bud vases

 First attempt

The original design of my bud vases came from a visit to Cloveley in Devon. A woodworker who had access to fallen timber from the estate turned simple cylindrical shapes, with a central hole along the vertical axis of the cylinder to hold plant material.

The first attempt used an off cut of Maple, a lovely wood for turning, having a dense structure and fine grain. I was very pleased with the finished result, giving them to Sheila as an extra Christmas present.

The design did not allow for any water to help to prolong the life of the flowers in the vase. To solve this problem I managed to find some small test tubes. Although they did not hold much water, at least it would help to maintain any flowers in the vase.

 

 

 

 These bud vases are for sale at the Derbyshire open arts event to be held across the county. I will have a stand at Peak village Rowsley from the 24th to 26th of May. If you are free please come and support myself and other members of the Derbyshire makers.

 

 Development of the design

Having turned several simple cylinders, and managed to incorporate the test tubes to hold some water, I thought it would be fun to make some different shapes.

A trip past Masson mill gave me the idea of a mill chimney shaped vase. Association of the area to mining and miners lamps gave me another design idea.

On another trip we passed the mill stone symbol of the peak district national park. I remembered seeing partially made mill stones whilst walking above Grindleford. I turned a cylinder with different diameters along its length, then split them in to individual mill stone shapes. A bit of pyrography to produce the characteristic pattern found on the stones, then assembly in to a stack and a hole drilled for the test tube.

Another experiment involved laminating Oak and Sapele to produce a stripy block. This was then turned on the lathe to produce a spiral like effect. Again a central hole to take a larger test tube was added.

Some of these designs seem to be controversial. It will be interesting to hear the comments at Rowsley.