December 17, 2009 – 7:57 pm
Some folks have inquired about purchasing one of the natural edge bowls. Dennis makes them in batches from freshly-cut trees, so the inventory of bowls depends upon the availability of good trees. For this winter, bowls from cherry and ash are for sale in the M.A. Doran Gallery in Tulsa, OK, during the Holiday Sale which runs through January 2nd.
Dennis will look for new trees during January in order to produce another batch of bowls with bark. Generally, he is able to find cherry or ash in northwest Missouri, which has more hardwood trees than Colorado. The winter-cut trees hold the bark better. This is one of those works of art that takes both art and science! When you see a natural edge bowl that you like, get it, because the grainlines will probably never be repeated in a subsequent bowl. These are unique collaborations between the woodturner and Mother Nature.
Caring for a natural edge bowl: It’s best to keep it out of direct sunlight, which will darken the wood. Choose only light-weight, non-liquid contents! If the surface needs polishing, use a high-quality paste wax, applied very thinly and delicately rubbed out. The original finish was ‘Renaissance Wax.’ Contact Dennis if you have questions about caring for any of your woodturnings.
November 30, 2009 – 5:25 pm
Dennis returned to Grateley, England with his new (woodturner) wife, Kay, to spend a week with his mentor, Stuart Mortimer. It was the Mortimer goblet with the twisted stem that first lured Dennis into the mysteries of the woodturning craft. Stuart has continued to invent, refine, and hone the skills of working with spiral hollow forms. He has both enlarged and reduced the size of his work, and expanded his investigations with spiral turning into other materials–pewter and precious metals. Stuart set up two lathes in his workshop for Dennis and Kay to practice making spiral hollow forms.
The photo illustrates Stuart’s response to some bad noises coming from the Liggett lathes. While Dennis and Kay turned, hollowed, carved, and sanded, Stuart worked on several of his own projects: a huge goblet, two burl bowls for a local fundraiser, and photos for a magazine interview. Neighborhood woodturners came by to pick up turning blanks, and to get help with things like refinishing a guitar.
The shop was filled with forms in various stages of completion. Kay took several photos of the various ’still life’ opportunities in the shop, pictured below after some photoshopping. Looking at Stuart Mortimer’s hollow forms in various stages is something like studying the drawings and studies that lead to paintings by Picasso or Matisse. The forms have their own charm, in addition to the promise of the final product.
September 20, 2009 – 7:23 pm
Dennis will have three pieces in the ‘Quilts and Fine Woodworking’ Show at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, opening September 25th. This is the 24th year for one of the Museum’s most popular shows. The Cherry Server and Goblet with laminated twisted stem represent traditional uses of twistwork. Dennis will also exhibit the Celtic Knot stone inlay vessel from Colorado Aspen. All three pieces will be for sale during the show.
Dennis makes an English-style pepper mill learned from Allan Batty. This shape allows a good grip for grinding when held either vertically, or perpendicularly to the food. Maple is a good choice for tableware because of its hardness and durability, as well as its non-aromatic character. This is a lovely piece of tiger-striped maple.
The upside-down salt shaker repeats the shape of the pepper mill.
Peppermill 11″ tall
Salt Shakeer 3,25″ tall
Dennis has used the open twist for candlesticks in the past, but this new piece is the first time he has created a tall serving vessel with a twisted base. To increase the strength of the twist, he has lengthened it somewhat. It also tapers quite elegantly as it raises the shallow bowl upward. The base adds stability, reflecting the ogee curve of the underside of the bowl.
The entire piece is turned from American Cherry. As it ages, it will darken to the familar dark red cherry tones. The finish is penetrating oil, with a hand-rubbed wax.
Overall height 10.5″ x 11″ diameter
April 18, 2009 – 10:11 am
Aspen with Malachite inlay 8" tall
Dennis has always been interested in celtic knot decoration. The challenge with the form was to draw the knot so that there was no visible starting or stopping point. He then carved the channels for the stone with a dental drill and inlaid the crushed malachite.
This piece was sold by a gallery that also featured jewelry made from turquoise and other semi-precious stones.
April 17, 2009 – 10:03 pm
Working with green wood has been a new adventure for Dennis. He turns these natural edge vessels down to less than 1/16th thickness in the first session on the lathe, and then refines them in the final session. The thin walls ovalize as they dry, but the bark stays on most of the time. Dennis started out with Richard Raffan’s advice to avoid turning feet on the vessels:
Deep Ash Vessel 8" x 8" dia
Natural edge vessels are fascinating because they are often turned sidegrain. This means that the vessel’s vertical dimension is perpendicular to the trunk. (Picture the curve of the rim as a circle wrapped around the trunk of the tree.) As the wood dries, it moves into a more ovalized shape along the vertical dimension of the fibers.
The appeal of the form is evident in the way that the lighter sapwood emphasizes the shape, drawing attention to the graceful curves of the grain. This one is restrained –almost in-curving at the rim. It sits quite securely on the base, which allows just enough shadow underneath to lift it slightly off the table.
Dennis turned the deep ash vessel from a freshly cut ash log in January 2009.
Small ash vessel 4" x 4" dia
This much smaller vessel, pictured at closer range, has a very rounded base, which made the vase ‘weeble’ back to the upright position when it was tipped to the side. The good sense of balance of this piece is evident when you hold it in your hand.
Dennis began turning feet on his vessels in ash and cherry in December and January of 2009. He went through a whole cherry tree exploring the challenge of fitting the correct foot to the vase. This one captures something of the gesture of outstretched arms. Cover the foot, and you lose that sense of lift.
Adding a small foot to the form
December 27, 2007 – 5:31 pm
Summer Olympics 9" tall
Dennis chose to explore using local materials for woodturning when he moved to Colorado nine years ago. Aspen is a challenging wood for woodturners. Many times, it lacks the beautiful figure that woodturners value. Dennis decided to use turquoise–a native mineral in the mountain west–to enhance the forms.
Rock paintings are the inspiration for the Olympic sports figures used on this piece. To add contrast, Dennis chose a red pipestone for the inlay on the carved figures.
If you are interested in trying stone inlay, sign up for one of the demonstrations that Dennis offers for local woodturning clubs, or call for coaching: 719-481-8754
Many woodturners use a variation of this carve/inlay technique. Stephen Hatcher is another woodturner who works with semi-precious stone inlay. Coincidentally, he was born in Colorado Springs!
December 27, 2007 – 5:13 pm
Note: The ‘How-to’ technical notes for making twistwork are found on the ‘Skills’ tab of this website….
The lacy edge adds lift to this more substantial goblet form. Cover the rim, and you will discover that the lace is not ‘fluff’–it creates the success of the piece. Ornament at its best completes and energizes the form. Dennis learned this technique working with Stuart Mortimer.
Twins - Both are right-hand twists
Dennis turned these goblets for the Southern States Symposium demonstration from canary wood, with a laminated stem of holly and canary wood. They are 10 1/2″ tall. The twist is a right hand twist, which means that it appears to rise from left to right. Sometimes a pair of goblets or candlesticks will have one right-hand twist, and one left-hand twist.
The goblets are decorative, although they might be used once or twice for a special toast. Spirits will definitely damage the finish.
December 27, 2007 – 5:10 pm
Dennis loves to teach the canteen, threaded or not, to more advanced turners who enjoy the magic it carries, along with spirits if made of white oak.
