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John Tisdale

Wooden Vessels

WHAT I DO

Going from log to finished vessel or vase takes up to forty-five different steps, depending on the species of wood, the design and, of course, the “unforeseen” (hidden knots, hidden nails, hidden voids) – each log has its own unique surprises. The actual work is often over thirty-hours, again depending on the wood, the design and the unforeseen – add the time for drying and those thirty hours typically span a year.

North Texas has a diverse ecosystem and I turn about ten different species.  Several hours each week are spent looking for logs large enough to provide “presence”.  Maybe a poor analogy, but, like “kissing frogs”, a log can be just another log or it can be gorgeous.  Some logs can be turned immediately after the tree comes down (walnut, mesquite), others are allowed to spalt (maple, pecan).  Spalting is the natural function of various fungi invading the log and reducing it to soil – caught before the process goes too far and the appearance can be spectacular.  White fungus will create zone-lines creating the effect of a cartographer gone berserk – blue fungus creates various colors that are often beautiful.  Regardless of the species, the logs must have high water content when mounted on the lathe. 

In the broadest terms, creating a vase or vessel starts with cutting the log into a “rough” followed with months of drying, then the final cutting, and lastly the finishing. 

Turning begins with rounding and balancing – spinning a 300-pound log at 400 to 500-rpm can be precarious – an off-balance, irregular log can snatch parts of one’s anatomy.  The exterior is cut close to final design and then the interior must be quickly hollowed to a wall thickness so that the inside will dry with the outside but still allow for the inevitable warping.  Only then can the drying process begin.

After months of drying (and warping), the piece is remounted on the lathe and re-cut to round.  This “final cutting” is the most critical:   tool-edges must be razor-sharp and the tool finessed – an error can mean the fireplace.  Cuts produce paper-thin shavings for continuous (flat-free) curves without tool-marks.  Interior hollowing follows the completion of the exterior.  Just as the outside was egg-shaped from drying, so is the inside.  A uniform wall thickness of around ½” is the goal.  Once again, an error can mean the fireplace.

After the cutting (and lots of sanding) is complete and the base is cut, several applications of high-performance coatings are applied.   Once again, lots of sanding in between each application.  European and domestic finish materials are combined to achieve a luster to insure, not only a beautiful vase, but an heirloom that will last generations.

WHY I DO WHAT I DO

Transforming a commonplace log found roadside or at a firewood lot into an object of beauty is, for me, transcendental.  I look at a log and see a beautiful vase or vessel.  I’m often wrong but I’m more often right and the “rights” make it worthwhile.  I frequently stand back from the lathe and ask “what do you want to be?”  In the roughing process I’ll sometimes make a finish cut which allows me to “see” the wood, “see” the grain, “see” the beauty – it jumps out and grabs.

I hope you enjoy looking at my work and I hope you appreciate the effort required to create my vases and vessels.

G A L E R I E Z U G E R

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