This leaf pattern is a design that I’ve been experimenting with on bits of scrap for a long time, tweaking this and that. This four-sided shrink pot, made from a red maple log, was a good canvas for it, and the hard wood holds the detail nicely. The maple also lacks any prominent grain that might otherwise compete visually with the pattern itself.

The pattern is made up of a series of thumbnail cuts, where one makes a vertical stab cut then a back cut at an angle to the root of it to remove a chip. Simple idea, but one that offers a wide range of design possibilities by playing with three main variables: the sweep of the gouge, the distance of the back cut, and the arrangement of all the cuts.

The photo above is from this post I wrote about thumbnail cuts a few years ago.

Above is another example of creative gouge chips, a pineapple pattern on a serving board. More about that in this old post. Now back to the shrink pot:

I decided to do a sliding dovetail lid for this pot, with a little maple knob tenoned into the top.

It was a painstaking challenge to carve the dovetailed area at the top of the inner walls, but it worked out well. The inside of the pot has a gouged surface (unfinished) and is square like the outside of the pot, but with rounded inner corners. There is a taper to the piece overall; the top is 1/4″ smaller than the base. When the lid is almost closed, a pair of matching magnets in the top of the front wall engage to finish the job with a satisfying little pull and click.

This one is for sale. It is 8 1/2″ tall and 3 1/8″ square at the base. The leaf pattern is carved on all four sides. The price of $650 includes shipping. Email me at dandkfish@gmail.com if you’re interested. Thank you. SOLD

Time for me to get back to some bowls and spoons underway…