# Basket Illusion Process



## trc65

This is the next rabbit hole I've chosen to dive into, and I thought I'd post progress of the "build" so others could follow along and maybe we can learn a little from each other.

There are many different styles of basket illusion, but generally fall into two categories. The first was made famous by David Nittmann and uses uniformly spaced radial lines. Some call this style mosaic or beaded baskets.

The other is a style that Jim Adkins developed sometimes called a coiled basket illusion that mimics more closely the stitches in Native American baskets. It is this style I'm going to use.

Just a note on tools. I'm using the D-Way 1/8" beading tool as well as their teardrop tool for the beads. For burning the stitches, I'm using PJL Enterprises Optima basket illusion tip. This tip was made specifically for the D-Way beading tool. I'll be using a skew tip to burn the weaving on the rim and foot. The coloring will be done with Copic brand original markers with superfine nibs.

I'm using hard maple for the bowl.

Not trying to mimic any specific basket or platter with this project, just trying to get methods developed. I've yet to choose a design, have several in mind, but need to look through books again to make final decision. 

Started with blank cut from an 8/4 board between centers, cut a tenon and shaped the bottom of the bowl. I then cut beads starting at the tenon and worked my way towards the rim. Stopped with the beads about 1/4" from the rim and cut the start of a larger bead. 





Then mounted the black in the chuck and hollowed the bowl. Thickness is just slightly larger than 1/4". Can't go much thinner with 1/8" beads on both surfaces. Started cutting the beads at the center and worked my way out to the rim. Hardest part of cutting the beads is maintaining the correct angles around the curves. Although i made a handle for the beading tool, i had to use it without to get it where it needed to be.





After cutting the interior beads, formed a larger bead for the rim ~1/4". Then mounted in Cole jaws to cut the tenon and finish the bottom.





Cut a 3/16" bead for the foot (which will have a weave pattern burned in), left a little flat area to add info and signature, and then finished with a few more beads.

This completes the lathe work, but i will remount it to draw guide lines once I decide on a design.





The bowl is 6 1/2" diameter and 1 7/8" tall. I have about 2 hours into the bowl right now, with many more to go of burning and coloring.

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## woodtickgreg




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## T. Ben




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## ripjack13




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## tmar



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## Bigdrowdy1



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## TXMoon

Wow!! This is going to be interesting to follow.

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## trc65

Looks like I better go to the store, looks like a hungry and thirsty crowd!

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## Gdurfey

Thanks Tim, great writing and pictures. We had a demo on this technique and can't remember a thing about it except I was fascinated. Still am!!! I know my lathe has some indexing in the spindle lock; but not sure they are fine enough to actually give you the segmenting you desire. Looking forward to chapter 2.

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## William Tanner

Looking forward to following along on this one Tim. Not tried it myself. I had scheduled a demo on this for my club but of course I had to cancel it.

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## Maverick

.

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## Wildthings




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## DKMD

Very cool! Jim Adkins is a good friend of mine and a hell of nice guy. I’m the proud owner of several of his pieces, and I even convinced him to show me how to do a piece a few years back. I damn near went cross-eyed burning all those little lines!

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## Wildthings

DKMD said:


> Very cool! Jim Adkins is a good friend of mine and a hell of nice guy. I’m the proud owner of several of his pieces, and I even convinced him to show me how to do a piece a few years back. I damn near went cross-eyed burning all those little lines!



Not true without pictures!!

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## Steve in VA

Thanks for sharing Tim!

Just wait to start burning and then coloring; hope you have a comfy chair


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## trc65

DKMD said:


> Very cool! Jim Adkins is a good friend of mine and a hell of nice guy. I’m the proud owner of several of his pieces, and I even convinced him to show me how to do a piece a few years back. I damn near went cross-eyed burning all those little lines!


All those little lines is the reason I'm starting with a small open bowl! I'd hate to start with a ten or twelve inch basket, might drive me crazy. I can manage about an hour at a time burning, but after that my whole body needs a rest. 

This probably won't be a quick project, but gives me something to do late at night that won't make any noise.

Fantastic that you are friends with Jim. Sometimes wish I could get some lessons, but then that takes away some of the joy of discovery.

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## trc65

Steve in VA said:


> Thanks for sharing Tim!
> 
> Just wait to start burning and then coloring; hope you have a comfy chair


Not really, most of what I've done is while sitting on an old wooden stool, may have to do something about that.


