This is kind of a long story, but bear with me.
A friend of mine had a walnut tree go down in a storm and said I could have some of the remants he had saved. I did a small piece for him as a thank you for his generosity and he subsequently asked me if I would make some other pieces for his brothers and their mother. Turns out his late dad had planted the tree years before and he wanted to commemorate the history and emotional bond his family had with the tree.
As I worked on the pieces, I began to see a relationship between the tree and the family. The vessel on the left represents the parents. The grain runs the length of the piece, symbolizing the the strength of family. The heartwood is at the center of the family structure and the little bit of sapwood showing represents the offpring. Old growth to new.
The 3 other vessels pus the added photo are the children, the grain running contrary to the parents, just as kids try to assert their independence. The older heartwood in these vessels is smaller, showing their parent's presence, and the newer sapwood is the children reaching out on their own. The cracks radiating between the heartwood and sapwood have been filled in, and suggest the interlocking bond between parent and child. Since I had delivered the original piece earlier, I tacked it's pic onto the end of the group photo.
This was a very fulfilling project and it reminded me how connected we all are to one another and to our world, whether we realize it or not. Family trees have been around forever and this was a way to make the comparison real. I just hope this all wasn't too sappy for you. (bad pun fully intended!)
Woods are walnut and maple. The vessel on the left is 4" Diameter by 10"H and the others are around 4 1/2-5" Diameter by 9"H. The walls are around 1/8" thick and the finish is lacquer.
