Fine Curlies -

All Set Up And Ready To Go

2011-11-11T17:24:00.001-06:00

Ready for you to come by see our wares!

Beaverdale Holiday Boutique

2011-11-08T09:27:00.000-06:00

My dad and I will once again have a table at the Beaverdale Holiday Boutique this weekend. It's held at Holy Trinity Church on Beaver Ave...just north of Urbandale Ave. Friday there is a special "early viewing" from 6:30-8:30pm and we will be there all day , 8-3pm, on Saturday. Lots of handmade gifts will be available for purchase at the sale again this year. Hope to see you there!!

Cedar Slab Table - Conclusion!

2011-09-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

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!

Preview #2 - Cedar Slab Table

2011-09-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

Last week I showed you the cedar slab after some sanding. I finished the base last night...Steel tubing for legs, ebonized oak for feet and cold rolled steal cross memebers...finished photos before the end of the week!

Ebonized Burr Oak

2011-09-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

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...

Preview - Cedar Slab Table

2011-09-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

I've had this slab from a cedar stump for about 3yrs now. I knew the shape would work great for a table, but it got burried in the wood pile. A friend was over a few weeks ago looking at some bowls to pick out a gift for her friend that was coming to town. She saw the cedar slab and said, "I want that! Can you make a table out of it for me?" Below is a sneak peak of the slab after a round or two of sanding...there is some crazy grain goin on in there!!

Spalted Maple Log Tables

2011-09-21T10:24:00.000-05:00

Way back in the spring, a good friend told me he could build a new computer for me. I needed one and he had the know how and would enjoy doing it. I asked how much and he said he and his wife really liked the tables I had made for my Sister-in-law last year. I received the computer back in July...I don't like rush into things....

OK so I know it is now almost October, it took me awhile to find some logs big enough to make them, but I just finished them up last night. They will be in town this weekend to pick them up. Like I said I dont' like to rush into things...

They are all right around 17" tall The middle one is the largest at about 15" from corner to corner. The legs are steel tubes painted black with rubber feet. The finish is 10 coats of my home brew danish oil. I thought about poly, but didn't want the wood to look shiny...coasters will be needed for sure! I have a crotch section from this same log that I hope to make a coffee table out of as well...

Box Elder Slab Table

2011-08-29T07:00:00.001-05:00

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

2011-08-25T09:41:00.002-05:00

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!

My Name In Print!

2011-08-03T08:42:00.002-05:00

"Navin R. Johnson: The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!

Harry Hartounian: Boy, I wish I could get that excited about nothing.

Navin R. Johnson: Nothing? Are you kidding? Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now."

One of my favorite lines from the movie The Jerk wouldn't stop running through my head this morning. Why? Beaverdale Magazine used to have a feature each month about someone's garage and what they stored inside it or did inside it. Way back in October I was interviewed for the feature and told it should run in the December or January issue. I figured they thought it wasn't worth publishing and had pretty much forgot all about it. Then this morning my dad emailed me that he saw a short story about me in the magazine. My "spontaneous publicity" isn't as widely read as the phone book (although when was the last time you looked at one?) it's really just a short blurb, but check it out on page 6 at the link below!

Beaverdale Magazine

Rained Out!

2011-05-20T14:54:00.003-05:00

We tried, but the rain delayed us and eventually shut us down. My dad and I each got one bowl turned before the sprinkles started. We had the lathe unloaded back at home just as the downpour started. The outlook isnt very bright for tomorrow either as rain is forcasted all day....will give it a go if the rain stays away.

Oak Sclupture

2011-05-18T10:19:00.000-05:00

I found this piece of burr oak as I was splitting firewood earlier this spring. It flew about 20ft away from me when the larger piece split. As I was gathering the rest of the split wood, I looked to see if any chunks looked interesting. I didn't see anything until I literally stumbled over this piece. The dark Iowa dirt on one side created a beautiful contrast with the natural oak grain. That gave me the inspiration to ebonize one side of the piece and the top of the base to recreate the differing colors.

It stands is about 2 feet high and the base, made from reclaimed rough sawn oak, is 5" X 5" and about 2.5" high. The perfect way to see and hold this piece would be to come down to The Mansion at 2801 Ingersoll in Des Moines where I will be doing a turning demo from 10-6 on Friday and 10-4 or so on Saturday....see you there!

Spalted Hackberry Form

2011-05-17T10:36:00.000-05:00

I uncovered my last piece of spalted hackberry that my dad gave me a couple years back in KS recently. I wanted to do something a bit different with it and this sculptural form is the result. It stands almost 20" tall with the ebonized rough sawn oak base included. This lacquer finish came out fantastic and really gives the incredible spalted wood some great depth. (Best seen in person!)

To see this piece along with many others in person, head down to The Mansion at 2801 Ingersoll this Friday and Saturday and say hello while I conduct a woodturning demo. I will be turning bowls, vases, and many other unique forms right in front of the store. The Ingersoll Ave. sidewalk sale will also be going on so come shop, eat and drink all weekend long!

Redbud Rootball

2011-05-15T18:38:00.001-05:00

Spent the afternoon digging out the stump and rootball of a redbud that died in our front yard a few years back. Very sore and tired, but it needed to get done as a replacement tree is on the way.

A group of good friends are giving us a new tree to plant in honor of my father in law who passed away this past week. With any luck after a good power washing, there will be some wood from the stump and rootball to make a special piece from as well.