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## ripjack13

I have no idea what this is going to look like. And I'm not going to google it either. I want to be surprised here first. 

Don't worry Tim, I make my own popcorn....

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## barry richardson

Looks pretty cool already!

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## Brandon Sloan

I’m going to live vicariously through you on this one. That part of my mind that is notorious for making bad decisions wants to jump into this rabbit hole with you. Must resist...

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## DKMD

Wildthings said:


> Not true without pictures!!










The one on the far right in the second photo is my attempt at Adkins style work... not bad from a distance, but it’s nowhere close to his level of craftsmanship. The others are all from Jim. We’ve got a few more pieces scattered around the house, and I treasure each and every one of them!

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## Barb

That is so cool! I have to make one of these for someone so I'm following along as well.

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## Don Van Dyne

I feel like I say this every time I’m on this site but here it goes;
Wow those are AWESOME!!!

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## trc65

Here are a couple of different designs I'm thinking about.

The first one is a Navajo design that is used on wedding baskets. I'm currently leaning toward this one as it has two colors and will be easily scaleable to my small bowl.






This is a Pima design called squash blossom. I like the design, but think I want more color.





This is another Pima geometric design. I like this design as well, but not the single color. I guess I could add a second color to it...






Going to print out some polar graph paper to draw these designs and see how they fit.

Here is one graph paper generating site I found. Allows you to customize the graph you want and generates a PDF file you can download and print. https://incompetech.com/graphpaper/polar/

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## Wildthings

I like the wedding basket

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## Barb

I prefer the wedding basket as well.

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## William Tanner

Me also.

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## DKMD

The wedding basket is the one I did, and I agree with you about wanting two colors

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## barry richardson

trc65 said:


> Here are a couple of different designs I'm thinking about.
> 
> The first one is a Navajo design that is used on wedding baskets. I'm currently leaning toward this one as it has two colors and will be easily scaleable to my small bowl.
> 
> View attachment 190032
> 
> 
> This is a Pima design called squash blossom. I like the design, but think I want more color.
> 
> View attachment 190033
> 
> This is another Pima geometric design. I like this design as well, but not the single color. I guess I could add a second color to it...
> 
> 
> View attachment 190031
> 
> Going to print out some polar graph paper to draw these designs and see how they fit.
> 
> Here is one graph paper generating site I found. Allows you to customize the graph you want and generates a PDF file you can download and print. https://incompetech.com/graphpaper/polar/


That's a cool app, was wondering how you transfer the design to wood, still seems godawful tedious.....

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## Nubsnstubs

Tim, if you do this one, are you going to make larger beads than the 1/8" beads like the piece you have in progress? ....... Jerry (in Tucson)

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## trc65

Jerry, still going to use the 1/8" beads. I used that picture as an example, because it was the best photograph. Lots of variability in the general pattern from basket to basket. In post #21 above, David shows the basket he made with the wedding basket pattern. 

Although I haven't drawn it yet, plan to have the design 12 or 15 rows wide while the example only uses 9.

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## trc65

Here are a couple more baskets to show the variability.

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## Tony



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## Nubsnstubs

Tim, here are a couple pictures of a small plate I got from the Papago tribal Trading Post in Sells, Arizona, almost 30 years ago. It's 6 3/4" plus OD, and about 5/16" thick. When the maker rolled up the Bear Grass for the coil, I would think she appreciated the fact that the thicker the coil, the less work she had to do. I believe that could be applied to what you are doing. The string about 12 O'clock in the first picture is where her name and date the plate was made was tied into this piece. It fell off one day, but I haven't removed the string yet. This is the inside of the plate.





Bottom




Here is a picture of one I started about 6-7 years ago. Palo Verde, just a bit smaller than the one above. I used a skew to make the coils. I started marking for the weave, and got bored fast. It'll never get done. Edit; just now looking at this again, I can see why I stopped.




The bottom.



.............. Jerry (in Tucson)

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## trc65

Thanks for sharing that Jerry. You are correct about the size of the coil, and less work (fewer stitches). I don't know (haven't researched it), but it seems to me the coil size varies a lot and is probably related to materials available and the expected utility of the basket/ bowl / platter.

Your plate appears to have around 8-10 stitches per inch, while some of what are considered the finest weaving (most collectable/expensive) from ~1880-1920 have 30 plus stitches per inch. Of course, with a higher stitch count (and smaller coils), you also have the means to increase the complexity of the design.

