Organic Series I
On 17th November 2016, I completed and lit a Steampunk inspired lamp, this was the first lamp constructed, followed by the "Voss Lamp" completed on 4th January 2017.
The beauty of nature and the warmth and character of wood inspires the next artistic creation.
Interestingly, the initial concept for my third lamp came from a desire for a wooden tripod to build a floor-stand lamp using a round lamp housing that I found at my little gem, Wombat In Thirroul and since had it cleaned and powder coated in black crinkle finish by Edison Light Globes Pty Ltd in Melbourne.
Coincidentally, as this organic lamp was being created, a parallel design was being conceptualised for the fourth lamp; A Tripod Floor Lamp.
The search for antique timber tripods proved somewhat difficult, as soon as they become available, they are snapped up. In lieu of finding a tripod, other ideas began to come to mind.
Venturing down to a timber furniture maker, I rummaged through a pile of drift-wood pieces and stumbled on a piece that held some interest and character.
The piece was around 1000mm tall, and had some damage on the lower portion of the trunk.
A second piece found, a redwood burl, thinking the texture would complement the main feature as a potential base. As time progressed, Flavio began to feel the piece would be lost as a base, and therefore kept the idea on the back-burner for a while.
Lamp Design
As work continued on the main trunk, the flaw in the wood was a concern and I felt it detracted from the aesthetic overall design. I then made a decision to remove the top section and focus on the burl as the base for a table lamp feature.
As the design changed, I decided to save the round lamp housing and use on my custom Tripod Floor Lamp.
To complement the burl, I began to envision how to approach the top element in the form of a branch, imparting character, movement and flow. This element together with the burl completes a sculpture, and further serves to support the electrical wire, lamp holder and shade.
As Flavio regularly travels down the South Coast, he happened to notice a property advertising timber slabs and other recycled timber in the Helensburgh / Stanwell Tops area in NSW.
After searching around the yard, two suitable specimens were found: A sweeping branch for the top and a beautiful piece for supporing the burl trunk piece.
Back at the studio, I commenced work on placement of the curves and bringing all elements together.
Over the following few weeks, a great deal of time was spent sanding all of the individual pieces and prepare the surfaces for finishing.
Prior to final surface treatment, all the pieces finally glued and screwed together, completing the wood sculpture.
Finally, surface treatment commenced with application of several coats of sanding sealer followed by several coats of Scandinavian oil.
Lamp Mounting & Lampshade
The next step in the design was determining the aesthetic layout of the textile electrical cable and hanging of the lampholder.
The next challenge, deciding on which lamp shade would work.
Having narrowed down two shades, a Rustic Steel coolie measuring 300mm diameter and a bronze cone measuring 180mm diameter, the deciding factor, which to use.
On a recent weekend trip to "Lunatiques", an antiques and collectables warehouse in Mascot NSW, I came across a hand-carved wooden teak bowl. Immediately, thoughts came to mind for its alternate use as a lamp shade.
At the time, I had not envisaged to use the teak bowl for the lamp under completion, however, once I returned back to the studio, I found that it complemented the piece very well.
First task, drilling of the clearance hole for the brass lampholder, then spending the best part of a day, sanding and smoothing out the bowl and applying several coats of oil on the inside and two coats of gloss varnish on the outside.
Final finishing touches and a final application of beeswax and carnauba wax complete the woodwork. The last steps, attach the lampshade and finally screw in a bulb.
Lamp Completion
The completed lamp is wired with burgundy cloth-covered cable and in-line switch.
The lamp first lit on 16th February 2017.
- Written by Flavio Spedalieri -