"Paamuya" is the name of the Hopi August moon. It means "Moon of Joyful". I had taken an month off from turning after the National Symposium. The break was not from being burnt out, but because my business had been very busy and I did not feel I could devote the time that I needed to produce the pieces that I like to make. In the first week of August I had a little slow down and figured it would be a good time to get started on another piece. I knew the 31st of August was the last Blue Moon till 2015 and wanted to do a piece that represented that event and the feeling I had from getting back to work on the things I love to do. "Paamuya" was the perfect name.
"Paamuya" is my latest Acorn Cap piece. It is my interpretation of an Indian Jar. I have been doing some more open forms of late and thought this might make a really nice open form for the light to shine through. Those that have seen my pieces in person know that they are very translucent and this one is more so as I intentionally went at little light on pigments so it would allow more light to pass through. This form was a popular form for many of the southwest native peoples. Versions of this form can vary widely in proportions. I have seen short squatty versions as well as taller versions. Some have more slope at collar and others that are very strait at the collar. I picked the proportions that I felt that would give effect and allow light to shine through the piece.
The piece is made of live oak acorn caps and the collar is live oak burl all cast in a bright blue pigmented resin. I like to incorporate defective pieces of wood that allow the resin to flow between the collars and the main bodies of the piece. It is my opinion that this helps tie the pieces together. The piece is about 7 1/2" x about 7 1/2" or a little large then a volley ball. It took about seven pounds of resin to cast the piece. The thickness is shy of 3/16" but over 1/8". I have around 70 hours total in this piece. This finish is my high gloss CA finish on the exterior with a soft satin CA finish on the interior of the piece.
This was a very difficult piece to photograph. The shadows kept hiding the curve and made the piece look much shorter and hides a nice flow to the curve. I went to a little longer lens that cut down a bit on the illusion plus I photograph and changed angles that the picture was taken as well as trying different light placement. One of these day's I will get this photography stuff all figured out. I also included a picture of it on the lathe which gives a better perspective the actual shape of the piece before the piece had the finish applied. It has a quite nice voluptuous curve that is visible in that photo.
As always cheers and jeers are welcome and thanks for looking.
Alan
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