The stitches on your plate show very well the true relationship from stitch to stitch between rows. They are not in radial lines, but rather overlap by half from row to row. The burner I'm using can't truly replicate that detail, and that becomes even more evident with larger beads. 

Jean-Louis Meynier has made his own burner that duplicates very well the true look of the stitches. Here is a link to his website where you can see how his burner replicates the stitches. https://jlwoodshop.com/2018/07/02/basket-illusion-no-5/
He has done some pieces with as many as 30 stitches per inch.

Widely considered one of the finest basket weavers was Dat So La Lee (Louisa Keyser) of the Washoe people in northwestern Nevada. Many who create illusion pieces try to replicate her work, some with much more success than others.

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## Nubsnstubs

trc65 said:


> Thanks for sharing that Jerry. You are correct about the size of the coil, and less work (fewer stitches). I don't know (haven't researched it), but it seems to me the coil size varies a lot and is probably related to materials available and the expected utility of the basket/ bowl / platter.
> 
> Your plate appears to have around 8-10 stitches per inch, while some of what are considered the finest weaving (most collectable/expensive) from ~1880-1920 have 30 plus stitches per inch. Of course, with a higher stitch count (and smaller coils), you also have the means to increase the complexity of the design.
> 
> The stitches on your plate show very well the true relationship from stitch to stitch between rows. They are not in radial lines, but rather overlap by half from row to row. The burner I'm using can't truly replicate that detail, and that becomes even more evident with larger beads.
> 
> Jean-Louis Meynier has made his own burner that duplicates very well the true look of the stitches. Here is a link to his website where you can see how his burner replicates the stitches. https://jlwoodshop.com/2018/07/02/basket-illusion-no-5/
> He has done some pieces with as many as 30 stitches per inch.
> 
> Widely considered one of the finest basket weavers was Dat So La Lee (Louisa Keyser) of the Washoe people in northwestern Nevada. Many who create illusion pieces try to replicate her work, some with much more success than others.


That's toooo much work for me. Just reading the how to was more than I want to know....... I guess I'm just lazy. 
Can't wait to see what you do. ........ Jerry (in Tucson)

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## trc65

I understand completely! When i first started looking into the this, felt the same way - a lot of frustration. Took a long time to comprehend the how and why of the process. Kept reading more and looking at more examples, and it got under my skin. Just gotta do a few now.

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## trc65

Here are a few pics of what I've been working on. Had this piece of elm I beaded up a while ago just to practice with the tool. Grabbed it out of a pile and used it to work on burning the stitches, focussing on consistency and spacing. I think about 14 stitches per inch is what I'm going to use. 






Here is a closeup of the pattern I'm using. The colored area is about 2.5" wide by 1.5" tall.





This is just a little piece of maple I'm using to do some final practice on. Masked the unburned area so my eye could focus on the pattern.





Top view of the rim.





These next two are just to test the markers/colors on the maple.









Think I've got everything looking the way I want it, so hope to lay out the pattern tomorrow and start burning.

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## Barb

That is so cool!! Did you put sanding sealer on it before you started coloring? Your red is vibrant.

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## Tony

Very nice Tim. Looking forward to seeing the end result of all your hard work!

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## trc65

Barb said:


> That is so cool!! Did you put sanding sealer on it before you started coloring? Your red is vibrant.


No sanding sealer (or sanding either) on the beads. I do burnish with a hand full of shavings after cutting the beads.

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## Brandon Sloan

trc65 said:


> No sanding sealer (or sanding either) on the beads. I do burnish with a hand full of shavings after cutting the beads.


Why no sanding? Are you getting a good finish off the tool?


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## trc65

You do get a really good finish off the tool with the right wood, but the real reason for not sanding is so you don't mess with the geometry of the bead.

The burning tip from PJL enterprises was made specifically for the D-way beading tool, and with these small beads, if you knock the top off just a little bit, you will only get burn lines on the side and not the top. You could burn real heavy and get the top, but that changes the look.

If you zoom in on the images of the elm practice piece, you can see some areas where the top of the bead didn't get burned. Having some areas like this just add to the variability and illusion, but if the whole piece looked like that, would look off.

Everything I read said the real key to illusion pieces is the quality of the bead shape /spacing and practice is important. Agree with that 100 percent.

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## Brandon Sloan

Just another reason why I must stay away. I can just see myself getting to the last few beads and getting a little tear out. Starting over would get old fast. Now the practice pieces you have make a lot more sense.

