The taller vessel has a top and finial turned from carob on another impossibly lightweight vessel of aspen.  Carob is one of the few woods that keeps its pink-red color as it ages.  This aspen has all of the marvelous swirls and colors that we usually associate with the planet Jupiter.

Large figured aspen logs are difficult to find.  Although aspen is abundant in Colorado, it grows in harsh conditions and seldom reaches a large diameter.  This wood came from a stash cut and carefully dried by Dennis Korth.  (7 x 17)

Photos by Kay Liggett

The photo shows the arm brace and the 1″ diameter boring bar that is needed to hollow a vessel as large as a burial urn.  This one is still very wet wood.

After the initial hollowing, and several months of drying out, Dennis will remount the vessel and turn the walls to the final, even wall thickness of about 1/4″.  He adds threaded inserts and turns a lid from the same wood.

The final stage is sanding and finishing the urn, often with the multi-step patination.

Of course, for the best selection, it is wise to buy a burial urn in advance of the need for it.

Earlier this summer, Dennis met with Richard Pankratz, a bronze sculptor, to develop a convincing patina on urns made of wood.   The happy result is this finish in aged bronze.

The advantage of the faux bronze urn is that the urn itself is lighter in weight, and the use of pine keeps the urns in a very reasonable price range.  Many customers contact Dennis to find a bio-degradable urn that is still beautiful enough to display at a memorial service.

Dennis will probably use this finish on more turnings done in plain woods.  It does not, however, qualify as a food-safe finish for bowls.

Prices and more photos are available by request:  719-481-8754

Dennis will demonstrate stone inlay at the Utah Woodturning Symposium in May.

The photo illustrates Stuart’s response to some bad noises coming from the Liggett lathes.  While Dennis and Kay turned, hollowed, carved, and sanded, Stuart worked on several of his own projects:  a huge goblet, two burl bowls for a local fundraiser, and photos for a magazine interview.  Neighborhood woodturners came by to pick up turning blanks, and to get help with things like refinishing a guitar.

The shop was filled with forms in various stages of completion.  Kay took several photos of the various ‘still life’ opportunities in the shop, pictured below after some photoshopping.   Looking at Stuart Mortimer’s hollow forms in various stages is something like studying the drawings and studies that lead to paintings by Picasso or Matisse.  The forms have their own charm, in addition to the promise of the final product.

Aspen with Malachite inlay 8" tall

Dennis has always been interested in celtic knot decoration.  The challenge with the form was to draw the knot so that there was no visible starting or stopping point.  He then carved the channels for the stone with a dental drill and inlaid the crushed malachite.

This piece was sold by a gallery that also featured jewelry made from turquoise and other semi-precious stones.

Summer Olympics 9" tall

Dennis chose to explore using local materials for woodturning when he moved to Colorado nine years ago.  Aspen is a challenging wood for woodturners.   Many times, it lacks the beautiful figure that woodturners value.   Dennis decided to use turquoise–a native mineral in the mountain west–to enhance the forms.

Rock paintings are the inspiration for the Olympic sports figures used on this piece.  To add contrast, Dennis chose a red pipestone for the inlay on the carved figures.  

If you are interested in trying stone inlay, sign up for one of the demonstrations that Dennis offers for local woodturning clubs, or call for coaching:  719-481-8754

Many woodturners use a variation of this carve/inlay technique.  Stephen Hatcher is another woodturner who works with semi-precious stone inlay.  Coincidentally, he was born in Colorado Springs!