Shadrach's Lamps

[BY Bob]

I think @BY Bob got quite a nice lamp!

I sure did. It is amazing.

 

[sourland]

I think @BY Bob got quite a nice lamp!

Unquestionably.

 

[GhislaineDel]

I love that touching the lamps is part of your intention @Shadrach!

 

[Shadrach]

I love that touching the lamps is part of your intention @Shadrach!

While I call them lamps, in my more artistic moods I prefer to think of them a wood sculptures and of course, all sculptures need to be touched.

 

[Shadrach]

This is my last piece of lampable Alzina Surera. It's been sitting in the pile of prospective lumps of wood for over a year now looking at me daring me to do something with it. I cut 8cm off the top (damaged) and another 8cm off the bottom for the base so it was a large lump of wood.
These pieces do in general make lovely tree lamps. But, I made one of those a while ago and thought I would do something a bit different. I need to stop this thinking business.

There are some things you can carve into wood and while not strictly art, look okay. A tree will almost always work. Not many animals work that well and designs can be tricky; it's easy to end up with something a bit tacky.

I got the front cleaned off and roughed out the curvy bit on the side and thought, I know, I'll carve a cup into the wood.

Next I decided to look like a cup it would need depth and carved shape and to get it to look half decent the lines need to be about right.
The first thing with designs like this is if the base isn't flat and square to a reference edge nothing will ever look right after. You end up chasing around the lamp trying to get the various edges to line up. As I have recently found out for something like this the top, bottom and one side needs to be about right or when you go to carve the shape it looks lopsided. Always learning.
Then I did something really stupid and decided I wanted a theme and name and it was to be Glass Cutter. Well, I needed a blade then so out came the Oak and in went the Beech.
The lamp went from mid range difficulty to project status in seconds.
This is not going to be a quick job!!

 

[bruceha2000]

Got your work cut out for you now I guess?
It will be lovely when it is done, they all are!

 

[Shadrach]

This was an oil test. With the sanding the wood looks very pale as you can see from the top right hand corner. The wood also has lots of blond flecks in it and I don't want them on the front of the lamp. It's a mineral oil I've applied to the lamp face. The colour is in there but getting out and looking like this when dry may not be easy.

 

[pozees2]

This was an oil test. With the sanding the wood looks very pale as you can see from the top right hand corner. The wood also has lots of blond flecks in it and I don't want them on the front of the lamp. It's a mineral oil I've applied to the lamp face. The colour is in there but getting out and looking like this when dry may not be easy.
View attachment 2210692

This is going to be stunning.

 

[Shadrach]

Filling the dinks, donks and dents. This is what sucks up time.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Filling the dinks, donks and dents. This is what sucks up time.
View attachment 2212440

Wow! I'm very interested in seeing how that will look once it's sanded back.