Wooden Vase handmade by our very own President of the Denver Audubon Board of Directors and Audubon Master Birder, Curt Frankenfeld.

(10.5 inches tall, 7.5 inches diameter)

Wood turning has been one of my passions for over 25 years. In the past, I've contributed turned wooden ornaments to this auction event, but several people wanted larger turned objects. This was my idea for this year.

Many turners are using a segmented approach to turning. What this means is that the turned object comprises many smaller pieces of wood carefully glued together to create the turning blank. The approach has some advantages:

* Availability of wood - a single piece of Cherry as large as this vessel would be hard to find and very expensive.

* Complex designs are possible - In this vase, the body of the vessel looks almost like it was woven and the contrasting spalted wood provides windows into nature's complexity and beauty.

* A single larger blank is often unstable, meaning that it will expand and contract with changes in humidity. Using smaller, edge grain wood pieces is inherently less susceptible to cracking or distortion over time.

The vase comprises 3 woods: Cherry, Spalted Tamarind, and Wenge (a more sustainable alternative to Ebony). The vase is hollow and rough-finished on the inside. The average wall thickness is about 3/8 inch to provide for both strength and stability. The exterior finish is water-based Polyurethane with a topcoat of finishing wax. The finish is buffed to a satin sheen. Although this vase is finished on the inside, it is not intended to hold water as for fresh flowers. We have similar vases in our home which are frequently filled with dried plant arrangements - another way to bring the beauty of nature into our home.

I hope that this vase brings you joy and adds beauty to your home or office.

Thanks for supporting Denver Audubon!

Curt Frankenfeld

Denver Audubon Board or Directors

Audubon Master Birder