Dogwood Blossoms Vase

Elizabeth Weber carves and paints flowers on Pat Carroll’s lidded vessel

Black vase with pink flower design
Black textured sphere with pink flowers

Pat was gracious enough to turn a hollow form and finial for me to embellish. Our conversations led us to agree upon a floral theme. My piece was inspired by a vessel done by Dixie Biggs, titled Sakura. I loved her incorporation of cherry blossoms and how they wrapped around her work. After a conversation with a friend, I decided on dogwood blossoms.

When I lived in East Tennessee, every spring dogwoods would come alive. Knoxville has Dogwood Trails that date back to 1955 and cover more than 90 miles in 13 neighbourhoods around the city. I remember running some of these trails and enjoying the spring blossoms, signalling renewal after cold, dark winters. When I look at this piece, I’m reminded of so many wonderful times with family and friends.

A little lesson on dogwood blossoms. The dogwoods are made up of bracts and a floret. What most people consider petals of the blooms are in fact bracts, which are modified leaves. The florets in the centre are a cluster of tiny flowers. For the sake of this project, however, I will call the bracts petals. These steps are suggestions to help you get started. You may find a process that works better for you as you carve. Remember to stay safe.

Plans & equipment

Illustration of cherry blossoms on a branch.
1. I normally freehand my work, but for this piece I found a stencil online and decided to transfer it over to the piece. For this specific technique, you need to use an image from the laser printer. I scaled to fit onto the band that Pat turned

Tools & equipment

  • PPE & RPE as appropriate
  • Respirator
  • Laserjet stencil (must have toner)
  • Acetone
  • Spoon
  • Gloves
  • Micromotor carver
  • 3⁄8 in round orange Saburrtooth burr (extra coarse burr)
  • 1⁄4 in round yellow Saburrtooth burr (fine burr)
  • Lynx round ball burrs (set of 14)
  • 0.8mm crosscut cone burr
  • 1.5mm cup burr
  • Sandpaper
  • Acrylic paints
  • Paintbrushes (Filbert shaped)

Glued paper on ball with gloved hand.
2. I taped the stencil down on one side of the paper and covered the area of the hollow form that is going to be carved. You only need to tape down one side of the paper so you can check the transfer of the print as you move around the piece
Hands transferring floral pattern onto paper.
3. Take a towel or rag and apply some acetone to the surface. Wipe the acetone over a small section of the stencil so that the image of the stencil can be seen. You do not want to oversoak the rag
Person burnishing surface with metal tool, gloved hands visible.
4. Take the back of a spoon and rub the stencil down on to the wood. Apply a good amount of pressure and keep rubbing until the image is no longer visible, i.e. the acetone has evaporated from the paper. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until an adequate transfer has occurred
Stencil of flowers on wood surface
5. Work your way around the piece until you have covered the entire surface with your stencil. The transfer should be pretty clear. If you missed a spot, you can come back over sections with a pen or pencil and touch them up

Carving the body

Hand engraving floral pattern on wood with tool.
6. I want the band that Pat left me to stand out even more while being able to blend the image into the hollow form. Pat left me plenty of material, so I start taking down the sides of the hollow form to allow me to do just that. I use a 3⁄8 in orange Saburrtooth burr for this step
Close-up of intricate wood carving with tool.
7. Once I have taken down the surrounding areas, I begin to remove the areas around each flower and branch. The goal is to define the outline of the stencil. I do this using a set of Lynx round ball burrs of varying sizes to fit into different spaces. The set of 14 specified in the materials list should cover everything
Close-up of detailed wood carving intricate designs.
8. In really tight areas around the flowers and branches, I take a 0.8mm cone burr to sneak into the corners. I drive the burr into the wood and pull the burr towards myself, working against the rotation of the burr
Person engraving floral design on wood.
9. Using the Lynx round ball burr set, I cut each petal towards the centre of the flower so that the flower looks like it has depth and doesn’t sit completely flat. Since this is a dogwood blossom, the centre must remain raised above the lowest part of the petals
Person carving wood with a rotary tool.
10. Keeping with the round ball burrs, I begin to layer the petals, deciding which ones will sit above or below the others. Having an image of an actual bloom will be helpful in making these decisions
Close-up of intricate wood carving in progress.
11. Next, I work on the branches, keeping with the round ball burrs. Most of the branches will sit below the flowers, so I take them down so that they appear to be behind the flowers. After bringing them down to their final height, I use the ball burrs to texture the bark
Hand carving floral patterns on wooden surface.
12. Using one of the smaller ball burrs, I bring down and round out the centres of each flower. I want the centres to stand above the petals at centre, kind of like a little ball in the middle of the flower. This will house the florets of the dogwood blooms
Hands intricately carving floral patterns on wood
13. With my 1.5mm cup burr, I start to make the little florets in the centres of each of the blossoms. With the cup burr, I introduce the burr at a slight angle, and then gradually ease it on to the wood to create a tiny ball. You will create a cluster of these to make your florets
Hand carving intricate wood design with rotary tool.
14. Using a 3.1mm ball burr from the Lynx ball burr set, we will create a texture on the surface of each petal, since most petals have textures. This gives the illusion of movement and helps add depth when we get to the painting part
Wood carving with rotary tool close-up
15. Lastly, I carve the texture of the leaves. I use the cone burr tilted at a slight angle to create the veins of the leaves. Keeping the cone burr still at an angle, I slightly soften the edges of each section to make it look more leaf life
Hands sanding wood with sandpaper.
16. Taking sandpaper, I come back and sand down the rough surface of the hollow form where I relieved the sides. I want to make sure the form I have carved is consistent. Pat did such a good job turning a nice form for me to work with, I want to do the piece justice
Hand carving textured ceramic pottery with tool
17. I take the 5mm round ball burr from my set and use that to start to stipple the entire surface of the hollow form that is not a branch or blossom. I keep each of the facets that I create close together because it is easier to hide any slight discrepancies