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## trc65

I'm far from experienced with the bead cutter, but i think the wood choice is most important. No problems at all with the hard maple, and I've used it a bit on cherry and Apple with no problems. 

You can cut a few beads for decoration on almost anything, but to bead an entire surface, I'll stick with the maple.

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## William Tanner

Barb, good question on the sanding sealer. Wondering that myself.

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## trc65

Lest anyone think I really know what I'm doing, Almost everything I've learned about these processes is from reading threads over on the AAW Forum. Have to give credit where credit is due, Bill Boehme and Jean-Louis Meynier (and others) have been gracious in sharing many details, tips and pictures explaining their methods, and I'm just regurgitating what I've learned from their posts.

BTW, the color of the markers I'm using are Burnt Siena and Dark Bark (Copic original markers with optional superfine tips).

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## Barb

It's still very cool that you're sharing this info with us. I'm normally a "wing it" kind of person. I'm thinking that maybe I should do a little research on things before I start them lol.

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## trc65

Barb said:


> I'm thinking that maybe I should do a little research on things before I start them lol.


Where's the fun in that?

I usually just wing it too, but with the costs of new tools, burner, markers, etc figured I needed to do a little research first so I didn't end up with several more expensive items that sit unused in a corner collecting dust.


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## Barb

trc65 said:


> Where's the fun in that?
> 
> I usually just wing it too, but with the costs of new tools, burner, markers, etc figured I needed to do a little research first so I didn't end up with several more expensive items that sit unused in a corner collecting dust.


I can totally relate to the collecting dust syndrome. :)

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## ripjack13

....


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## trc65

Here are a couple of progress pictures. Ive got the top row of black "pyramids" laid out and a couple of them colored. Getting the base row spaced and burned took a long time. The rest of the burning for them is spaced on the base row so will go quickly. Ive partially colored things just to help me keep things straight while layout is done.

For layout, all I'm using is the light pencil lines you see, those are the center lines for the pyramids. All the burning is done by eye. For scale, the base of the pyramids is about 7/8".

There will be a row of pyramids in the top ring, four lines of burnt sienna and then an inner ring of pyramids.

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## Barb

So you’re doing the colored portions first, then burn the rest of the lines in?


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## trc65

Yes, that's my plan. If I burned everything first, I think it would be a nightmare trying to count and layout the pattern with the variability in the burn spacing. This way, I can be assured that the pattern is consistent in size and spacing, and any variability between the pattern pieces can be adjusted slightly by varying the spacing between lines. 

I'm using a constant number of stitches between colored elements, and will adjust the spacing to make them fit. For example, the base row in the pyramid is eleven stitches/cells with two uncolored stitches between each. I think the slight variability in spacing while maintaining the number of spaces will add to the illusion.

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## T. Ben




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## Barb

trc65 said:


> Yes, that's my plan. If I burned everything first, I think it would be a nightmare trying to count and layout the pattern with the variability in the burn spacing. This way, I can be assured that the pattern is consistent in size and spacing, and any variability between the pattern pieces can be adjusted slightly by varying the spacing between lines.
> 
> I'm using a constant number of stitches between colored elements, and will adjust the spacing to make them fit. For example, the base row in the pyramid is eleven stitches/cells with two uncolored stitches between each. I think the slight variability in spacing while maintaining the number of spaces will add to the illusion.


It's looking really good. You've got a hell of a lot more patience than I do. :)

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## Brandon Sloan

Hey Tim, would you mind adding an estimate of time you’ve spent between updates? I’m just curious. Looking good so far!

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## trc65

So far, I've got about 5 hours into it. 

About 2 hours taking it from board to beaded bowl. 

About 2 hours trying to figure out spacing by trial and error and doing a lot of work with an eraser. Part of that time was burning and coloring the red band.

Last night about an hour burning the pyramid bases, coloring them, and filling in the three pyramids. 

Spent a lot of time double checking measurements, and paralysis by analysis...... anticipate things going quicker now I've started burning and coloring.

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## trc65

Barb said:


> It's looking really good. You've got a hell of a lot more patience than I do. :)



We'll see how my patience holds up as I get further into it. All new to me now, so every little bit of progress keeps me enthusiastic. Definitely not something I'm going to do exclusively. Probably something I'll do two or three a year. Plan is to always have one going, so I can pick it up and work on it when i feel the need for some mindless repetitive work-usually late at night.