Turning Demo and Sale

2011-04-25T15:25:00.001-05:00

I'll be spinning wood on the lathe once again in front of The Mansion Fine Furniture and Interior Design on beautiful Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines. I'll be there on May 20th from 10am-6pm and May 21st 10am-5pm.

I will have new pieces available as well. Stop by and see me do some woodturning and check out all the new stuff at the store!

See you there!

Sneak Peak

2011-04-15T15:39:00.002-05:00

I'm about half finished with my latest project and though I'd give you a sneak peak since it's been so long since the last post....The hunk of wood is some ugly spalted maple...the oil has been applied...finished pics will come next week if all goes well this weekend.

Welcomed Inspiration

2011-03-02T14:10:00.001-06:00

I follow quite a few blogs via Google blogger and from time to time I read something that truely inspires me to get into the shop and create something. Sometimes it's a phrase or just a word, but most of the time its a picture of someone else's work that fills my head with my own ideas for a new piece.

Today however, it was an answer that Andy Coates, of Cobweb Crafts, and Woodturning Blog posted a response to a question he recieved from a fellow turner wondering "...where 'ideas' for what he calls 'arty' turnery come from..." See Andy's full response to the question here. I found the following excerpt from his response to be particular inspiring today...

"... whatever you do or think, don’t think you can’t. Because you can. It may mean that you have to discover new techniques and methods of doing things, it may mean that you get frustrated and dispirited, it may mean you toss the resulting down the bottom of the garden and swear a lot. But I’d bet that after a few days something clicks and you’ll want to try again....

...So go on…take a bowl blank and think out of the box and stun us all"

I hope everyone that see this uses Andy's advise however they can...I also invite you to take a look at Andy's main website to see his beautiful work and the new digs he and fellow artist John Wilson have their workshops and a shared gallery in.

Thanks again for your words Andy!

Crisp and Cold Morning

2011-01-08T10:37:00.001-06:00

Haven't been at the lathe in quite awhile. The holidays and cold weather are my excuse...hope to change that later today. Til then, here's a pic of a piece I stuck out by the wood pile
this fall. The sun and snow looked just right on this morning.

All Set Up and Ready To Go

2010-11-12T17:40:00.001-06:00

Now lets hope the rain doesnt keep people at home!

The Beaverdale Holiday Boutique

2010-11-12T14:49:00.000-06:00

Please come out and see my dad and I at the Beaverdale Holiday Boutique at Holy Trinity Church this weekend. It starts tonight at 6:30 and goes til 8:30pm. Tomorrow it runs from 8-3pm. There will be lots of good food for sale along with a wide assortment of art and craft items.

See you there!

Side Table Out of Hickory

2010-10-06T15:09:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, my MIL Sandy gave me a log of hickory from a tree that had come down close to her cabin in southern Iowa. She told me there's plenty more if this works for something. I put it in the shop and then lost it in the pile of other wood and shavings. While digging the lathe out to take it to the ArtStop demo, I found it again. This past week I turned it to a cylinder and applied some oil to it. It was a little short on its own, about 12", so I added some legs that are cold rolled steel rod painted black. Currently it resides in my living room, but if Sandy wants it, it's hers.

Oak Bowl On A Stand

2010-10-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

You might have noticed this piece in the picture of my previous post. It's made from Burr Oak that has been turned, carved, textured and ebonized. The base is made from rough cut oak and the stem is a brass rod. If you like it or would like to see more of my work, It is still available and on display at the Mansion at 2801 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines.

ArtStop Demo

2010-09-25T17:33:00.001-05:00

Well the rain washed out most of today, but I still had a good time doing the turning demo. Quite a few people came by and lots of compliments were given. Here's a shot of the display the staff at the Mansion put together. They'll keep the display out for a few more days. I ended up turning 6 or 7 bowls total, most of them last night. I'll put up some more pics in a few days.

Spalted Maple "Mushroom"

2010-09-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

This is a new form for me, but I think I see more in the future. Actually, I have already made 2 more pieces similar to this one.

I had a big piece of spalted maple that wouldn’t fit on the lathe so I cut it into a somewhat circular shape on the bandsaw. When I put it on the lathe I decided it the shape looked good without making it perfectly round. I turned the face flat and then put a small bowl like center into it. Then I took put my King Arthur Lancelot disk on the grinder and used it to make the “mushroom cap” effect on it. Next came some dark walnut stain and some danish oil. (You can see more detail of the stained area in the pic below) The base came from a very old rough sawn oak plank that I found in my dad’s wood stash back in KS before my parents moved to IA. The posts are were cut from a brass rod I found in a dumpster a few years ago.

This piece will be available for purchase at The Mansion at 2801 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines, IA during my demo that is part of ArtStop this coming weekend....See you all there!

Walnut Vase

2010-09-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

Here's another piece that will be available at my booth during ArtStop. Made from a crotch section of a long ago cut down walnut tree, this vase has lots of character in the grain and a natural edge bark rim. It's about 13" tall and 5" in diameter.

Once again I took this pic with my cell phone so in order to really see the beautiful wood grain on this piece, stop by the Mansion at 28th and Ingersoll in Des Moines from 5-9pm on the 24th and 11-5pm on the 25th. I'll be right out on Ingersoll Ave with my lathe making more unique wooden forms.

See you there!