Live Edge Maple Burl Vessels

Winter has arrived and life at the cottage includes fun in the snow with family and friends. 

 Brian has chosen a few blocks of maple burl to create live edge vessels.  It is a delicate balance to find the perfect shape which compliments the wood without competing with the beauty of its natural features.

The final vessels are simple in design to accentuate the characteristics of grain, figuring and the live edge.

The joy of having decorative burl in your home is the warmth and tactile pleasure of touching the wood and the sense of being connected to nature.

Yellow Birch Burl Bowl

Brian has had a busy and creative week as a wood turner.  The workshop is back into production and he is excited about the quality of the burls he has to turn. Brian's wood supplier told him that this burl was from Algonquin Park.  How appropriate that it returns to the Huntsville area. Brian studied this large yellow birch burl and decided to make a shallow bowl.

Brian attached the burl to the chuck and with a sharp gouge, shaved away the wood as it turned on the lathe.  The wood chips collected as the graceful shape of the bowl was revealed.

The burl was buffed and the the first coats of oil were applied to show the beauty of the wood.

 

Brian put five coats of oil on the bowl, allowing it to dry completely between each coat.  This creates a hard and durable food-safe finish.



The finished yellow birch burl has become an exquisite bowl with intricate grain and texture and a natural bark edge.  

Wood and Onyx Platters

Mahogany & Onyx  Platter

The combination of wood and onyx is a great match of natural materials which create striking platters.  Brian turns the wooden platter on the lathe and then makes a recess the exact size of the stone and glues it into place.  The intense colours and patterns of the onyx against the grain of the wood make a beautiful, strong and durable serving tray. 



Figured Maple & Onyx Platter



Magnolia & Onyx Platter



Tasso Lake Nested Bowls

A man on Tasso Lake commissioned Brian to make nested bowls from a yellow birch burl he cut from a tree on his cottage property.  With his nesting tool, Brian was able to make four bowls from the burl.

The bowls were individually chucked, turned on the lathe, and allowed to dry in the drying tent after each coat of oil.

The simple form and design of the bowls allow the variations of colour and figuring to shine, and they accentuate the natural beauty of the grain and bark inclusion.

Our neighbour was delighted with the finished, handcrafted bowls and they have a place of prominence on his great room table in front of the fireplace.  A burl from his property was transformed into bowls which are a pleasure to look at and touch, and they can be used to serve food to family and friends.