Fred's Creative Woodworking

TASMANIAN EUCALYPTUS KIA ORA: 2011 (5" x 6.5"). While at a recent woodturning convention, I met a wood dealer from Tasmania. He had a wide variety of interesting woods for sale, including this spectacular Gum Vein Eucalyptus. The wood of itself is stunning. It is a natural for a Kia Ora!

($125)

 BLACK WALNUT KIA ORA: 2011 (5" X 6.5"). This Kia Ora shows the spectacular aspect of Black Walnut at its finest. The top has a unique "button" in the front (see photo). The bottom is interesting in that there is a bark inclusion that makes it very handsome.

(Sold)

 BLACK CHERRY KIA ORA: 2011 (3.75" x 4.75"). This Kia Ora is photographed in side view to show how the two parts of the top are related to each other. Note from comparing this to the others that the back part is rotated approximately 1/4 turn from the top part to make the unique shape of the Kia Ora. The top of this Kia Ora is cherry that has been finished with  polyurethane and heavily buffed to make it shine. The base is also Black Cherry, however, it has been flame ebonized and then lightly sanded to relieve the corners and let the natural cherry color show through.

($55)

  BLACK LOCUST KIA ORA:2011 (4.75" x 5.75"). This Black Locust Kia Ora was created from the Black Locust fence posts that were left on my property by the previous farmers. These posts are heavily weathered but, being Black Locust, they resisted the weathering and developed an interesting weathered surface. I left the blackened, weathered surface on most of the post. The only surface preparation I did on the post was to wire brush off the loose material. This one has a buffed polyurethane surface.

 (Sold)

 PANCAKE ROCKS: Traveling along the northwest coast of the South Island of New Zealand between Westport and Greymouth, the bicyclist is treated with spectacular views of stratified limestone rocks that previously formed the sea floor of the Tasman Sea. The sea floor was pushed up during a long-ago orogeny and the rocks have since weathered into interesting, unique patterns. The Punakaiki, below, is my expression of these rocks.

PUNAKAIKI: 2011 (3.75" x 4.75"). This sculpture is made from White Ash on my property here in Camptown, PA. White ash is perfect for imitating the stratification of the Pancake Rocks of Punakaiki, NZ. in that the early wood is soft and the late wood hard so it is easy to "weather". I turned a typical Kia Ora out of White Ash and "weathered" it by flame ebonizing and sandblasting. The appearance is amazingly similar to the rocks at Punakaiki.

($55)

Four Ash Eggs: 2011 (6.75" X 3") is a small White Ash vessel with 4 small spheres (3 are 1.25" diameter and one is 1" diameter). The vessel was turned and then died blood red. I came up with an interesting technique that allows me to modify the penetration of the dye so the surface has light and dark blood-red areas.  This is a delicate vessel with very thin walls. The "eggs" are really spheres. The smallest egg rests in a hollow in the bottom of the vessel and is not visible in the photos. ($125)

Ash Elegance in Red: 2011 (9.75" X 3.25") is a continuation of my experimentation with coloring wood. White Ash lends itself to an incredible array of color/texture changes  so I am focusing on it. This piece was turned and then dyed blood red. It also has a hint of liming wax that I applied after the dye. The three ash spheres (2.5" diameter) were left natural.     (Sold)

Ash Elegance in Blue and Red: 2011 (8.75" X 4.25") is another White Ash vessel. This one has multiple coats of color including blood red, cherry and blue. The stains were layered sequentially so that all three show through.  Again, I included the triple spheres of natural White Ash as a focal point. This is truly a stunning vessel! ($150)

Cherry Vessel with Spheres: 2011 (8.75" X 3.5") is an interesting very delicate Pennsylvania Black Cherry vessel with four dyed White Ash spheres. The four White Ash spheres are  approximately 1.25" in diameter and dyed blood red. I flame ebonized the spheres prior to staining them and the resulting color is quite interesting. They are highly polished so they look like they are marbles rather than wood. ($175)

Wendy's Bowl: 2011 (10" X 4.5") was made as a housewarming gift for our Wyalusing friends, the Gaustads. The bowl itself is made from Pennsylvania Black Cherry and shows the nature of the wood. Cherry is photochemically sensitive and, over a period of time, will darken. The photo of this bowl was taken immediately after I turned the bowl so it hasn't darkened yet. The three White Ash spheres in the bowl were dyed and limed to bring out the beautiful grain of White Ash and add an interesting focal point to this piece. 

