Stick Bowl

[brendan stemp]

Well I'm connected to the internet again. Yee Hah!!

To celebrate I thought I might share with you my latest piece. Timber is Blackwood and the middle section is a mixture of sticks, gum nuts and leaves cast in epoxy resin. Approx 250 diam.

[corbs]

I love it :2tsup:

[nz_carver]

I love it to :2tsup:
Good to have you back

[hughie]

This is an unusal concept that I follow with interest. I have some clear epoxy might have a go at it as well.

I like this one more than previous. :2tsup:

[NeilS]

A nice evolution in your resin work, Brendan.

I expect they will march out of the gallery door (via the till).

And, great to see a descent foot on a bowl and just right for this 'window' piece. Hard to get the proportions right on a foot like that, but lovely to see when its well executed like this one.

[Scott]

Nice piece Brendan, I love the aesthetics however trying to come to terms with the form. Probably because the form breaks with traditional bowl shapes?

This piece actually provoked a discussion between my Wife and I regarding the leaves and sticks. We wondered if the leaves and sticks would decompose within the resin. I came to the conclusion that like timber which is not embedded in resin and a finish applied that the material would not decompose. My wife contends that there will be some left over bacteria on the leaves which would eat away at the leaves. This is a little counter intuitive though because there would be no oxygen for the bacteria to live on...

[bench1holio]

awsome looking peice brendan, what finish do you use over the resin?

[steck]

Very interesting work, Brendan. I love it.
You are taking the art to new levels.:2tsup:

[TTIT]

Another nice step forward with this idea Brendan :2tsup:. Seeing I don't like messing with epoxies and such I'll probably never get to tackle where I'd go with it from there... but how about casting it between two natural edges for the turned foot and rim and include some ants in the mix - big black meat ants for a fair-dinkum bit of aussie bush!! - awesome :;

[dr4g0nfly]

Welcome back from me also.

You've developed on from your earlier concepts.

Not completely convinced I like it as a shape but that is a personal thing. The idea and achievement of the form is still great.

[Cliff Rogers]

:2tsup:

[artme]

:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

[Ad de Crom]

Wow, amazingly wonderfully made
Ad :2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

[Allan at Wallan]

Well I'm connected to the internet again. Yee Hah!!

To celebrate I thought I might share with you my latest piece. Timber is Blackwood and the middle section is a mixture of sticks, gum nuts and leaves cast in epoxy resin. Approx 250 diam.

Gum nuts, leaves me thinking about it,
stick to it.:D

Well done Brendan for thinking outside the square.

Allan

[Skewturn]

Brendan that looks awesome :2tsup: I cant wait to get to that level of turning.
Cheers

[brendan stemp]

And, great to see a descent foot on a bowl and just right for this 'window' piece. Hard to get the proportions right on a foot like that, but lovely to see when its well executed like this one.

Thanks Neil. THis opens a can of worms; ie foot size. I suppose there's a fine balance between form and function. Or perhaps it's all about fashion. Has the small foot had its time? There's nothing light and delicate about this bowl; walls are still quite thick but to make them thinner would detract from the depth of the objects in the resin. So the foot was kept on the large size; both in height and width. I think it works. It sure is stable.

[brendan stemp]

This piece actually provoked a discussion between my Wife and I regarding the leaves and sticks. We wondered if the leaves and sticks would decompose within the resin. I came to the conclusion that like timber which is not embedded in resin and a finish applied that the material would not decompose. My wife contends that there will be some left over bacteria on the leaves which would eat away at the leaves. This is a little counter intuitive though because there would be no oxygen for the bacteria to live on...

Interesting point . Two things: 1/ I made sure I dried the material first and 2/ I am of the belief (that has some evidence to support it) that, as you have said, the lack of air would prevent any decomposition of the leaves especially.

[dr4g0nfly]

And, great to see a descent foot on a bowl and just right for this 'window' piece. Hard to get the proportions right on a foot like that, but lovely to see when its well executed like this one.

Which offers another opportunity, a clear resin foot, so the piece seems to float above the surface it's sitting on.

[dennisk]

Very nice!

[turnerted]

Spectacular piece Brendan
SJT There are anaerobic bacteria too ie they only grow in the absence of oxygen but I can't see it being a problem.
TTiT watch out , you might have the RSPCA(ants) on to you making suggestions like that.
Ted

[Skewturn]

Hi Brendan

Just wondering if there is any odour from the resin that you use or does it not have any smell when you turn it. Just wondering because I turned an epoxy and even when completely dry it put of a strong odour. Also are you going to SAturn this year?

Cheers Skewturn

[brendan stemp]

Thanks for all the generous feedback.

[brendan stemp]

Hi Brendan

Just wondering if there is any odour from the resin that you use or does it not have any smell when you turn it. Just wondering because I turned an epoxy and even when completely dry it put of a strong odour. Also are you going to SAturn this year?

Cheers Skewturn
Very little odour to the resin. THere is a wide range of epoxy resins (different brands and types for different applications) but the one I use is almost pleasant to smell. Polyester resin is the one that usually has the strongest smell.

Yes, I'll be at SATurn - will you? It's a great event, wouldn't miss it.

[tea lady]

You can get stuff for drying plant material and keep the colour. Used when casting flowers.


PLANTS

In the case of plants, the polyester will be affected by moisture in the plant. This moisture has to be removed. Unless special treatment is carried out, the colours will be bleached out of the final castings. To overcome these problems, drying and treatment with special colour preservatives is required. Two basic solutions for colour preservation are listed below.


SOLUTION A
tertiary butyl alcohol 100
thiorea 1
sodium citrate 2

SOLUTION B
tertiary butyl alcohol 100
thiorea 1
citric acid 2

For blue or green flowers use Solution A. For red or pink flowers use Solution B. For intermediate colours use a mixture of A and B. Most flowers need immersing for between 10 and 20 hrs, after which time they become stiff and fragile. This treatment must be carried out at room temperature. At temperatures below 20°C, the addition to each solution of approximately 10 parts of normal butyl alcohol will be necessary.

I know you are using epoxy. :hmm: Don't know how that changes things. This quote from http://http://www.dalchem.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=383

[bench1holio]

brendan, what finish do you use over the resin where the sticks have turned through?

[brendan stemp]

brendan, what finish do you use over the resin where the sticks have turned through?
Nitrocellulose Lacquer.

[Skewturn]

Very little odour to the resin. THere is a wide range of epoxy resins (different brands and types for different applications) but the one I use is almost pleasant to smell. Polyester resin is the one that usually has the strongest smell.

Yes, I'll be at SATurn - will you? It's a great event, wouldn't miss it.


Thanks for answering my question and yes I will be a SAturn where I hope to pic your brain about using resins.
Cheers Skewturn

[woodwork wally]

Great bowl Brendan Pushing boundarys even further Heather wants to know if I can make one . Just shouldnt have shown her Top job and I wont try to copy that for a while . Snake skin pens are filling time at the moment . cheers Wal

[Snapper]

Cannot believe i bought some of this stuff a year ago and haven't used it :((
Gotta get back in the shed:~
....perhaps i will start with something a little smaller, the top of a little box with a penny in it :2tsup: