Dolphin paradise- latest project

[minowevie]

Originally Posted by Mike Crosa

Henriette, that is one fine piece of work. I especially like how you did the palm fronds. They look great. How did you do it?

I agree with all the above. and like Mike, how did you do the groves in the palms. and trunks. also the eyes on the doulphen? love the whole project. your friend Evie

[Jim McDonald]

Never tried intarsia or segmentation, but I do know a good lookin' piece when I see it and you've got one there.

Be proud of your work and if the girlfriend doesn't like it--it time for your son to upgrade.

[Ray Strauss]

Aloha Henriette,
That is a beautiful piece, put a little koa in there somewhere and it would sell in Hawaii no problem. The flowers in the upper corners of my Paradise panel are raised and relief carved. It was client requested and the first time I have done it. I was surprized how much I liked it when done! Now I look at your Dolphin piece, and I feel the urge coming on to further explore the 3D possibilities! :-) Thanks for the inspiration! I'll bet you are already thinking of what you want to do on your next piece! :-) Keep pushing the envelope!

Ray

[Andy]

Adorable!!! I've done one intarsia piece and failed miserably so I can't lend any advice. I'd imagine everyone would like this hanging on their wall though. Good on 'ya!!

Andy

[angelduster1998]

That looks awesome...I have a daughter that loves dolphins...Where did you find that pattern....Tonya

[greatdane2]

Hi Henriette, I was looking at what I wrote last night and I think I gave the wrong impression. You work is very good, I wish my first efforts came close to what you have done. I was just trying to explain what I do with Intarsia and Segmentaiion. When looking at your trees and seeing the depth you got on them, if you try sanding on the backside of some pieces and using a bit of thicker wood in places you can get a much deeper 3D effect.
So please accept my praise for your Dolphin plaque, it is miles ahead of what I did for the first few years.

Alan.

[KathyRo]

Hello, very nice indeed and thank you for telling us what type of wood used. Also, letting us know how you arrived at the darker dray. As just as a thought I wonder if by dragging some of the lighter gray just below the darker gray, would have made a nice transition into the light body color. I wouldn't try it now of course, but maybe as a thought for another one you might do. Practice piece first though on some scrape wood.
KathyRo

[workin for wood]

I'm happy with it too, that's a fantastic job you've done there!

[jim_mex]

This is a beautiful design and the craftwomanship really does it justice - I specially love the palm tree detail

And thanks, Henriette for the vinegar ebonising tip which I've just filed away in my newbie notepad !

[Bluebird]

Wow, this group is very responsive! I wanted to thanks you all for your questions/comments/tips etc etc. I appreciate the positive feedback as well as the suggestions for improvement. So "greatdane2/Alan", I want you to know that I really appreciated your suggestions on the shaping and creatin of a greater 3D effect, so you don't need to apologize. I joined this group to continue to improve myself, and I think it is a wonderful opportunity to be able to receive a tip/critic from another wood worker! Regarding the shaping of the dolphin itself: I tried raising the right hand flipper but realise now that I could have been "more aggressive" as I only used a 1/4in shim. I will try it of my next dolphin for sure! As for the tale, I think I should have used an 1.5 in thick wood piece to get it "out" as much as possible. Question for Alan: would you also sand a bit of the bottom of the tale to get it to "raise" from the board? Is it how you do yours?

Pattern: I made it. Drop me an email if you are interested in purchasing it.

Wood used:
Palm trees: european walnut and poplar for the leaves. Used a cutting disk with a rotary tool to "texturize" the leaves and the trunks.
Dolphin: Grey maple and basswood. The variation of grey came from the wood piece itself and I did ebonized it with the same vinegar solution. KathyRo- you can play with the grey by diluting your solution with water, or by using lemon juice directly on the wood to lighten the grey after you have applied your vinegar solution to your wood piece. It is not an exact science though...
Water: poplar
Mountains: red oak and jatoba(brazilian cherry)
Foliage in the front :Blood wood, Bubinga and aromatic cedar
Clouds: Maple
Sun: Pau amarillo
Sky: Birch plywood board used for background


Gotta go now. Hope I answered most of your questions. Thanks again for the great feedback.