Waterfall Bubinga Fountain Pen

I really loved making this pen. In this case, the customer has a full concert grand piano made of the wood from the same tree. When I bought the wood it was called waterfall curly Bubinga. In furniture making it is known as Kevazinga. In any case it is $50 a board ft. (Wowza!) The particular tree this came from has a celbrity-like history because of its size (over 8' in diameter), location in the Camaroon Jungle, and price of $200,000 for the one tree. Read more here http://www1.rockler.com/news/releases/bubinga%20release_final_r1.pdf. This pen pattern is an Art Nouveau retro. The 22kt Gold and Rhodium hardware really look great with the bubinga. He has since let me know that it writes like a dream right out the box which is a surprize given that it ususally takes about 1-2 hours to set a groove into the nib. I am sure it will only get better.

Interpretive Carving - Great Blue Heron

I picked up a piece of cedar root from a Carolina root seller at the World Carving Competition last year. He had so many choices, but I had to fit what ever I bought in my suitcase. When I saw this piece of wood, I knew it would work and an idea of what I wanted to do with it. I might make a few changes next time I try this style but the carving and painting were fun.

The Base is still in the clay design stage, but a friend just cut down a walnut in his yard and slab of it will go to good use. It's Painted in Oils.