Stitch-Em-Up: 2010 (13" X 7") is an interesting vessel turned from American Beech. The view to the left shows the bandage; to the right is the other side with the stitches.  I was playing with this piece and, after it was finish-turned, stress cracks developed in various places as it quickly dried. Normally this piece would have wound up helping me heat my shop but I needed a piece to work on some ebonizing techniques that I’m trying so I flame-ebonized it. As expected, the piece cracked badly when I torched it but, after cooling down, most of the small cracks closed over. I became intrigued with the appearance of the piece at this time because now it was shaped like a half of a watermelon rind and had some nice cracks. After flame ebonizing, I stained the inside uniformly black to give it a rich uniform black appearance. I then stitched up one side using leather stitching. The other side called for something unique. It was “wounded” so, obviously, you put a “bandage” on a wound to heal it! The bandage is carved walnut complete with raised pad and small holes (see below right).  Also shown below on the lower left is a bottom view showing the turned, carved foot.  ($650).

Hollow Spalted Sugar Maple Vessel: 2010 (9.5" X 3.5") This vessel was turned from a huge Sugar Maple tree that died in our front yard. Note that part of it is highly figured (spalted) from fungus that invaded the tree while it was dying. The vessel is hollow with approximately 3/16" thick walls.  ($400).

I'm Ready to Retire:2007 (12.5" X 4.5") is from a very old piece of Red Oak that was being discarded at the university where I worked. It was heavily split so was very difficult to turn without it breaking. I had to tape it during turning to keep it together. It, like me, had served the university a number of years and we were both ready to retire. I recently added my signature spheres to the vessel to give it more pizzazz! ($150).

Ebonized Ash Hollow Vessel: 2009 (6" X 5.75") Ash has a very distinctive grain, especially after it is flame ebonized. The interesting changes in shape that occur with the flame ebonizing only add to the appearance of this vessel. ($400)

Wired: 2008 (17.5" X 5.5") is a combined effort of combining several different spheres from such woods as White Pine, Black Locust, Osage Orange, and Pennsylvania Wild Cherry with this stunning Black Walnut bowl. The bowl was from a large salvaged log. It wasn't until I was way into the turning of the piece that I realized that there was a large piece of metal imbedded in the base of the turning. It is still there (thus the name of the vessel. Also, the edge has a large knot and the bowl is slightly warped from drying. I liked this appearance as it lent itself to the rugged appearance of the whole piece. The bowl has a wide, undercut rim and tapers gracefully to the foot. ($650- includes 7 spheres).

Beauty: 2010 (14" X 3.5") is a very fragile Black Cherry burl that incorporates a portion of the bark, spaulting, and burl all in one. Actually, to add to the interest is the fact that an insect laid eggs in holes in the wood and packed fine mud over the eggs to protect them. The dried mud is still intact in the piece. It had to be finished thicker than I would have wanted to do but, had I tried to get it thinner, the entire piece would have deteriorated on the lathe. ($850).

Sherry's Bowl: 2010 (13" X 4.25") was made for a very special couple, Devin and Sherry when they were married. It is turned from a beautiful piece of Black Cherry burl. The bowl was turned thin with an undercut lip and is on a raised foot. It now resides in their home.

