friggin' cold.

it is the dead of winter. negative zero temps and nothing to do but cut up pieces of wood in my HEATED garage. i made a bowl of spalted maple, finished with "salad bowl finish" and beeswax; as well as a couple of picture frames. one for sherry, for her birthday/christmas, made of birdseye maple (that stuff chips out so bad i cant even stand it...but it turned out okay in the end), and another that i think will look pretty kickass with a good black and white photo in it, on MY wall, of bubinga with tung oil. i am not having much luck with these frames...either they're chipping out or the boards are flying off the table saw at my head. it's a perilous hobby...but art shouldn't be safe. what's the point if you're not putting your life, or at least fingers, on the line?

take a deep breath

the holidaze is over. thank god. here are some photos of all the ornaments and whatnot i made for friends and family; i love you all, but im glad i don't have to cram to make christmas ornaments for you all anymore.

the bowl is sycamore. and tiffany, if you use it as an ashtray, we are going to have problems. the ornaments, mostly, are cherry wood with various finishes. one is spalted maple with an african blackwood finial, for a dear friend of mine who keeps his woodworking tools at my shop...thank you.

also shown is a cherry sushi platter that i started this summer and finally finished a couple weeks ago. we know a fella with a sawmill who sold me a large chunk of cherry with the bark still attached. i've made two platters from this piece and have three or four more blanks from it yet. i saved that piece from ending its existence in a firepit.