Steve Germaine
Bowls
Spalted aspen
(SG55)
8 7/8" wide x 3 1/8" tall
Finish: oil/varnish blend, wax.
1st Place Overall, 2015 Spring Forward art show, Fort Collins, Co.
This piece was in my firewood pile and headed for the stove until I split it open and saw the evidence of spalting and wine-colored fungal staining. I left the rim as it was after splitting it, but gentled it with a wire wheel. A small hole near the rim was an active beetle larva tunnel, and a small knot caused some quilted figure at the bowl center. The piece is lifted delicately on three feet.
Sold: please contact me if you would like a similar piece.
Walnut
(SG51)
8" wide x 3" tall
Finish: hand rubbed boiled linseed oil.
Similar pieces available.
The morning after I turned this bowl a friend saw it and clutched it to her chest, so I guess this one's no longer available. Such are the risks of working with black walnut, one of North America's most beautiful hardwoods. General characteristics include light sapwood and heartwood colors ranging from dark brown to purple. Native to the the northeastern US, but now a popular urban tree nationwide.
Aspen
(SG130)
9" long x 4" tall
Finish: dye, glaze, sealer, wax.
Similar pieces available.
After splitting this log I let the rough-split surface define the rim of this bowl, only refining it in a few places where needed. Quilted figure runs across the entire bowl bottom. I dyed and glazed the outside to warm it visually, dyed the inside a pale yellow, and glazed the rim to define the transition. The bottom of the bowl inside the base ring is still the natural color of the aspen.
Walnut, cherry
(SG19)
9 1/2" wide x 3 1/4" tall
Finsih: butcher block oil, wax.
Similar pieces available.
Intended for use as a holiday nut bowl, this piece was made by gluing up blocks of walnut and cherry, then carefully sawing slots into which contrasting woods were glued before turning. An ornate cherry pedestal floats a base layer of figured walnut. The cherry/walnut upper portion is capped with an iridescent curly maple rim. A sliver of sapwood in the base provides an interesting visual contrast. This bowl --tight at the palms and long at the fingers-- has a wonderful hand feel.
Aspen (SG1)
6 5/8" wide x 3 1/8" tall
Finish: Salad bowl finish, wax.
Sold
This piece originated in the opposing half of the log from which I turned the aspen pot SG6 (closed forms gallery). I took the pot in a very organic direction while pondering how a timberdoodle might have looked nestled on the forest floor. Here, the angular shape and hand rubbed finish makes the curly figure in the wood pop. The result is a highly refined piece not at all similar to its organic other half.
Cherry & Walnut
(SG47)
10 3/4" wide x 4" tall
Finish: oil and varnish blend, wax.
Similar pieces available.
This piece looks a little like a segmented bowl but isn't. The base section is solid cherry; I inserted strips of cherry into slots that were carefully sawn into the walnut upper section, then added a curly cherry-walnut-curly maple rim. The piece is lifted on a foot made of figured walnut.
The piece pictured was a gift for my Mom and is in daily use as a fruit bowl on her kitchen island. Contact me if you'd like a similar bowl.
Honey locust
(SG8)
10 7/8" wide x 2 7/8" tall
Finish: oil/varnish blend.
Price: $135.00
A tree crotch is a certain place to find figured wood. Turned face-in to the center of a large crotch, this locust bowl is boldly streaked from rim to rim. An ingrown section of bark further adds to the character of this piece. Locust is dense and hard, and the wide rim that shows off the figure in this piece translates into a very heavy bowl- easily five pounds or more.
White Ash
(SG50)
12 1/2" wide x 2 5/8" tall
Finish: this piece is not yet finished.
Price: $225.00
Mesa Bowl~ I turned this piece while recalling the high plains and ancient volcanic cones of the Wupatki country north and east of Flagstaff, Arizona, where I lived for several years. I centered the top of this piece in a large section of crotch-wood, producing heavy curly figure across the rim and dark heartwood streaks that swirl around the bowl. The wide rim slopes gently upward, then drops abruptly into the bowl, reflecting the topography of this remote and beautiful area.
Spalted maple
(SG31)
11 3/8" wide x 3 1/2" tall
Finish: oil/vanish blend, wax.
Similar pieces available
Spalted northern (sugar) maple. Spalting results from fungal decay in wood. Dark fungal lines travel along vascular pathways and swirl among lighter wood that is in varying stages of decay. The more decay, the more spalting pattern present, and the more difficult the piece is to complete. I turned this piece in a pleasing traditional shape that would not compete with the beauty of the wood itself.