 Cherry Bowl With A Wide Rim: 2010 (9.5" X 2.5") looks a bit like Sherry's Bowl except on this one I rounded the bottom so that the bowl actually rocks when lightly touched. ($125)

Yoder Maple Bowl: 2009 (11.5" X 9") is a special piece to me. It comes from a 15 foot circumference Sugar Maple tree on the Daniel Yoder farm, an Amish farm in Bradford County, PA.. A sugar maple tree of this size would be well in excess of 400 years old. Unfortunately the tree was hollow so it was impossible to count growth rings and get an accurate age. The tree was dying and Mr. Yoder cut it down to prevent accidents from falling limbs. The tree yielded literally tons of highly spalted, curly maple. The Yoder Maple Bowl represents a natural-edged piece from the trunk of the tree. ($850)

If It's Broke, Fix It: 2009 (10.5' X 6") This piece is turned from a badly decaying American Beech log. This wood was loaded with water and would almost immediately split upon turning it. It was very difficult to work because much of it was very hard  and the rest was punky. When I got it off the lathe, a large split immediately developed in the side. I nearly pitched it but, upon reflection, decided that it needed fixing.The cracks were laced together with leather and, to add a focal point, an ancient cut nail from my 100+ year old house was driven into the rim and bent over. This piece isn't technically great but the idea spurred development of the idea to use lacing in my turnings. ($400)

Frank: 2009 (12.5" X 6") After turning "If It's Broke, Fix It", I turned a Black Cherry burl that was intact except for some natural cracks in the wood. The cracks were another perfect opportunity for lacing. This piece became "Frank" because it reminded me of the stitched-up Frankenstein's Monster and it has become one of my favorites. ($650).

Holey Grail: 2010  (9" X 3.5") is an interesting piece that incorporates a lot of the items that I like in my work. First, it is rough. The rim is the natural chain-saw edge, the outer walls are rough-turned, and there are holes in the vessel. Secondly, I was able to successfully ebonize this piece by first charring it with a MAPP gas torch and then staining it with black water-based stain. The name is derived from the fact that the inside of the vessel has many small holes in it and, a grail is sometimes a vessel. (More importantly, I'm a fan of Indiana Jones). ($125)

 Lunar Memories: 2011 (5.5" X12.75") is a compilation of two pieces of heavily decayed, spaulted Black Cherry burl. The two pieces were part of one limb burl. Note the deep crevasses and heavy spaulting in the piece. The sphere is approximately 5.5" across and had a significant amount of decay that had to be removed.  The bark was still on this section when I turned it and I removed it all to reveal the underlying dormant limb buds. The punky part of the piece was removed by hand-carving and then sand blasting. Up close the piece is spectacular in that it shows the growth rings of the tree with the softer early wood having been blasted away and the late wood remaining proud. It is finished with a low gloss acrylic to maintain the mystical aspect of it being the lunar surface. This is a truly unique piece! ($155)

Fred's World Without Water: 2010 (4" X 5") This is a piece of Black Gum that had Mistletoe attached to it. I found the wood on a tree in the Oriental, North Carolina area. It is mounted on a piece of Cottonwood from Virginia. Turning this sphere was a challenge as much of the piece was eroded away by the effects of the Mistletoe. It reminded me of what our globe would look like if there was no water on earth. This one appears in my latest article "Spherical Thinking" in the American Woodturner journal. ($125).

Planet X: 2009.  (2.5" sphere). Rough wood with lots of character is one of the most interesting to work into spheres. My east side and west side of "Planet X" (two sides of the same spheroid) show this unique aspect of cherry burls. (Not for sale)

Watchful :2010 (8.5"X8"). Spheres add a great deal of interest to rather mundane objects. The base of this sculpture is a highly weathered Black Locust stump that I've wire-brushed and finished. The sphere is spalted Black Cherry and has an area where the bark intruded into the piece and I removed it. The two make a beautiful pair!  ($95).

