Aleph I: Apple Vessel

Created in 2011, this piece represents a new direction in my work, toward vessel forms of simplcity that speak without words, at a purely visual level.  This piece, Aleph I:  Apple Vessel, is from my new Aleph series, which takes its name from the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, aleph, which is an unspoken, unsounded letter.  Aleph, instead, represents the breath before speech, in that moment when we inhale, when we draw inspiration, when we are on the edge of naming.

Aleph I:  Apple Vessel was created from a single piece of Gravenstein apple wood I came across one evening when I was out for a walk.  I spied a pile of interesting wood lying in someone's yard, knocked on their door to inquire about it, and they said I could take it all, which I did.

Aleph I:  Apple Vessel measures 19" x 8" x 8.5" and has a completely rounded bottom, with no "foot" so that it curves down to rest on a single point.  Because of the way I carved it, though, it cannot tip over.  If you touch it, it rocks back & forth till coming to rest, upright, again.  It is smooth inside and out, with natural checks (cracks in the wood) and small, interesting bark inclusions.  It is finished to a low-satin sheen with polyurethane and carnauba wax.

$2,400.00 

Aleph II: Bleached Maple Vessel

Aleph II:  Bleached Maple Vessel is sculpted from a piece of Western Big Leaf Maple that I had, at first, tossed into my firewood pile because it "wasn't anything special."  For some reason, I looked at it differently one day and decided to try making "something out of nothing."  Aleph II is what I made.

It is a piece that is a pleasure to look at, but even better is to hold it in your hands and cradle it in your arms.  It is a piece that is embracing.

Aleph II:  Bleached Maple Vessel measures 14.5" x 8.25" x 4.5" and has a completely rounded bottom, with no "foot" so that it curves down to rest on a single point.  Because of the way I carved it, though, it cannot tip over.  If you touch it, it rocks back & forth till coming to rest, upright, again.  It is smooth inside and out, with some delicate natural checks (cracks in the wood).  It is finished to a low-satin sheen with polyurethane and carnauba wax.

$800.00

Aleph III: Bleached Maple Vessel, Colored Basin

Aleph III:  Bleached Maple Vessel, Colored Basin is another piece created from a piece of Western Big Leaf Maple that I abandoned for firewood.  This piece plays with contrasing interior and exterior space by using color (a deep warm orange) in the basin of the vessel, suggesting...what?  Presence?  Emergence?  Birth?  ???  Whatever it suggests, like the title implies, its power transcends words.

Aleph III:  Bleached Maple Vessel, Colored Basin measures 14" x 7.5" x 4.5" and has a completely rounded bottom, with no "foot" so that it curves down to rest on a single point.  Because of the way I carved it, though, it cannot tip over.  If you touch it, it rocks back & forth till coming to rest, upright, again.  It is smooth inside and out, with some delicate natural checks (cracks in the wood).  It is finished to a low-satin sheen on its exterior areas, and to a clear gloss finish on the colored interior basin, with polyurethane and carnauba wax throughout.

$800.00