Month: March 2015

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Teddy’s Balloon

Introducing Teddy’s Balloon. This piece means a lot to me, and is one of the few pieces that I will never part with. This gourd lamp is named for, and made for, a very special someone. Don’t worry, I’ll talk more about him later. This lamp will hang over a glider in his room.

This hot air balloon inspired gourd lamp is made of two gourds, one for the balloon and basket, the other for the tiny bear riding along. The balloon hangs, with the support of the lighting cord, which includes a standard size light bulb for beautiful night light views.

🙂

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Merlin Gillock

It’s time to meet Merlin!

Back in September 2014, a gentleman came into the gallery wondering what could be made out of a 4 foot slab of walnut, that was almost firewood. After explaining pyrography, he was intrigued. He mentioned that him and his wife like wizards. Since I can’t really draw people, I thought of collaborating with the great painter, Nick Mantlo-Coots. After I sanded and prepared the wood, Nick designed and drew Merlin. I then burned all of the features, and eventually finished him.

Merlin will be hanging out at Gallery 916 until March 21st. Go say hello 🙂

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Lamp Stand

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Some really cool things come out of necessity. I made the newest lamp for a special someone, but also wanted to enter it into the 2015 Celebration of the Arts show at the Kentucky Museum. While the lamp is a hanging lamp, I wanted a nice way to display, resulting in the lamp stand.

There are may firsts for me here, including concrete work, tile work (with broken glass), and grouting. The lamp stand is made from a full sized shepards hook, with a custom built and designed base. I poured concrete around the base of the hook, then applied broken glass using tile adhesive, and finally capped it off with grout work. The result is a 7 foot, 60 pound base, created to hold a 1 pound gourd lamp.

Check out the 2015 Celebration of the Arts show at the Kentucky Museum, on WKU’s campus in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to see Teddy’s Balloon, as well as many other great artworks from the Bowling Green area. Opening reception is Friday, March 6th at 7:30pm. Show runs until April 4, 2015.