Silky Oak Bowl Forms in Recycled Silky Oak
A few years ago, friends relocated a railway station onto their block of land and proceeded to renovate it into a gallery and working studio. The building had its origins in the early 1920's and was constructed of wonderful old-growth rainforest timbers including Australian Red Cedar, Queensland Kauri, Silky Oak, Satin Sycamore, and a host of others.
As renovations go, there were lots of weatherboards and some internal wall cladding that got removed to allow for new work. Fortunately, I was first in line to make use of the near 100 year old valuable resource.
Shallow bowl forms in recycled 100 year old Silky Oak - by Bob Gilmour.
The two small bowl forms featured here were shaped from a 20 mm (3/4 inch) thick external weatherboard. I had already taken a pair of salad servers from the board and then cut these two forms out of remaining larger pieces. There are still several utensil rests yet to shape from the smaller remains.
Shallow bowl forms in recycled 100 year old Silky Oak - by Bob Gilmour.
Many of these fine rainforest trees are in dangerously low numbers now after decades of logging in the coastal rainforests up until relatively recent times. Therefore, it's very satisfying to be able to give some of this old pre-used wood a new purpose in life as an object of beauty.
About 80% of my wood now comes from 'eco' sources ... recycled, salvaged or reclaimed ... and I'm careful to get the best object recovery rates from each board ... even if it means including a few nail holes.
Shallow bowl forms in recycled 100 year old Silky Oak - by Bob Gilmour.
Comments (0) March 28, 2012
Small bowl forms in salvaged Black Wattle
A small retail space in Cape Tribulation (Far North Queensland, Australia) is taking a few pieces of my work … salad servers, wood bowls and some resin forms.
Work in progress - two bowl forms in salvaged black wattle - by Bob Gilmour.
In a session of bowl-making at the weekend, I shaped out two forms in Silky Oak which I intended to submit. However, I've considered it might be more appropriate to send something a bit harder to withstand handing by customers.
Work in progress - bowl form in salvaged black wattle - by Bob Gilmour.
So, yesterday I shaped two forms out of local salvaged Black Wattle … that should defy even the sharpest of fingernails!
Work in progress - bowl form in salvaged black wattle - by Bob Gilmour.
Work in progress - bowl form in salvaged black wattle - by Bob Gilmour.
Work in progress - bowl form in salvaged black wattle - by Bob Gilmour.
Comments (0) March 21, 2012
Two Shallow Bowl Forms in Radiata Pine.
Shallow bowl forms in plantation-grown Pinus radiata - by Bob Gilmour.
A while back, a visitor to my market stall in Port Douglas commented something like "what will you do when you're not allowed to use rainforest hardwoods any more". Considering that about 80% of the wood I use is already 'eco' (sustainable sources or recycled/salvaged), I replied with a bit of a snigger "it doesn't worry me ... I can make nice work out of radiata pine if I have too". So, here's some proof.
Shallow bowl forms in plantation-grown Pinus radiata - by Bob Gilmour.
Shallow bowl forms in plantation-grown Pinus radiata - by Bob Gilmour.
I have been buying this wonderful fully dressed 290 x 35 mm plantation pine from a supplier (Quality Timbers) in Mareeba (Australia). Originally, I began using it for some personal furniture projects which ultimately got painted. My house is mostly built of unpainted wood ... about 100 years ago ... so, I tend to opt for painted items whenever I decide to add furniture pieces.
Since the wood is really dry and pretty straight, I've been looking at other ways of using this interesting resource.
One of the processes I've earmarked is to laminate the boards up and use the resultant form as the raw material for sculpture ... just like I did with plywood in my Dance me sculpture.
Recently, it also occurred to me that I could make really nice shallow bowl forms. The accompanying pictures show the first two I've created.
Shallow bowl forms in plantation-grown Pinus radiata - by Bob Gilmour.
Shallow bowl forms in plantation-grown Pinus radiata - by Bob Gilmour.
Pine is fairly soft ... relatively ... and although a lot of commercially available serving ware is made from pine, I wouldn't like to say straight out that these are functional forms ... although they can be with care.
The light honey colour and grain pattern in this wood is exquisite. There are lots of opportunities to let the final shape of the form follow or be influenced by the pattern inherent in the wood ... which makes for a very 'organic' resultant form.
Shallow bowl forms in plantation-grown Pinus radiata - by Bob Gilmour.
Shallow bowl forms in plantation-grown Pinus radiata - by Bob Gilmour.
Shallow bowl forms in plantation-grown Pinus radiata - by Bob Gilmour.
More images of these works can be see on my Bob Gilmour info site.
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Bob Gilmour is a sculptor and homewares designer / maker based near Port Douglas in Far North Queensland, Australia. His studio is located in Julatten on top of the Great Dividing Range.
Comments (0) March 09, 2012
Resin cast bowl - clear blue.
Small bowl in cast epoxy resin by Bob Gilmour - Forest Treasures, Australia.
I prototyped this small bowl originally as a sauce/dipping bowl and have just begun to produce some resin impressions.
In it's own right, the bowl is a fine display piece, so I've had several on sale in my market stall as art objects. Although, of course, they can also be functional.
Small bowl in cast epoxy resin by Bob Gilmour - Forest Treasures, Australia.
Like all developmental processes, it's best to start small and work up to bigger things. This piece was a good opportunity to explore the challenges of producing a true bowl shape in resin without the added complexities and cost of increased size.
There were some significant challenges during the molding process and the final mold is less than perfect. As a result, the products have required a lot more hand finishing than I originally anticipated. This led me to re-evaluate my expectation from this resin production process.
Initially, my main objective was to perfect a method of easily adding another range of products to my existing line-up. I've now evolved a little and realise that the new products need to have the same high standard of finish and fine form as my existing works. They also need to push the boundaries of what other people perceive of the resin medium ... and need to push my boundaries as well.
Therefore, I've accepted that much of my resin work will require at least some amount of post-finishing ... sanding and polishing ... rather than simply pulling an item from a mold and sending it off to market.
Small bowl in cast epoxy resin by Bob Gilmour - Forest Treasures, Australia.
Small bowl in cast epoxy resin by Bob Gilmour - Forest Treasures, Australia.
The process of transforming liquid resin into tangible objects is complicated and mysterious. The creative possibilities are without bounds even though challenging at all stages.
Comments (0) January 09, 2012
Elongated Bowl Form in Acacia Cedar
HERE is a long elegant two tone bowl form in highly figured Acacia Cedar I finished recently.
The form continues on the theme of the last piece completed ... the beach almond bowl. These long drawn out forms allow me to create a dramatic form which sort of defies gravity by being way too long for it's small footprint.
I created this piece from some slab stock of acacia cedar I had bought several years ago. The wood is extremely figured, so I've tended to use it sparingly. To enhance the elongated form, I knew I could get a nice two color effect with the acacia so it seemed like a good time to use some of this precious wood stock.
This is another highly elongated form. The base is disproportionately small ... enhancing the impact of the long overhangs. I wouldn't say that this is a functional item ... but, it's a great display piece, especially in an elevated location.
Go HERE to view more images and information for this item.
Comments (0) November 07, 2009