Process Information

My hollow vessels are turned out of freshly cut (undried) wood. The outside is shaped with gouges and the inside is removed with a stabilized hollowing tool through the narrow opening at the top of the vessel. The hollowing process is particularly challenging, as one cannot see the tip of the cutting tool inside the vessel.

Most of my vessels are decorated with carving and/or coloring. With my puzzling illusion series, the holes are created with power carving tools. The outlines of the puzzle pieces are burned into the surface with a pyrography tool. The "loose" pieces are made from a turned ring of the same wood and are shaped with carving tools to appear to fit the holes. The vessels are finished with the addition of a turned collar made from a different wood.