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## Barb

trc65 said:


> We'll see how my patience holds up as I get further into it. All new to me now, so every little bit of progress keeps me enthusiastic. Definitely not something I'm going to do exclusively. Probably something I'll do two or three a year. Plan is to always have one going, so I can pick it up and work on it when i feel the need for some mindless repetitive work-usually late at night.


Sounds like a good plan. I spent hours yesterday burning lines into the one I’m working on and the fun wore off pretty quickly for me.

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## trc65

Other than the turning, all the work on this has been after midnight, in the basement, with ear buds playing classic rock. Two hours of burning/coloring is about max my eyes/back/hands/etc can take.

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## trc65

You can now see the pattern taking shape. Took about an hour to get all the pyramid shapes burned in, and another half hour to get the inner ring of them colored.

About 4.5 hours work since it came off the lathe.

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## Brandon Sloan

That’s really coming together nicely. Are you enjoying it, or has it become a love hate?

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## trc65

Strangely enough, I can hardly wait to get back to it every time I put it down. Although repetitive, it takes a lot of concentration and focus, has been a good way to empty the mind at the end of the day.

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## T. Ben

trc65 said:


> it takes a lot of concentration and focus


I’m out,it’s looking great so far.

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## Brandon Sloan

trc65 said:


> Strangely enough, I can hardly wait to get back to it every time I put it down. Although repetitive, it takes a lot of concentration and focus, has been a good way to empty the mind at the end of the day.


The key is not losing that focus. That’s my problem!

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## Maverick

Looking great and enjoying the progress pics and Q&As. I can dream of doing something like this... BUT, I know my limitations so I know I would burn out (No pun intended) way too soon. However I told my wife that we could collaborate on one. I would do the lathe work and she could do the detail work. Will revisit this after I get more experience under my belt. Looking forward to your continued progress.

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## trc65

John, don't worry about experience, all it really is at the core is turning a shallow bowl or platter and beading the whole surface. The rest is just burning lines and coloring them. 

Doesn't have to be large either. Mine is just a piece of 8/4 lumber, and most of what I'll probably make will be small.

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## Barb

That's coming along great! I love the way it looks. :)

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## trc65

Making progress!

Finished coloring the pyramids






But couldn't stop until I got the red bands stitched and colored. The color pattern is now complete on the inside. Still need to burn the rest of the stitches, but happy to have the coloring done on one side.





Next, I'll probably start duplicating the pattern on the outside.

Another 1.5 hrs to finish the inside, for a total of 6 hrs for the pattern. Now that I've got a little practice, hope I can cut at least a couple of hours off that time.

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## Nubsnstubs

trc65 said:


> Making progress!
> 
> Finished coloring the pyramids
> 
> View attachment 190707
> 
> 
> But couldn't stop until I got the red bands stitched and colored. The color pattern is now complete on the inside. Still need to burn the rest of the stitches, but happy to have the coloring done on one side.
> 
> View attachment 190706
> 
> Next, I'll probably start duplicating the pattern on the outside.
> 
> Another 1.5 hrs to finish the inside, for a total of 6 hrs for the pattern. Now that I've got a little practice, hope I can cut at least a couple of hours off that time.


I was wondering what you would do with that crack. Looks like it's gonna blend in pretty good when the beads are done.......... Jerry (in Tucson)


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## trc65

Jerry, it's not a crack, that my index line that I burned in first to help lay everything out. 

In the pictures though it does look like a crack, didn't even think to mention what the line was or how I was using it. You can't really see it in the pictures, but I've got pencil lines all over the rim to index the outside pattern and hopefully get it close to the inside.


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## Barb

trc65 said:


> Making progress!
> 
> Finished coloring the pyramids
> 
> View attachment 190707
> 
> 
> But couldn't stop until I got the red bands stitched and colored. The color pattern is now complete on the inside. Still need to burn the rest of the stitches, but happy to have the coloring done on one side.
> 
> View attachment 190706
> 
> Next, I'll probably start duplicating the pattern on the outside.
> 
> Another 1.5 hrs to finish the inside, for a total of 6 hrs for the pattern. Now that I've got a little practice, hope I can cut at least a couple of hours off that time.


That looks top notch! When I get home from fishing I'm going to start on the pattern for my bowl.

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## trc65

Cool! Is it a pattern you are adapting, or one you are designing from "scratch"?


