Reversing design

[pallin Senior Member - Ventura Find all posts View Profile Close pallin]

About 40 years ago I carved the attached relief in black walnut & basswood. It is based on a graphic design by Escher called Sky & Water I, and is 24 inches square. I recently decided to repeat the design in reverse, with black walnut as the background for the upper half and the overlaid fishes below. I plan to use poplar for the lower half background and basswood for the birds above. By using my photo editing software I produced the second photo to get an idea what the result will be like.

[dme253756 Debbie Find all posts View Profile Close dme253756]

Re: Reversing design

Wow! I\'m still in awe of the first one! It does a little tango with your eyes and brain.

[joepaulbutler Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close joepaulbutler]

Re: Reversing design

Thanks for posting this outstanding project. I\'m sure you will be keeping us posted as you progress. . .JoeB

[Claude Super Mod Louisiana Find all posts View Profile Close Claude]

Re: Reversing design

I had not realized from old photos that this was 3 dimensional. The shadows show that the top bird and bottom fish are raised off the wood surface quite a bit. How much? The middle rows seem to be almost intarsia, or extremely thin appliqués. Would appreciate more info, Phil, even a photo from a low angle on the side - this is definitely a work of art.

Claude

[jangler14 carver Find all posts View Profile Close jangler14]

Re: Reversing design

That is really something to see. Nicely done.

[pallin Senior Member - Ventura Find all posts View Profile Close pallin]

Re: Reversing design

Yes Claude, the top and bottom figures are 3/4 inch over the background, and the surface plane of the figures crosses in the middle. The most interesting part of this Escher design is how the tessellation (the fitting together of the birds & fish) in the middle breaks apart as it proceeds toward the top and bottom figures.

Here is a low angle photo of the piece:

[joepaulbutler Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close joepaulbutler]

Re: Reversing design

I googled Tessellation and looked at the images···WOW. Escher tessellation 66 really caught my eye. . .JoeB

[pallin Senior Member - Ventura Find all posts View Profile Close pallin]

Re: Reversing design

Escher referred to it as The Regular Division of a Plane. It is an advanced form of tiling - how to cover a flat surface with tiles of various shapes.

[Coker Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Coker]

Re: Reversing design

I have been looking at this pattern on your posts for several years and have been fooled by it. Now that I see how it\'s done I\'m still amazed. I don\'t care what it\'s called it\'s ****ed good.

[Carver Eric Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carver Eric]

Re: Reversing design

Pallin, what a super piece of work! Must have been very time consuming!

[pallin Senior Member - Ventura Find all posts View Profile Close pallin]

Re: Reversing design

This is a mockup of the carving. The background panel of black walnut & poplar has been glued up and construction paper cutouts of the bird & fish figures have been placed on the background. Next, the figures will be cut out of black walnut (fish) and basswood (birds) and glued in place. The figures will be carved in place. The amount of detail and the depth will be minimal across the middle, increasing toward the top and bottom. Overall dimensions: 24 inches square x 1.5 inches thick.

[joepaulbutler Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close joepaulbutler]

Re: Reversing design

This has to be slow & go type of carving. Thumbs Up
. . . JoeB

[pallin Senior Member - Ventura Find all posts View Profile Close pallin]

Re: Reversing design

The hardest part of this project is the initial glue-up. The row of bird & fish figures that cover the contrasting joint in the background have to fit precisely together - like intarsia. The remaining pieces have to be placed so that the spaces between them form the missing pieces, or break apart as in the topmost and bottom rows. The figures are of different thickness, so they have to be clamped separately - or attached with screws from the back. The screws have to be positioned so they won\'t be exposed by carving.

[pallin Senior Member - Ventura Find all posts View Profile Close pallin]

Re: Reversing design

This project is now in the stage of bandsawing the 28 birds and fish that will be glued to the background and carved in place, with increasing detail and depth from the middle to the top and bottom.

[pallin Senior Member - Ventura Find all posts View Profile Close pallin]

Re: Reversing design

The outline shapes of the figures are done. Next, the variable thickness will be cut and each piece sanded smooth on the gluing side. Several rows will be trimmed to fit precisely like intarsia.