Motivation

Posted by Steven Kennard
A 'beaded' box made of African blackwood with a warm golden toned thuya burl interior is shown, with the lid propped against it facing the side It has smooth beading on the side of the lid and body and the top has a textured low dome, with a smooth edge. The sides of the top and the main body are finely textured.
‘Beaded Box’ open

This is the first box that I’ve turned in what seems like a really long time. It was an order from a collector in the US who asked me to make a box for him that got me to pick up my tools and get into the shop. I have been turning, just not creating. And for artists, the act of creation is vital as without it you find yourself losing motivation and joy in your work and your life as this is such an integral part of it. This is where I found myself. Circumstances have been so limiting lately for so many of us and mine have made it very difficult to devote the time and focus to see my way out of the emotional darkness that can overtake us all. I just wasn’t feeling it, which made it worse.

So, thanks to this email out of the blue from down South, I have found the desire to be once again making, with new ideas and the excitement to get back in my studio. This simple beaded box is African Blackwood, which you will know is my favourite for boxes, lined with a lovely warm golden Thuya burl and decorated with a surface embellishment of texturing and a subtle red tint on the textured areas.

This box is part of my Turned Art Gallery you can view here: https://stevenkennard.com/blog/skgallery/turned-art

A 'beaded' box made of African blackwood with a warm golden toned thuya burl interior is shown. It has smooth beading on the side of the lid and body and the top has a textured low dome, with a smooth edge. The sides of the top and the main body are finely textured.
‘Beaded Box’
A 'beaded' box made of African blackwood with a warm golden toned thuya burl interior is lying on its side, with the lid flat on the surface next to it. It has smooth beading on the side of the lid and body and the top has a textured low dome, with a smooth edge. The sides of the top and the main body are finely textured.
Beaded Box showing thuya burl interior

Beaded Box With Thuya Interior

Posted by Steven Kennard
Spiral textured beaded box with thuya burl interior

This box is distinguished by a newly developed technique producing a spiral texture on the lid and a beautifully even finely woven appearance on the sides with a translucent red ink wash. Made of African Blackwood for the exterior, a smooth bead on top and bottom of the body and lid contain the textured areas. The interior is lined with the wonderfully redolent and warm coloured thuya burl. Full size images on the gallery here.

Spiral textured beaded box with thuya burl interior

This piece is available for purchase. Contact me if interested. African Blackwood, textured exterior with a translucent red ink wash. Height: 2 1/2″ (65mm), Diameter 2 3/8″ (60mm)

Focus on Teardrops

Posted by Steven Kennard
Trio of Teardrops
Trio of Teardrops

See what happens when you leave two teardrops on their own together! 😉

After nearly 40 years of making the teardrop box, which has become one of my signature pieces, I decided to start turning them in various sizes, as they look so nice in a grouping this way. Often, if people have not seen the actual work, but just photographs of them, they don’t realize that these are boxes as the join is almost invisible. For this reason I wanted to show one of them open as you see above. The baby one is only just over 1″ in diameter, just big enough to fit a ring snugly inside. The bigger ones range in size between 2.5″ and 3″ in diameter. These are made in African Blackwood each from a single piece.

Multiple Teardrops
Multiple Teardrops

Beaded Box – Rosewood Inlay

Posted by Steven Kennard
Beaded box with rosewood inlay
Beaded box with rosewood burl inlay

In a time when I was travelling and giving classes and demonstrations around the world, I worked on blackwood boxes to show techniques to my students. There was never enough time to complete a box and so the partly finished pieces would join others in my workshop when I returned from my tours. This year there has been no travelling and no teaching and I decided to work on these originally ‘demo’ boxes, to give them a life and purpose beyond the original. I incorporated new texturing, including a light red ink wash and appropriate inlays and really have enjoyed the creative process in doing this. The colour addition to the texturing gives a warm feeling and added perception of depth to the decorated surface.

Beaded box with rosewood inlay
Beaded box with rosewood inlay