Survivor – Donation to Hope Clinic for Women for Christmas Auction
Cross Hatch Stitching
This piece is from a red oak that fell during the massive flood that hit Nashville and Franklin in May of 2010. Just down from Crackpot Studios, the weather station recorded 17.63 inches of rain on Saturday and another 9.13 inches on Sunday. Like the spectacular mudslides in Malibu, California, hillsides, heavy with mud and water and trees, dramatically and suddenly, dropped hundreds of feet.
Stitching with Brads
This red oak was one of the ones that slid to the edge of a 200-foot drop and lay on it’s side for months, it’s roots firmly in the fallen hillside and the rest of it sticking straight out into space. When I came along with my chainsaw and freed it up, the wood gave out pops that were as loud as gunshot reports when all of the tension was finally released. Most of the tree finished it’s tumble to the rocks below, but enough was salvaged to make a few pretty good bowls and platters.
Survivor Bowl Close-up of Inside Detail
This one was cut from a sweet spot just off the center, and was wide enough and just deep enough to make a great fruit bowl. I had turned one like it years ago and it sits on our kitchen counter holding whatever seasonal fruits and vegetables we may have on hand. It is particularly pretty when loaded with apples, or this past summer’s harvest of roasting peppers from a friend’s garden. So that is the new life for this tree. Holding in it’s hands nature’s harvest.
Survivor Bowl Close-up of Stitching
The bowl is slightly oval in shape, as bowls cut from fresh wood inevitably warp slightly as they dry. I then finished off the surface with a freehand basket weave burned in a band near the top. There is my signature crack along the rim so I drilled and burned out suitable holes and stitched them up using waxed sinew and weathered brass tacks. The surface I hand sanded and polished with tripoli and finished off with a high speed buffing of carnauba wax to highlight the spectacular grain.
Survivor Bowl Close-up of Brads and Stitching
I donated the piece to the Hope Clinic for Women in Nashville. You can find out more about the great work they do at www.hopeclinicforwomen.org. They gave it a notable place in their year-end fundraising auction.
Just like their clients, this little bowl is a Survivor!
Piece measures 11 inches wide by 3.5 inches deep.
