Upcoming Shows

I’ll be busy the next couple of weeks finishing up some last minute pieces for 2 upcoming shows. First, I’m very excited to exhibit at Art On The Prairie on Nov. 9th, 10-5pm and Nov. 10th from 10-4pm . This show takes place in Perry, IA inside some of the historic buildings downtown. My booth will be inside the historic Security Bank Building, 1102 Willis Ave. in the Clarion Room. Alongside my bowls, bottle stoppers, vases, cutting boards and earrings, I will be debuting some new bowls and sculptures at this show so don’t miss out!

Perry is just a short drive from the Des Moines metro and there will be lots to see and do. In addition to the artists and their wares, there will be music, wine tasting, food, poetry and more. Learn more by checking out http://www.artontheprairie.org/

The following weekend my dad and I will have a booth for the third year in a row at the Beaverdale Holiday Boutique on November 16^th from 8am to 3:30pm. It takes place inside the gym and school at Holy Trinity Church, 2926 Beaver Ave. in Des Moines. Along with our typical bowls, vases and other forms, my dad will have tons of ornaments, coffee scoops and more. See more at the show's facebook page

Valley Junction Farmer's Market and Goodsmiths

Had a good time last night sharing the Goodsmiths booth with Kathy Leonard, from Prairie View Studios and the staff at Goodsmiths. The market was very busy with the great weather we had. Thanks to everyone that stopped by and said hi! I hope to be able to do this a couple more times this summer as well. Until then, check my Goodsmiths Store and enjoy a couple of booth shots from last night! (please excuse the cute kid in the first pic and the ISU thing in the background of the second pic, Rock Chalk!)

Valley Junction Farmer's Market - Let's Try That Again

We got rained out on the 30th, but I will give it another go at the Goodsmiths.com booth at the Valley Junction Farmer's Market on Thursday June 13th. Hope to see you there!

Also if you look to the right (and below), you'll see the new button to get to my Goodsmiths store. Father's day is right around the corner...

New Listings in Online Store & An Upcoming Show

I've added quite a few new items to my online store on Goodsmiths.com  (also some pics below) I'm getting more items in the store in anticipation of joining the Goodsmiths' staff and another artist at the Valley Junction Farmer's Market on May 30th from 4-8pm.

I was invited by Goodsmiths as part of their promotion of a new app, Swipe by Goodsmiths that links your sales at art and craft shows with your Goodsmith shop! I'm told the Android verion is coming soon. More info is available here. Can't wait to join them at the farmer's market and try out Swipe! Hope to see you all there!




Spalted Maple Bowl

 

Spalted Hackberry Bowl



Burr Oak Decorative Bowl



Natural Edge Butternut Bowl



Large Spalted Maple Side Tables

This week I completed a couple of big thick tables out of some large maple logs I acquired last fall. The logs came from a tree that had been dead for quite awhile and after being cut down the logs were just left along the road. It took some heavy lifting, but I got them home and got the general shape I wanted with a chainsaw.



After LOTS of power and hand sanding, I put a coat of oil all over them, signed it and drilled the holes for the steal legs. After more sanding and several more coats of oil they are done! The client/friend asked for them to be tall and they are at 32" and 28". The widths are about 11" X 12" squarish. I'm delivering them after the everyday job is over tonight. Will try and get some pics of the installed and share later.

Cedar Slab Table - Conclusion!

The table is done and delivered! Lots and lots of sanding and 10 coats of my home brew danish oil finished it off. I ended up putting recessed rubber feet on the bottom so it wouldn't harm a hardwood floor. Overall I'm very happy with the final results. This was my only slab of cedar, but I have quite a few more pieces of maple, oak and walnut that will be getting used soon!

Ebonized Burr Oak

This one is about 7" in diameter and 6" tall. The center bowl is ebonized with vinegar and steel wool mix and the rest is finished with my home brew danish oil. This is a prototype for a possible big project that hopefully will begin later this fall...

Box Elder Slab Table

 Here is the finished product! Pretty labor intensive...It took hours of power sanding to get the chainsaw marks smooth. About 3 hours to get the bark off. More power sanding to get the sides smooth and then hours and hours of hand sanding to get the surfaces ready for oil.  Once the oil hit the wood I was pretty happy with the finish. There are red/pink streaks that are common with box elder and streak of flaming curl grain as well. The cracks with change over time and only add to the character of the table.

I'm glad to finally be done with this project, and I have lots of ideas (and wood) for similar projects coming up.

Preview - A Hunk of Box Elder

Almost a year ago, I found this BIG hunk of box elder in a pile at a park here in Des Moines. The shape caught my eye and I knew I could make something cool with it. But I didn't know what at the time....

A few weeks later I rediscovered these legs from an old wood stove that was once in my parents garage. Now I had a pretty good idea of what I could use the hunk of box elder for...and how to upcycle the legs.

Stay tuned, early next week I'll show you the finished project!