We love looking for sea treasures as with this Eroded Wood Urchin. Here I explore making sea urchins. I turn the form from Madrone wood, then carve it, and finally bleach it. The size is approximately 4 inches in diameter.
After turning the hollow form on the lathe I spend several days at the workbench to complete an item with this amount of detail. The final piece looks like it came from the ocean and not the forest.
I would like to discuss Madrone wood. It grows on West Coast and it is very difficult to get here on the east coast. As this wood dries it quickly distorts taking on a new shape. When I use it for my coral pieces the unit comes off the lathe as a perfect ball. In a few days the shape changes making it perfect for these organic creatures.
No one can tell it is wood and not a real sea urchin when I show it to them. My objective is to change wood so that it no longer looks like wood.
The inspiration for Eroded Wood Urchin comes from Mother Nature. Everyone searches for beach treasures hoping to find that special piece from the ocean. Sometimes we get lucky and find a starfish, sand dollar or in this case a sea urchin. If you like this item you may want to take a look at Crawford Coral Bowl
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Studio
This sculpture as are all of my items is made in my studio Montvale, NJ USA. My primary machine is the wood lathe. With this tool I create the form. Once I am happy with the shape I will spend many hours at the workbench carving, piercing and bleaching an item like this.
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