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## Nubsnstubs

trc65 said:


> Jerry, it's not a crack, that my index line that I burned in first to help lay everything out.
> 
> In the pictures though it does look like a crack, didn't even think to mention what the line was or how I was using it. You can't really see it in the pictures, but I've got pencil lines all over the rim to index the outside pattern and hopefully get it close to the inside.


Oops, I need to get new glasses.......... Jerry (in Tucson)

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## trc65

I need to get some too.... When I started this, I found a pair of 1.5 readers I used. After a day or two, picked up a pair of 1.75, now I think a pair of 2.0 will be just right . I dont need glasses for reading, so shooting in the dark to find a pair with focal length that is good.


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## Steve in VA

Love watching this come together. Inspiring me to give it a go!

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## David Hill

Really nice projects!
Something I think I'd like to do......but I don't think there is enough medication to make it happen....yet.

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## Barb

trc65 said:


> Cool! Is it a pattern you are adapting, or one you are designing from "scratch"?


Sorry again that it took me so long to respond. I'm having to go through some posts I've replied to to see if there are any new posts. The pattern I used is a partial pattern I got from Mark Knapp. :)

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## trc65

All the pattern burning and coloring are now done. Finished the outside an hour quicker than the inside. A total of 7 hours so far spent burning and coloring. Now all that's left to do is fill in the rest of the bowl with the stitch/burn lines, only ~7000 or so. and then do the herringbone wrap burn on the rim.

Lesson learned so far - I'm nowhere near as good cutting beads as I thought I was. They looked great, until I put on a pair of magnifiers and started trying to burn uniform lines.

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## Steve in VA

Coming along great Tim!!

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## Brandon Sloan

Good job Tim, keep the update coming!

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## Barb

trc65 said:


> All the pattern burning and coloring are now done. Finished the outside an hour quicker than the inside. A total of 7 hours so far spent burning and coloring. Now all that's left to do is fill in the rest of the bowl with the stitch/burn lines, only ~7000 or so. and then do the herringbone wrap burn on the rim.
> 
> Lesson learned so far - I'm nowhere near as good cutting beads as I thought I was. They looked great, until I put on a pair of magnifiers and started trying to burn uniform lines.
> 
> View attachment 190960
> 
> View attachment 190962
> 
> View attachment 190961


If you can only see your mistakes by magnifying the bowl, I'd still call that a win. It's beautiful!

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## trc65

OK, an hour and a half later and all the stitches are burned in. Only thing left to do is the weave on the rim and foot. After a little more practice tomorrow night, hope to come close to finishing it. Then to decide if I want to apply a finish or not.

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## Barb

trc65 said:


> OK, an hour and a half later and all the stitches are burned in. Only thing left to do is the weave on the rim and foot. After a little more practice tomorrow night, hope to come close to finishing it. Then to decide if I want to apply a finish or not.
> 
> View attachment 191062


Gorgeous!!

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## Eric Rorabaugh

Very nice

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## trc65

Got the wrap outlined on the rim, so you can see where I'm going with it. Still a lot of embellishment and shading to do on it though. Have to study some more pictures to try and figure out exactly what to add.

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## Nubsnstubs

trc65 said:


> Got the wrap outlined on the rim, so you can see where I'm going with it. Still a lot of embellishment and shading to do on it though. Have to study some more pictures to try and figure out exactly what to add.
> 
> View attachment 191096


Tim, what I like about your effort in this piece is that all your stitches/beads are the same size, so I'll call them beads. Pretty much all the illusion pieces I've seen have the beads start from the center. Those beads are a bit smaller than the next row, and the third is a bit larger than the second row. It goes like that until the size is reached and then all are made the same size to finish off the piece. I find those first few rows distracting because I associate these stitches as glass beads, rather that a plant type wrap that these original baskets were made of. 

I have a good eye for detail, and I can see where you had a struggle here and there doing this piece. But in my opinion, it's pretty much the best example of a beaded form I've seen. ..... Thanks for posting this interesting thread from start to finish by a beginner interpreting the instructions you had......... Jerry (in Tucson)

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## trc65

Thank you Jerry!

Your analysis on the bead/stitches/wrap is exactly the reason I chose to try this type of illusion. When done very well, these pieces look like woven baskets and are often mistaken as such by non woodworkers, (or non basket weavers). 

I've been a little inconsistent in talking beads vs stitches, when in fact what I'm trying to simulate is wraps around coils as you describe.

