For every piece that I finish, there is probably one that I started and didn't like and couldn't save. And of the finished pieces, I probably redo half of them at least once. This false start is especially disappointing, not only because it started as a big hung of valuable wood (the second half of a three inch thick board I used to create the book-matched wedge), but because I thought the draft looked good and invested a lot of energy trying to get the colors right. But after struggling with the colors I put it back together to see how it looked and felt certain it wasn't going to work.I would have created two sets of wedges but the deep, live edges on both ends of the board meant that my wedge would only be a few inches wide. In looking for alternatives I thought using the live edges in a piece that revolved around the color blue might work, but the blue theme seems really boring now and as I look at the piece I think the live edges make each section to individualistic to relate to each other. The question now isn't "can I save the piece?", it is "can I find something interesting to do with the wood I have left?"
George Nakashima would hate me for it, but I think I need to get rid of the live edges. I just don't think there is a good way to get the three sections to relate to each other otherwise. Perhaps cleaning them up (straightening the edges), cutting them up (and adding some other woods), and gluing together is the way to go. That way, I can add more contrasting colors and maybe create some interesting geometric shapes. Sorry George, I'm just not getting any inspiration from your spirit right now.
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Hmmm, I wouldn't be so quick to cut the live edge off just yet. Have you tried moving the three boards closer together? How do they look with around 1.5"or so between them? By really closing in that gap it would accentuate the fact that the gap is very even on the left side of the gap between the top two boards, and even on the right side of the bottom two boards, with the opposite sides of the gaps having the unevenness along one edge from the live edges. It may crate a little visual tension between the three forms and the negative space between them, which might be nice in a sculptural kind of way. Just a thought, but maybe you've tried that already.
ReplyDeleteI'm really not liking it as three separate pieces. I think it would look best to add some stripes and glue it together, then add more contrasting colors. If I can, I'll leave one of the live edges, the only problem is figuring out how to glue it up; I'm not sure how to get enough pressure one it with the live edge on.
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