Studio Tour Success

 

A studio tour is our opportunity to open the doors and showcase all the work that Brian has produced this year.  The smiles and surprised looks on the faces of our visitors is our reward as they enter the workshop and react to the beauty of the display.  It was a family affair this year as our sons helped to welcome our guests and tell them the story of each bowl and platter.

 

The drive to the workshop along roads with colourful autumn colours sets the stage as people experience the beauty of the forest and Muskoka's scenery.  Brian was able to explain the process of turning bowls on the lathe and he demonstrated with a maple and yellow birch burl.  The chips were flying, bowls were revealed and the questions were answered.

It was our pleasure to be part of the Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour and we loved seeing the delight of our customers as they left with their purchases. 

The studio will soon be turned back into a workshop and the bowls and platter will be safely packed away.  However, we are always open by appointment if you have a special occasion with a need for a wedding, birthday, retirement or holiday present.  Call us at 705-635-3190 and we will help you find the perfect gift.

300 Burls

Every so often luck comes your way and in this case, it was in the form of a phone call from a man who works in a lumber mill.  Burls are cut off when preparing trees to be sawed into boards at a mill.  Often burls are discarded or burned but fortunately they were set aside until the pile became unmanageable.

Burls are the irregular growths that occur spontaneously on the sides of trees when exposed to trauma, insects or stress.  Most people would think of them as ugly and unwanted parts of the tree but to Brian, they hold the mystery of the forest, just waiting to be discovered on the lathe.  Brian bought the whole load of 300 seasoned burls and has started to turn a few of them.

The burls came in all shapes and sizes and were primarily yellow birch and maple from the Muskoka area.  Brian sorted through the pile, found a dry spot to store them and chose a few to begin to turn on the lathe.  The Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour is two weeks away so he wanted to have a few ready for sale.

Yellow Birch and Maple Burl Bowls

 

The unique characteristics of each burl determine the shape, colour and grain of each bowl.  Brian loves the challenge of finding the extraordinary within the discarded piece of wood, allowing the inner beauty of each bowl to be revealed.

 

Limberlost Woodturning is open for the Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour on September 22, 23 and 29, 30 from 10:00 am  to 6:00 pm and we would love to see you. For more information, go to:

 

www.muskokaautumnstudiotour.com



 

Maple Burl Bowl with a Live Edge

 



Yellow Birch Burl-From Burl to Bowl

The process of making a bowl is most rewarding when it begins with cutting the burl from the tree.  A call from a woman in Novar about a dead yellow birch tree with an enormous burl on it was followed up with Brian's visit with the chainsaw.  This 3 foot section is just part of the total burl.



The burl was too large to turn on the inner section of the lathe so after the faceplate was attached, it was mounted on the outboard side of the lathe.  It weighed about 100 pounds.

With a very sharp gouge, Brian turned off the outer bark and shaped the bottom of the bowl.

The figuring and spalting of the bowl was revealed as it was shaped and buffed.

Burls are irregular growths that naturally occur on trees with variations in colour, grain and bark inclusions.  Brian turned the inside of the bowl, buffed it and gave it many coats of a food-safe finish.



Yellow Birch Burl Bowl

The finished yellow birch bowl is exceptional with a natural edge, beautiful figuring and a graceful shape.  The original owners of the tree visited Brian's workshop and decided that it must return to their home.  Their excitement as they left the workshop with the finished bowl was satisfying as they could truly appreciate the process from burl to bowl.

Summit Centre Exhibit: Algonquin Yellow Birch Burl Bowl

This rare bowl began with a call from Brian's wood supplier who received three yellow birch burls from Algonquin Park. The park is protected and trees are removed following the ideals of forest management, planned harvesting and renewal to ensure the long-term health of Muskoka's natural resourse. 

A burl is unwanted for logging but prized by a woodturner. This bowl is truly one of a kind with its variations in grain, delicate bark edge and distinctive knot hole.  A piece of Algonquin Park is returned to Muskoka and transformed into a functional artistic bowl.

Yellow Birch Bowl

For more information about the Artists of the Limberlost Exhibit at the Huntsville Summit Centre until April 15:

http://www.artistsofthelimberlost.ca/press.html?todo=viewnews&newsid=93



From the Forest to the Kitchen: Yellow Birch Burl

Cutting up a Burl

In October 2010, I wrote about Brian cutting up a yellow birch burl and preserving the pieces by sealing the cut edges.  This allowed the wood to dry slowly and evenly, without cracking.

Yellow Birch Burl Bowl

This winter, one of the larger yellow birch sections was ready to turn on the lathe.  There was a sense of excitement as Brian cut into the burl that he had harvested from the fallen Rebecca Lake tree.  He followed the natural shape of the wood to reveal the intricate grain and colour variations. The underside of the bowl recalls the unusual curves of the burl.

Woodturning is an art which brings elements of nature, warmth and texture into your home. The smooth, food-safe finish ensures that the journey from the forest to the kitchen brings pleasure as you use the bowl to serve and display your food.

Continuous Present at The Art Space

HUNTSVILLE ART SOCIETY

CONTINUOUS PRESENT – Inspired by Gertrude Stein

"Continuous Present" is a dimension where each frame of memory is layered onto the present, making every experience unique and extended into space and time.

A burl is the tree's continuous present, the natural destuction of the linear model, chaotic and out of control.



"Continuous Chaos"
Yellow Birch Burl Bowl





Brian has entered this yellow birch burl bowl in The Art Space show from September 2nd to October 2nd.  For more information about the show:

http://www.huntsvilleartsociety.ca/continuous-present.html