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Cherry Log from a tree cut down in Oak Bay

I cut off the cracked parts and then drew the bowl shape

Hollowed out the form.....

It was challenging getting down to the bottom

The inside was sanded smooth in the desired shape

The excess outside wood was then removed with a chainsaw

Checking the thickness of the piece with capilers

Today I put the finish on this cherry vessel. When the grain patterns appeared, it looked 'cosmic', so this piece has been named 'Cosmic Cherry'

I 'hogged out' the bulk of the inside of this superb yellow cedar burl using the Log Master attachment on my chainsaw.

Back to more 'primitive' method of bark removal with a mallet and chisel

Final shaping before sanding

Finished bowl - 13 1/2" h x 20" w x 25" d

The sleek natural sanded back

This chunk of arbutus with some burl was from friends' wood pile (I may have had to plead and stomp my feet a bit to get it, but thanks Bill and Bianca)

Sketching the shape.....kept the cracking so it would look like water flowing over the tail

Then I roughed out the shape with my Arbortech Blade

Arbutus cracks as it dries, so I decided to fill the cracks with glue and sawdust

Then I sanded it smooth

The front of the finished sculpture with the natural burl features (kind of like barnacles on the flukes!)

The other side

Monty is the Creative Consultant....hmmmmmm

The finished sculpture:

Bianca's Feast!

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The Burl 'before'

So, let me tell you why the original burl has Bob written on it in blue. The guy from Powell River that I purchased the burls from was named Bob and he worked in the forestry industry and would save burls….but another fellow kept taking his burls, so he started painting 'Bob' on them in blue.

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