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Looming
Hickory sphere, White Oak pedestal, Niove base, and Betel nut "gem". This was fun piece to put together, a translation of a thought into wood. I turned the sphere quite a while ago, and used it as a sort of practice piece for textures and patterns. I decided to carve the surface away and add a bunch of new texture, burn, wirebrush, paint and stain to transform the sphere into a metal-wood hybrid "thing". The pedestal is repurposed from another piece I made a while ago, and I re-carved/textured portions of it for this piece. More below.
This was my first time working with Niove wood. I originally wanted a plain black base, but decided that a touch of color would work better. So, as I was looking for some sort of bright wood, I stumbled across a small board of Niove at Woodcraft. I may have also found my new favorite wood. Incredibly dense, fairly oily, and very vibrant. I cut out the shape on a scroll saw (slow going given the hardness), and I power-carved it pretty dramatically. It seemed almost impossible to burn the wood. Wild stuff.

I turned the Betel nut and finished with lacquer. It is just a beautiful thing, and this was a particularly pretty example. It amazes me the variety of patterns and colors you get with these nuts. Overall, Looming is 7.25" tall, 8" long, and 5" deep.

Here are a couple of detail shots:

G7WC90S.jpeg

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This piece has inherent animation Michael...but you knew that. It looks like a bowling ball about to squash a bug. Where do you find Betel Nuts? I know they are an addictive substance so was just wondering if you had difficulties in sourcing.
 
This piece has inherent animation Michael...but you knew that. It looks like a bowling ball about to squash a bug. Where do you find Betel Nuts? I know they are an addictive substance so was just wondering if you had difficulties in sourcing.
Haha, thanks Paul! No trouble at all getting betel nuts. I bought a bag on ebay. Something like 25 for $20 or so. Maybe even cheaper. It really is wild, betel nuts as an addictive substance. I went down that rabbit hole (not consuming, but reading). An overlooked global health issue affecting something like 10% of the world population. Pretty wild. Depressing.
 
Repurposing suits you well Michael! A piece is never done until it’s done! This piece has a dark moody side to it or is it the exact opposite…a bright cheery side, lol!! I like it a lot!
 

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Added by
Michael Anderson
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SONY ILCE-7M2
Exposure time
1.3 second(s)
ISO
800
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Filename
_DSC6885.jpg
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Date taken
Thu, 15 February 2024 8:53 PM
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