Carving and Inlay
Awoken from their slumber and sanded down to a smooth finish, it is now time to pass the formed vessel off to Melody for the carving and inlay process. Every piece of wood speaks to Melody and reveals how she will embellish the final work. She studies the pattern of the grain, the gentle feathering, and the rays of the wood. Whether she highlights the natural fissures with minerals or creates an intricate pictorial carving – the wood speaks to her. She then selects the gemstones and minerals that will bring her vision to life.
Melody uses an array of minerals and shells depending on the colors needed for her carvings. The stones and shells are large and need to be crushed to different granular sizes to fit into the grooves of the carvings or the inclusions of the wood. Over the years, Melody has devised many DIY techniques to crush the different minerals that vary in hardness.
Tiny cups of crushed gems, minerals, and shells litter Melody’s workshop. Blue hues are from turquoise, green from malachite, and other colors from calcite. The black color is from the most amazing mineral named Mica. It is relatively soft, and the sheets and flakes are flexible, allowing to inlay in the smallest carvings. The red color is from Pipestone, a sacred stone used by the American Indians for ceremonial pipes. Smooth to the touch, can be easily crushed and takes a high polish.
Design is the beginning of Melody's process. The wood speaks to her in determining what will happen with each vessel. Sometime wood pieces will sit is her side of the shop for months before the magic happens and the wood tells her what to do. All designs are drawn by hand, making each one completely unique. The above bowl will be embellished with her popular trout design.
“I can never force a design on the wood. But once I’ve got it, I know exactly what to do!”
Once Melody is satisfied with the drawing and placement of the art, she sets down at her dremel and carves the sketch into the wood. Melody gets her bits from her local dentist or local stores selling a variety of sizes.
A close-up of the detail of a tree being carved onto a vessel, an image reminiscent of what the wood once was.
Next step is to begin inlaying the crushed stones into the carved art. The largest pieces of minerals are glued in place first, followed by smaller chips and finally the smallest grain of the appropriate color to fill in any gaps. Because each gem and shell is as unique as the wood it is being placed on, each piece has unsuspecting beauty at every turn.
Once the image has been brilliantly inlaid by Melody, the vessel goes through it’s final process, the final sanding and finishing. Stay tuned!