I was fortunate enough to run into Ben Owen III at the Winter Show (Greenhill, center for NC arts) this past December, both he and I were participating in that exhibit. Ben, very generously, offered me some of a pecan tree that he had on his property that was taken down some time ago. I believe that his grandfather was the original planter of the tree. Shortly after the Winter Show I was able to get some of that tree, which I believe has the potential to have some pretty dramatic pieces made out of it.
Judging by what I made today (6/1/2016) alot of this pecan appears to be very nicely spalted, has various worm and beetle galleries, and a pretty decent array of tonal variations. So I am intending this article to be a collection of all the pieces that I am able to make from this set of Pecan, updated as they are completed. Currently I have only made a few pieces and they are drying, so no complete sculpture for sale as of yet. I was only able to get one truck load of wood so I would assume that I will be making pieces this year and possibly some of next year.
If you are not familiar with Ben Owen, he is one of the most prominent, if not the most well known, potters in North Carolina. Take a look at his website (http://benowenpottery.com/) it has a very fascinating historical accounts of his and other families that started the pottery community around the Seagrove area of North Carolina. I am personally more familiar with his work, which I own a piece of, rather than the history of the area. If you happen to get the opportunity, drive down and see him and his kiln its a pretty wild experience.
Occasionally I have a piece for sale on my hollow forms page. Although they tend to go quickly as I have my hollow forms in some galleries along with Ben’s work, and there has been some demand from those galleries to carry these pieces.
Ben Owen III Spalted Pecan Hollow Forms 2016 –
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2.14.17 – Starting to get a few pieces through finishing. More to come this year, especially once the weather warms up some more. Size = 6-1/2″ H x 7-1/2″ Dia |
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BO.2 – A Spalted Ultra Gloss Off Balance Hollow Form – 7-3/4″ H x 8-1/2″ Dia. This continues to be one of my favorite pieces. |
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#448 – Spalted Natural Teardrop Hollow Form – 7″ H x 6-1/4″ Dia – Satin Danish Oil |
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#470 – Small Spalted Natural Hollow Form – 3-1/2″ H x 4-1/2″ Dia – Satin Danish Oil. I got off on my numbering a bit on the next few. This one picked up some red stain which is nice. |
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#486 – Small Spalted Natural Hollow Form – 3-3/4″ H x 4-1/2″ Dia – Satin Danish Oil |
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#BO.7 – Natural Ultra Gloss Spalted Pecan Hollow Form – 8″ H x 8″ Dia – Ultra Gloss Nitrocellulose – currently at the Umstead Hotel gift shop. |
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#BO.9 – Natural Spalted Pecan Hollow Form – 8″ H x 5-1/4″ Dia – Satin Danish Oil – currently at the ArtSource Fine Art. |
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#BO.10 – Small Natural Spalted Pecan Hollow Form – 3-1/2″ H x 4-1/2″ Dia – Satin Danish Oil |
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#BO.11 – Natural Spalted Pecan Hollow Form – 9-3/4″ H x 7-1/2″ Dia – Satin Danish Oil. This was cut from a upper limb section so it has the pith still in it, and the wood has really developed some dramatic spalting. |
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#BO.13 – Natural Spalted Pecan Hollow Form – 7-1/2″ H x 7-1/2″ Dia – Satin Danish Oil. |
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#u.163 – Spalted Pecan Cremation Urn – 7-1/2″ H x 6-3/4″ Dia – Satin Danish Oil |