Salvaged Fir Mantle Piece

An interesting chunk of Fir, that was salvaged from the demolition of the old trade school building at Victoria High. The client specified salvaged wood so in preparing the finish I gave a scale of 1 to 10, one being raw planed and ten being untouched, they chose a 6. It was belt sanded and then finished with a random orbital, all checks and nail holes were filled with black epoxy. The rich patina that resulted reminded me of Jun’ichiro Tanizakis writing on antique lacquuerware bowls, ‘ a depth and richness like that of a still, dark pond’. I fixed the mantle to the brick by cutting large dado joint from the underneath and saving the off cut which i drilled and bolted to the brick, then the top part of the mantle was fitted over that and fixed with a few screws and the holes plugged. Dimensions are 4″ thick, 10″ at the widest and 9 feet in length.

Sliding Closet Doors;

Not had a chance to upload any new pictures for awhile. Built this set of doors in February, the floor is heated so i couldnt risk drilling into it, so the beam on the bottom is fixed only at the ends, it has grooves were the locating pegs on the doors run, rollers at the top. When making these i had the idea of them being like Shoji screens. Doors and trim made with Fir. The other closet doors in this house are having air vents that are made from inlaid pieces of cherry with a cutout of Humming birds (calypte anna). Should be able to upload some pictures of that soon.

Audio Visual Cart;

January 30th 2012.

This has locking casters underneath, the shelves are made from White Pine, each one piece 18″ wide, the rest is Fir and Maple. Made for a client who didnt like some of the mass produced metal A/V carts on offer. The wooden cart  makes it way warmer and  friendlier, its about the same weight and with wide joints in hard wood, glued and screwed almost as strong as cheap metal. Finished with polyermirized Tung oil

Spalted Maple Box.      December 15th 2011.

The client wanted it to resemble a shoe box. The number seven is carved into the top and stained black with a water based stain, it slides apart at the seven. Finished with Polymerised Linseed Oil.  13″ x 6″ x4.5″.  Spalting is a form of rot, and has three distinct types, White Rot, Pigmentation and Zone Lines. The black lines seen on the wood above are the zone lines these are caused by competing  fungi that form these as barriers to exclude other fungi and protect their resources. One common white rot fungus on the West Coast is Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) whose mushroom has proven cancer fighting qualities similar to the Reishi mushroom.

Bowl Turnings;

November 30th 2011.

Had some time to turn a few bowls, foreground is  Big leaf Maple and the other is Garry Oak from a wind blown tree we salvaged. I turned the oak when it was still green, unseasoned the water spinning off it as it turned on the lathe. As it dryed slowly, at first wrapped in a paper bag it, slowly changed shape, shrinking across the grain it has become quite oval.

Chanterelles,  (cantharellus formosus);  October 28th 2011;

Theres something so special about going mushroom hunting. Walking out into the chill of early autumn, the leaves of the Alders just starting to fall and the forest there, its cool shade pushing out from the trees. Its the start of a hunt and to have a connection with the forest is to be able to find the mushrooms. In the autumn this relationship for me is so special as im starting to miss the summer as nature becomes cool and gloomy, it can feel distant spending more time inside.

First of all you have to know the terrain, the local knowledge of where to go and the types of trees, their age and what the understory should be like. Its also recognising the way mushrooms grow, hugging the ridges, dips and hollows in lines and circles as if they follow invisible water drainage.

Once here in the soft light its the  sharp gaze looking through the patina of undergrowth that spots the prize. The some times colourful spouts of orange or the camouflage of the whites, like dead Salal leaves hidden so well that you have to kneel and peer across the forest floor to see them. You have to enter the forests umwelt and recognise the patterns that are hidden from a merely curious glance.

The chanterelles are the fruiting bodies of a vast mycorrhizal mat that lies just below the duff, (myco means mushroom and rhizal is ‘related to roots’). The mushroom obtain food from the tree in the form of certain sugars and the mycorrhiza in turn help increase water absorbtion for the host and fix nitrogen and other essential elements in a symbiotic relationship that benefits both. The health of the forest is tied directly into this relationship. In Paul Stamets book Mycellium Running he quotes research that identifies nearly 2,000 different fungi that interelate with Douglas Firs.

The logging of Vancouver Island has  increased the numbers of Chanterelle mushrooms as they seem to prefer maturing stands of mixed Douglas Fir forests. But this also has drawbacks because clearcut logging isnt going to stop soon.

As the Old Growth has become all logged out the forest industry is increasingly switching its attentions onto the second growth, with short  ‘crop rotations’ of  50-60 years, or much less. Then just as the mushrooms start to become established the clearcut logging destroys its mycorrhizal relationship with the tree which then take many years to become reestablished, as only 40 year old forest is seen as starting to become optimal for Chanterelles.

To have a prized ‘patch’ clear-cut does hurt, its not just losing the mushrooms but also losing the forest, a maturing forest that had started to get a sense of its individuation. With age it had begun to take on those attributes of Old Growth forests that are so enjoyable recognisable, the variability of trees and understory and how they relate to the the terrain, it had character. The logging destroys that and interferes with a type of connection with the land, a subtle relationship of presence and listening that draws us into gaining  our sustenance from it.

Glass Display Case;

October 7th 2012.

A display Case or Vitrine for a sequined  suit worn by a former star of   ‘Disney on Ice’ from the 1980s, commissioned by his family. Made from Fir, salvaged Teak and glass, the space below the suit is for photographs.

Photo #1, October 6th 2011;

Just starting the Gong Stand for the Zen Centre, am going to post some photos of the various stages of its construction. Here the pieces of Western Maple, 2” and 3” thick have been roughly cut to size, these will be left in the shop for a month or so to season a bit more. The moisture content was 10% on the outside and the cut centre of the 3″  was 14%, previously the wood had been air dried for 4 years. In the photo the pieces have been laid out in their approximate positions, the cross pieces are going to be morticed througth the uprights and pegged, the abbot wanted the stand to be dismantled if it needs to be moved. The base will have lap-joints and some knockdown bolts for the uprights. I have been keeping the ideas of Shibusa (see the book review ‘Japanese Arts…’) and honouring the material as the guiding design elements.

Photo#2

January 2nd, 2012.

The wood is fully seasoned  and all the joints are now cut, all it needs is some bandsaw work on the feet and the pegs. These are going to be made from Pacific Yew, its  dark rich colours will go well with the lighter colured Maple.

Photo #3  January 9th 2012

Below are some photos of the finished stand with the gong at the Zen Centre. It comes apart fairly easily with bolts on the underside that release the posts and the wedges easily knock out. The stand is very stable which it needs to be, the gongs quite heavy, about 30 pounds. The Abbot Eshu Martin said that its been a ‘big hit with the community’ . Finished with Tung oil