Vessel Turned from Buckeye Burl, African Blackwood Inlay

This vessel was turned from an especially dramatic piece of Buckeye Burl, with a soft palette of grays, whites, blacks, and some brown and orange thanks to the oxidizing of underground minerals the burl has absorbed. The patterns generated by these colors are simply spectacular, like no other burl wood in the world. African Blackwood, a member of the Rosewood family, is the premier detail wood available to woodturners, especially for finials. Bark enclosures and small natural fissures became opportunities to expand the palette, with crushed turquoise inlaid in several locations.

The turning was finely sanded and sealed; after sealing, Danish oil was rubbed into the wood, followed by hand-rubbing with a combination of carnauba and beeswax in a light solvent.

All profits from sales of woodturnings are donated by the artist to support famine and victim relief in Darfur.