KERMODE CARVER
Fine Wood Carvings
By Peter J. Scheunert
Nature  of  Wood
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Anatomy of Beauty: Patterns
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MOST PEOPLE KNOW the term "burl" and "bird's-eye maple" and have seen the hypnotic designs made in wood by what's essentially an infection by a virus or fungus or bacterium. Another beautiful result of stress on wood is the flame pattern, or chatoyancy: an effect that makes a flat surface appear three-dimentional, as if submerged under a thin layer of rippling water. This happens in areas where the fiber or grain of the wood is forced to fold on itself due to a change in direction of growth: at angles between the roots or major branches and the trunk, or inside burls. But probably the most wild and diverse patterns are produced in maple by bacteria and fungi feeding on the sugar in the tree's sap. None of these colours and colour variations is the result of dyes; all are due to natural fermentation in the wood and are brought out by oiling its surface. 


Material: Fermented Sugar Maple
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NATURALLY FERMENTED MAPLE is a rare and miraculous material: it is the end result of a chain of events highly vulnerable to chance. During the gold rush, sugar maples, the substrate for the fermented wood, were brought by settlers from eastern Canada to a small pocket of northern British Columbia in the hope of tapping sap for distilling moonshine. The conditions turned out to be too warm for harvesting sap, but the trees remained and multiplied. The life of the wood begins with the death of a sugar maple in spring when it is full of sweet sap. A storm uproots the tree, but to ferment rather than rot, it must remain standing, supported by its smaller neighbours that have withstood the winds. Fungi and bacteria must invade the wood and feed on the sap, resulting in fermentation that produces the fine dark lines and colour variations. (During carving, a special drying/baking process kills the fungus and renders the bowls safe.) Finally, the tree must be found and harvested when the fermentation has produced its unique dreamscapes in the wood, but dry rot has not yet set in. This is where the work of nature ends and the experience and skill of the carver take over.




THIS TREE IS A WONDER and paradox: like the heart of a beloved person, it is soft, yet incredibly steadfast and lasting. Unlike second-growth trees, an old-growth one takes centuries to reach its dignified beauty. Its rings are tightly packed, each reflecting a year of slow growth; this is especially true of cedars growing in the harsh northern highlands close to Alaska. Cut and polished, the hard red rings of winter shine like a gemstone, while the softer layers of the gentle northern summer reveal tiny sparks of silver and gold. This wood is salvaged from slash piles left over from old-growth logging, a sad practice that we hope will be only a memory one day soon. Some pieces are found on beaches as driftwood, and many of these have been bleached by sea water to produce a soft silver glow.  

     Three bowls shown in the Gallery are made from yellow cedar, a species entirely different from red cedar and sadly very close to extinction. The wood for these pieces was salvaged from slash piles left over from when their logging was still permitted. 


Material: Western Red Cedar
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THE  FIRST STEP is to cut into a slab or log with a chainsaw to determine what shapes and dimensions of bowls can be made. The process is one of discovery based on a certain knowledge of what the carver might find inside a rough piece. The unknowns are the texture of the wood and the exact grain pattern. Sculpting with the chainsaw continues until the bowls acquire all their contours and only their surfaces remain rough. This is the most technically involved and dangerous part of the process, but it allows Peter to produce his works with relative speed. (If carved entirely by hand, each bowl would take weeks if not months.) Next the pieces are thoroughly dried, after which the surfaces are ready to be finished by hand using cutting instruments. The surfaces are then smoothed out with sandpaper, and ready for oiling. This step is like watching a polaroid develop before your eyes: a drab and dreary piece suddenly comes to life with all shades of yellow, orange and brown, often with hues of pink and even silvery gray. The oils are organic and food-safe, allowing the bowls to be used for snacks as well as being displayed as sculptural pieces. The final step is to buff the surfaces to make them shine. All bowls are "shod" with little leather feet to protect a table surface, and all have a hook or ring for hanging on the wall.  Some bowls have sculpted legs made of rolled copper pipes or silverware handles.

     Shortly after being finished, a fresh bowl may “sweat out” excess oil. Simply dab it dry with a cotton cloth and buff it back to a shine. All bowls are waterproof, and if a bowl needs to be cleaned, you can use a gentle dish soap for food bowls or Murphy oil soap for decorative pieces. Once the bowl is dry, you can reapply a food-grade oil or a fine furniture polish and buff the piece with a soft cotton cloth.    
   


The Making and Care of a Bowl
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Pricing
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THE PRICING CRITERIA are the rarity of the wood, the ease or difficulty of working with it, and the dimensions and shape of the bowl. We will be glad to provide information on any piece of interest through the Contact form or by email or phone. Due to the fluid nature of Peter’s collection a certain piece featured in the Gallery may be sold at the time of inquiry. In that case we will send you pictures of similar pieces.


Every piece is unique and unrepeatable