Lid

Hand measures wooden disc with calipers.
18A/B. Pat left me with quite a bit of material to work with on the lid. My first step will be to start refining it by creating a jam chuck to house the tenon of the lid. Taking the diameter of the lid using a pair of callipers, I transfer that measurement to the piece that will act as my jam chuck
Measuring wood on a lathe with calipers.
18B
Person shaping wood on lathe with chisel.
19. With a square-nosed scraper, I carefully size a recess on in the inside of my jam chuck that will hold the piece in place. I want a tight enough fit so the piece will stay securely in place while I turn it
Person carving wood on lathe machine
20. I use a 3⁄8 in bowl gouge with light cuts to remove the material. I start with the sides of the lid, then shift focus to the centre, carefully taking the lid down until it is a good size. This will reduce the amount of carving I have to do to the piece
Wooden round object with drawn lines pattern.
21. Now I am ready to carve. I start by laying out four petals for the dogwood blossom. This will show me the shape and where I need to start removing material. This is done freehand
Hand carving flower design on wood piece
22. With my 1⁄4 in fine Saburrtooth burr I begin removing the area between each of the petals. This smaller burr will allow me to squeeze in between each of the petals and remove the material quickly enough
Carving wooden flower with rotary tool
23. I take the 3⁄8 in extra-coarse Saburrtooth burr to begin shaping each of the petals. The petals should have folds and curves, and not sit entirely flat. Having an example photo can help. I start by carving the front side of each petal to create the shape I want. Then I move to the back. I want to mimic the front profile because I’m looking for consistent thickness across the entire petal. I check myself every so often to make sure my thickness is good
Hands carving wooden flower with rotary tool.
24. I take a 3.1mm ball burr to start adding texture to the surface of each petal. I create long, continuous lines with the burr. Again, this will give the petal depth, movement, and an element of interest
Carving flower design into wood with rotary tool.
25. Lastly, for the florets, I take my 1.5mm cup burr and start to shape the florets. This step is very similar to that of Step 13. Once you are done, the surface will look burned, but that is the nature of using this burr in carving

Paint

Paintbrush applies black paint on textured surface
26. I start painting by adding a base coat of black over everything. You can use either India ink or black gesso on the body to achieve a nice even coat over everything. Usually a couple of coats of the black is enough to cover everything evenly
Hand holding a decorated black and blue vase
27. Before painting anything, I mask off the areas of the hollow form that I do not want the colours to touch. The areas I am planning to paint are the dogwood blossoms, leaves, and branches, so anything around that will get blue tape
Painting pink flowers on a surface
28. The flowers are pink dogwoods, so the primary colours will be pink and white. I use dry brushing to build up the layers of paint and add depth and dimension to the piece. I start with a dark-pink base and gradually lighten the colour by adding a little bit of white to each coat. I finish with a very light-pink layer before coming in and adding a dab of white to the bottom centre of each blossom. I prefer to use a Filbert-shaped brush for this process, but find what work for you
Hand painting pink flower with paintbrush
29. The dry brushing will also apply to the florets, the branches, and the leaves. The colour transitions for each are as listed: Florets – dark green to yellow, Branches – dark brown to a grey brown, Leaves – dark green to yellow green
Spray painting floral pot for decoration
30. If you happen to spill over the paint on to the background, touch it up with some more black gesso or India ink. Once you are satisfied with your clean-up, you can start applying your finish. I like to use Krylon acrylic matte spray because I’m not too keen on a high sheen surface, but you can get the Krylon in a variety of sheens to suit your preferences

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELIZABETH WEBER

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