Descending Ashtray

I spent the better part of the weekend working on the new overhead circle jig I dreamed up. While it has its issues (definitely a version 1), it worked pretty well and I am eager to continue using it.

Here’s a wall piece I did yesterday with a 10-inch square of cedar, burnt with a torch, then routed using the new jig. The main advantage over my earlier circle cutting jigs is that the pivot point for the router is under the work being routed, so the center doesn’t show on the front. I much prefer this cleaner look. It’s somehow more mysterious and powerful.

Another idea I had was to rout rings in a panel, paint the insides of the newly-routed channels, and then use the planer to remove any excess paint from the top surface, leaving paint only in the channels. It’s a crisp look I really like, especially the softer, more harmonious relationship between the red paint and the raw red cedar. The contrast will increase as the raw cedar silvers over time through UV exposure. This panel is 9.5 inches square.

Lately, I have using materials that reference the Pacific Northwest, and the red cedar, burnt wood (forest fires), and red color common to totem poles are good examples. A lot of my work is set in a post-industrial time, and I imagine myself making the work in this (hopefully) distant future. I believe I’d use materials common to the area I live to express myself, as those that went before certainly did. I really appreciate the visual simplicity in NW Native Art, and if I capture some small piece of that power in material selection …

Enough jibber-jabber - on with the power tools. Here’s a short, hastily-edited video of the new and improved jig in action. It could use some narration, but I think you’ll get the gist. Might want to turn the sound down on this one. Routers are noisy. I should also note that, though it doesn’t look like it in the video, I am wearing hearing protection.