Skipping Ahead

Just a little Orchid tease to show off body contours. The backside is quite a bit more daring. I lost internet for almost two weeks, so posts are behind progress. Here, we are looking at unfinished wood, mid-way through the sculpting process.

Wood pre-finish preparation is incredibly important. The process begins with rasps, files, scrapers, and culminates in progressively finer grits of sandpaper: 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 220, 320, 400, 600. I wet-raise the grain between every grit, until — at the 600 grit mark — water no longer affects the raw wood surface.

Sculpture is a combination of strength, finesse, tactile evaluation, and meditation.

I want surfaces to blend into adjacent forms, using a consistent logic throughout the instrument: concave, convex, linear, crisp. As you move the instrument, shapes fall away in a visually musical rhythm. Poetry.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: I think somebody's been wearing a respirator and earplugs too long. Trapped in his own skull.]

ORCHID SERIES:

Orchid Design
Orchid (Explained)
Stacked Laminate Neck Construction
Orchid Body
Orchid Neck Construction (Trapezoidal)
Trapezoidal Neck Profile
Skipping Ahead
Purple
Orchid Assembly