULLY YOURS,

Cindy

Wood Turning: Gorgeous Recycle

Much of what is manufactured today has a very short

interest span and only adds to our growing landfill problem.

So when skill and art combine 

to create an heirloom-worthy piece 

which is also a recycle....my heart and soul swoon.

When I can't be in the woods I like to have the woods around me, indoors.  This gorgeous hickory bowl was made by a friend of mine, Hershel Miller, (Millington, TN) from wood he salvaged from my Uncle's property.  My Uncle, a noteworthy wood turner in his own right, treated me to a class taught by Miller at the John C. Campbell Folk School several years ago.  I have nothing to show for all my work other than a true appreciation for their talents and a love of the art form.

 Hickory Bowl by Hershel Miller

When Hershel was alerted that an old hickory tree on my Uncle's property was dying he loaded up the chainsaws, a camera, some tools and his very supportive wife to take off and harvest some wood.  They were kind enough to document the process for me to share.

Miller knows how to fell a tree starting with a wedge cut and then clearing out of the way

He goes to work cutting pieces he can transport and use.  Hickory, despite being a very hard wood will rot quickly once it is on the ground and unprotected. It will be consumed by insects

and weather rendering it unusable after time.

Please note: no healthy trees were sacrificed in this project!

Shown here is the half slice of the piece cut in the photo above with the chainsaw, split lengthwise.  If you look closely you will see a pencil outline of the round bowl he plans to make.

Using a bandsaw he cuts a bowl blank which will go on the lathe.

Both photos above show Miller shaping the outside of the bowl.  

After the exterior shape and foot are done he removes it from the lathe and
prepares to do the inside.  So that he doesn't power through the bottom and ruin the bowl (easy to do with the high speed of the lathe) he drills a depth hole in the center.

A steady hand, consistent pressure and a 6th sense guide the hollowing out of the inside of the bowl.

Miller is recognized for his glassy smooth surfaces which are indicative of expert cutting 

and a huge amount of tedious sanding.

Here is the 12 inch "blank", shaped and now ready to be wrapped in paper and dried for six months.  After all the moisture is gone it will go back on the lathe and be subjected to more

turning (it may likely warp in the drying process) and then be sanded to a smooth

surface ready for staining and/or oiling.

The bounty: Miller's bowls on the left will be wrapped, dried for six months and be turned again.  The three on the right have been turned much thinner so will dry in two-three months...these he will allow to warp and will not return to the lathe.  All of these are from the same portion of a dying tree but each uniquely fashioned as one of a kind pieces.

I so enjoy the smell of a wood shop altho I have been cautioned about the dangers of inhaling fine saw dust all day long.  As in any artistic pursuit, it is not all romantic progress forward.  There is the wood that splits, the dangers of the equipment, the difficulties of the skill set and the disappointment of projects not going as planned.  But watching folks who choose to see these as challenges to overcome, not obstacles for quitting, always inspires me.  When someone asks Miller how long a bowl takes him I have no doubt he answers "20 years and 6 months," because that is the truth of the answer.  

So I surround myself with hand turned bowls, vases, platters and other objects not only because I enjoy the art they represent but because I know that a tree lives on...a moment in history, its life, the weather and time, is forever captured and preserved for future enjoyment.  Recycling in its highest and finest form.

Hats off to Hershel Miller, my Uncle and the wood turners they represent.  Thanks.

Turning,

Cindy 

p.s.  if you wish to contact Miller for more information about his work just send me a note and I will forward it along.  At present he does not have a web site although he does do several shows in the TN area and beyond.