Waharoa

Right picture, Delani and I.

Waharoa
Height: 9m (30 feet)
Width at base 4.5m (14 feet)
Carving: Totara
Legs: Steel

I haven't been in my workshop much lately as I have been helping with this Sculpture.
A Master carver Delani Brown, a friend of mine was commissioned to carve this piece. It is a gift to the Taupo community from Contact Energy and to celebrate 50 years of Geothermal
Power at the Wairakei Power Station.
Not a lot of turning but the plugs that cover the bolts are turned!!! I helped
design the legs and was the liaison between the architects and the steel fabricators
and Delani.
I started off making Delani a scale model to show him how his drawing
would look in 3D and work out how tall the piece was going to be when finished.
I have been working for the last three to four months on this project, cutting
out rot and replacing it with solid wood. The logs have been down for about
seventy years or so and some of the heartwood had started to rot and had to
be removed. One section we replaced was so heavy four of us couldn't lift it.
Each carving weighs a tonne, so there is total of three tonne of wood up
there. Fitting the carving to the steel work was a mission in itself, which
ended up being one of my jobs; I also did the red paintwork.
On Wednesday 10th Nov at midnight we fitted the carvings to the steel work
so the public wouldn't see it being erected. Each of the carvings was covered
in black plastic while we were fitting and once fitted the plastic was replaced
with a large black fabric cover. The sculpture wasn't to been seen by anyone
until the unveiling, which was five thirty the next Saturday morning. Nobody
had seen the finished sculpture, not even Delani until then. It's all to do
with Maori protocol and to be a surprise to the Taupo public.
It has been an amazing project and has been a privilege to work with Delani.
It's given me a greater understanding of Maori protocol and history.
Now you can see why I haven't been in my workshop lately!
Now it's up, I can get back into my workshop.
Robbie

Toru 6

Toru 6
Wood: Matai
Diam: 160 mm
Height: 45 mm
Finish: inside vessels lacquer, outside rust

It was pointed out to me that was number 6 not 5, now corrected.

This is the smallest of this multi axis series, which is only half the size of Toru 4. I decided to coat the entire outer surface with the rust this time to give some contrast to the Matai. I think it works quite well with this piece. I started this piece in February and thought it was about time to finish it.
Comments Welcome

Mutant

Woods: Rhododendron, Tawa and Jarrah
Length: 750mm
Height: 350mm

There is more carving in this piece than turning and it had it ups and downs in the design and some of the processes used in the making but I'm pretty happy in the result. I had intended to have this piece more like a mutant monster but this is how it ended up.
The vessel is turned out of green Rhododendron, which would dry and give me some distortion and look more organic. The stem is laminated Tawa, using strips just over 1mm thick and formed and clamped in a MDF pattern.
The leaf is recycled Jarrah, which once was a side of our unused waterbed and had kept to use one day. (I had forgotten how dusty Jarrah was to work and my work shop was covered in red dust) I have laminated a strip of tawa through the centre. The vessel and the stem are air brushed it using acrylic paint.
Comments welcome.

New piece of woodturning

Balance

Wood: Rhododendron
Height: 200mm (8")
Texture: Pyrography and painted

I turned this out of a piece of wet Rhododendron to about 2mm thick and let it dry before doing the pyrography. It has a rounded bottom, which makes it rock if bumped, hence the name Balance.
The photo isn't the best sorry. I found that no mater what light source I used the pale wood over exposed and if I set the exposure for the bottom part of the vessel the picture came out too dark!??

Comments and critique welcome

New piece on the way

This is something new and one comment I have had so far is "you really are mad".
I like to try new things and have new challenges.
I will post a picture of it soon.

Rhododendron Tube

Height: 315mm (12-3/8")
Diam: 70mm (2-3/4")
Finish: Haarlem oil

Richard Raffan's tubes on the last NZ Creative Wood Magazine and tubes by Dick Veitch inspire this piece. I wanted to have a go at one for a while, so here is my version of a tube.
It is turned from green branch Rhododendron that had a bend in it and was hoping that the stress in the bend would allow it to distort when dry.
I turned the out side then turned the inside with a wall thickness of 1.5mm and microwaved it until dry. I stained it with rimu stain then sandblasted it until it broke through in places.
Comments welcome.

Needs a name?

Wood
Sphere: Camphor Laurel
Dowels: Jarrah, Black Maire, Matai, Rimu, Lemon, Macrocarpa, Osage orange
Diam: 125 (5")
Height: 200mm (8")

I am very unsure of this piece and don't even know if I like it. I got half way through making it and was unsure whether I should continue and finish it.
The sphere is drilled, turned, drilled five more 20mm holes at 90 degrees to the original holes then hollowed, scorched and painted with a wash of dark blue. The side holes looked too small and decided to remount it and turn them to about 45mm. I think it looks better but still pretty weird.
What do think?
Sorry the photo isn't the best and, need better lighting.
Comments and critiques welcome.