Sunday, June 7, 2015

Chased leaves on a bowl

©2015 Barry Smith - Detail of some chasing work - lots of hammer marks
I set myself the goal of finishing the chase work on the old bowl I started on Friday.

©2015 Barry Smith - Old bowl of presentation cup (dated 1936) on wax bowl
©2015 Barry Smith - Where I got to on Friday
I did the work in one hour blocks as it took quite a bit of concentration; and was also quite hard on on the fingers (holding small chasing tools) and forearm (many short, sharp accurate hammers strokes).

The photos below show the bowl going through a few stages.

©2015 Barry Smith - First stages of chasing
©2015 Barry Smith - Quite a bit of chasing - needs more work
©2015 Barry Smith - I cleaned it to see where I needed to do more work and did another hour or so - you can see some go the bowl's inscription on the right side
I got the wax out of the bowl by soaking it in another bowl of boiling water - and no toxic fumes!!!




I was happy with the finished product; including the inside.

©2015 Barry Smith - Finished chased bowl with leaf forms - side view
©2015 Barry Smith - Inside of chased bowl
©2015 Barry Smith - Inside of chased bowl
©2015 Barry Smith - Looking down on chased work - base
Of course it can be improved lots - but a good start; many lessons; and I have identified a couple more tools I need to make or purchase.

3 comments:

  1. Just extraordinary, B, the way you dive in, learn new skills and straight off, make something beautiful. This has been wonderful, watching your process, and I can't wait to see what happens next on the block.

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  2. Hi JM & C - I was surprised and delighted with this first try. C - I guess we need to just dive in and take the risk of failing or we would not start and try new things - or at least that is how I see it - and I'm happy to admit the failures as well - all part of the journey. Go well. B

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Comments are welcomed - it is good to connect with fellow travellers.