There are lots of mistakes in this little piece, and your use of the word "struggle" is spot on. I'm not happy with certain areas and mistakes, but overall, I'm pleased with the way it is coming out. Ive learned a lot about the process and steps, which was really the goal. Some of the problems were caused by turning mistakes that then compound when you get to the burning and coloring. Others are just inexperience with burning. 

When I get this completed (probably by this weekend), I plan to do a little more self critique and show in detail some problem areas and what I did wrong. Hope that will help others who try this, but also to reinforce in my head things to correct for the next one.

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## Maverick

Just catching up on your progress....very impressive.

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## trc65

Finished, I think!

Still need to decide on a finish, if any, and sign it, but otherwise I'm done.

Spent two hours doing rim embellishment tonight, so for those interested, a total of 13 hours were spent burning and coloring once turning was done.

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## djg

Stunning! You should be proud.

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## Rocking RP

Wow! Just WOW!! I applaud you.

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## Gdurfey

Incredible Tim. And what a lesson for all of us! The time you spent to document is greatly appreciated and a true testament to Wood Barter!! Thank you so much! 

Take a breather, turn a 13 inch deep hollow form for relaxation...……...

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## Nubsnstubs

Beautiful, Tim. Even if I had the patience to do one, I think I'd still leave it to other people to show how beautiful wood can be with simple embellishments. Your well articulated responses gave me more clarity on how to progress and complete a project like this..... Thank you. ........ Jerry (in Tucson)

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## duncsuss

This is superb. Thanks for sharing all the steps along the way, that was a lot of work. The end result shows you know what you were doing, but seeing the process unfold like this makes it clear just how much work goes into it.

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## T. Ben

Absolutely amazing work!!

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## Barb

Wow! That's absolutely beautiful!

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## Maverick

Great work Tim and like others I greatly appreciate the pics and explanation along the way. 

Curiosity question. Is there a purpose or symbolism for the gap? If you have explained that in an earlier response, just point me back to it. 

Thanks,

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## trc65

Thank you all very much! I really appreciate all the kind comments and glad you enjoyed following along.

I wasn't sure about many of the steps involved before I started, and this thread helped me slow down a little bit and think about the process and how to show and articulate the steps. The other reason for wanting to do this thread was so I'd have a reference for the next one I attempt. I'm horrible at documenting things on my own, and often forget to take notes, or take notes on pieces of scrap wood in the shop which later disappear.

I have a couple of pictures I'll get up later tonight which show a way to help with the herringbone on the rim.

@Maverick I found a couple of pictures which explain the symbolism of the design and I'll post those tonight as well.

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## trc65

There are many different interpretationsof the symbology, but in general, the center of the basket symbolizes the birth, and the gap shows the path that one takes through life, or east, or the path to light.

Here is one (of about 10 different) interpretations of the symbols:

"_The Navajo Ceremonial Basket also called Navajo Wedding basket is 
viewed as a map through which the Navajo chart their lives. The central 
spot in the basket represents the sipapu, where the Navajo people
emerged from the prior world through a reed. The inner coils of the 
basket are white to represent birth. As you travel outward on the coils
you begin to encounter more and more black. The black represents 
darkness, struggle and pain. As you make your. way through the darkness you eventually reach the red bands, which represent marriage; the mixing of your blood with your spouse and creation of family. The red is pure. During this time there is no darkness. Traveling. out of familial bands you encounter more darkness, however, the darkness is interspersed with white light. The light represents increasing enlightenment, which expands until you enter the all white banding of the outer rim. This banding represents the spirit world, where there is no darkness. The line from the center of the basket to the outer rim is there to remind you that no. matter how much darkness you encounter in your world, there is always a pathway to the light."_

Here is a link to the PDF that the above was quoted from. Other interpretations are also summarized.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjABegQICxAG&usg=AOvVaw0b41pdSQFHEFJoHQXasYW-[/URL]


Here is an image that summarizes another interpretation.

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## trc65

Here are two images from Jean-Louis Meynier showing how he draws the herringbone design. 

Start by drawing the two thin lines around the rim (green). These define the size of the pattern. NOTE: it really helps to draw these lines while the item is still on the lathe. It is much harder to draw these lines by hand afterwards. DAMHIKT.

Then start drawing in the lines (indicated in red) one by one trying to keep the same spacing.





To keep the spacing uniform, he uses a drinking straw to trace the pattern before burning as shown in the following picture. I tried using the straw, but my rim wasn't quite the correct shape and I ended up free hand burning the rim - hence the uneven rim design on mine.

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