A relation of mine whose funeral planning included cremation had asked if I would make a wooden funeral urn. We looked at various ideas and ultimately settled on this fern-motif design which is based on the work of Ron Fleming; an expert wood turner and carver from Oklahoma. He has an extensive and varied body of work which includes several vessels based on this stylized fern design.
I started with a sizeable block of Redwood - AKA the giant Sequoia tree that grows in California - hollowing it and turning it to shape on the lathe, followed by carving of the leaf patterns. The block was mostly dark brown heartwood which was quite soft but one edge had some lighter-colored sapwood which was very hard and much more dense. Most of the heartwood was too soft to carve cleanly with an edged tool so much of the shaping was done with rotary tools and a selection of grinding bits. Details of the construction can be found
here.
| Material: | Redwood |
| Construction: | Turned and carved |
| Finish: | 3 coats Miniwax Fast-Dry Poly, Clear Satin |
| Size: | 9" tall x 6.25" dia. |
| Done: | January 24, 2020 |
