That's what i was going for with this piece anyway. The smooth flowing lines and curves, plus the obvious flower.....but also a big spike to represent the ability of a woman to hurt you. Kind of, i guess, haha. It's what I saw anyway. It's made of one solid piece of tulip poplar, which is a pretty common tree around here. All my material came from where the county was widening the road. They cut hundreds of trees, and left them there for a couple of weeks. I was in heaven, haha. Hope you enjoy checking it out as much as i do
All I sell so far is kitchen type items at a restaurant/gallery close by. (bowls, rolling pins, dry flower vases, etc) $70 and under type stuff. The amount of time and tools it takes to make my art pieces relegates them to the realm of art gallery pricing. And I can't stand the way most art galleries work. I'd like to just take a big box of this stuff to one, and say "pick what you want, meet my minimum price, and call me when they sell, or call me to come pick them up cause they're just collecting dust" Instead they want an artist bio, and an artist statement. Both of which would be one liners and wouldn't help sell my work at all, lol. So, now i just make this stuff to see if i can, and so my online peeps can check it out. Speaking of which, thanks for checking them out!
in my town, artists took over a very poor section of town and now have what is essentially artist cooperatives. They found buildings with very low rent that several of them went into together and sectioned off to create their own art galleries. If you know several artists in your area and know of a low rent area in need of revitilization, maybe you could start something like that. I think its a great idea; instead of dealing with gallery owners you would be in charge of your own gallery.
easygoing: Most stains are oil based, and the added color will make the grain details "muddy". There are dyes that some people use, that are water based, but i prefer the look of raw wood. I just sand them to a polished surface, then add some linseed oil to bring out the color. Which i then sand off and polish again, and again, and again.... Working only with local wood gives me a sense of connectedness with the area i live in. Some woodturners pay a lot of money for rare or exotic woods from the states, and around the world. And I'll never do that either. I live in the woods of appalachia, and there are plenty enough species to explore around here, without having to rape other country's of their wood. Meliai: I am one of 2 woodturners around here. And the other is my mentor and best friend. So we're both in a funk about where to sell our work. He lived in hawaii for 20 years, and had no problems walking into a gallery with a bunch of his work and having it sold within weeks. Around here is different. I think we'll have to go to Atlanta or something, where there are collectors. Around here, there is nothing. We have an art museum, but i refused to put my work in there. It would be pointless, as these pieces are meant to be seen, held, experienced, and hopefully bought, lol. But a community such as you describe sounds like it would be incredibly exciting to be a part of.