Out On A Limb: 2010 (15.5"x5.5"). The sphere in this composition is from a piece of spalted, Powder-Post Beetle tunneled Sugar Maple. The Powder-Post Beetles made significant tunnels throughout the piece and that, along with the fungal spalting created an interesting sphere. I slightly stained the sphere prior to finishing it to add another level of interest. The limb, again, is a wire-brushed Black Locust piece. ($55)

Creativity Ball. (This one is approximately 2.5" sphere on a wooden base). I got the idea for my Creativity Balls while watching people who are under stress. They need something in their hands to work. The Creativity Ball is the perfect size to hold and roll in the hand. This one is turned from heavily spaulted Sugar Maple limb that has lots of Powder Post Beetle holes. The base is turned from another piece of the same tree. There is a slight depression turned into the surface of the base to help hold the ball when it is not being used for "therapy".  I make a wide variety of these out of a number of woods. Size and wood type can vary to suit your specifications.  (Prices start at $20 each. Contact me with your specifications).

Tall, thin pedestals create a unique challenge for woodturners however I have figured out a way to turn them very easily. I am able to turn stems that are 1mm in diameter and 3 to 5 inches long with discs at each end.  When turned properly they can add a stunning effect to a composition. They can be used in a number of interesting arrangements.

Someday I'll Finish This Piece: 2008  (6" X 6") All of us have an unfinished piece like this laying around awaiting our attention. This one has been sitting around unfinished for so long that powder post beetles have riddled the butternut and mushrooms (lathe-turned, of course!) have sprung from its surface. This piece has a Butternut base with Red Oak fungi. Both the Butternut and the Red Oak are riddled with Powder Post Beatle holes. Some of the mushrooms were fire-ebonized during the turning process. ($350).

Mushroom on Brushed Black Locust Fence Post: 2010 (5.25" X 7"). This mushroom was turned and dye-ebonized to give it an appearance of having originated from the fence post. The section of fence post was badly weathered so I had to wire brush it to remove the loose material. I make a number of these sculptures and they are all unique. ($45).

 Flying Saucer: 2002 (6.75" X 5") shows what to do with a piece that starts off with promise (the disk) but has a "problem" (It broke while I was turning it).  When the disk broke I decided to further perforate it and add the sphere and pedestal to form an interesting composition. This is another of my sculptures that are featured in my American Woodturner article, "Whoops---Wow". ($225)

Inner Space: 2002 (2.25" X 7") was a fun project that started from a mini disaster. I was turning a small hollow sphere when I blew out a large hole in the surface. After initially discarding the hollow form, on second thought, I gave it a second life by inserting a small solid cherry sphere and then turning a tall thin pedestal on which it would rest. It and "Flying Saucer" became very interesting pieces after near disasters and spurred me to write an article for American Woodturner entitled "Whoops--- Wow" (Summer 2002) in which I discussed the issue of reworking objects when problems occur. (Not for sale).

Cro-Magnon With Sphere: 2010 (8" X 5") is the same composition as above except I have attached a matched sphere that highlights the piece. This is the final modification on this interesting piece.  It appeared in another iteration in my article "Spherical Thinking".  ($225)

Safe At Home: 2008 (4.5" X 4") This composition is created from a bark piece that was carved hollow and then the sphere attached. It gives me the impression of a gnome hiding in his cave waiting to come out when the rain goes away. It appeared in my publication "Spherical Thinking".  (Not for sale).

Let's Talk Bugs: 2010  (10" X 5") is obviously a whimsical piece that incorporates a sphere, a ceramic frog, and a stone base. The sphere is the one that I turned in demonstrating how to make spheres in my American Woodturner article "Spherical Thinking".  It appears alone in the bottom right of the last page of that article. The wood I used was a piece of fresh Quaking Aspen from my woodpile. When I was done turning the sphere, I dried it in a microwave oven (to the point that it was smoking!).  It ovalized and cracked along the side because the pith was near the edge and that more narrow portion of the sphere pulled apart creating the crack. When it was completely dry I sanded the crack smooth to create the mouth. The eyes are taxidermist's pigeon eyes that I purchased over 55 years ago when I thought that I might become a taxidermist (I didn't). I've had them in a box for all of these years and just now discovered where they would be used (NEVER throw anything away!). The frog is "Freda" from Kitty's Critters. (Not for sale).