“Pele's Fury" ~ Original Collaboration
Wood & Painted Vessel | Koa, Mango, Bloodwood, & Wenge - Oil on Paper | 15 1/4 inches tall x 14 inches in diameter.
"Pele's Fury" is a "segmented vessel". The piece is created on the wood lathe by turning a stack of wooden rings. Each ring is composed of 16 wood segments regardless of the diameter of the ring.
The shape of Pele's Fire is inspired by an ancient Greek vessel entitled The Niobid Krater. The Niobid Painter was an ancient Athenian vase painter in the red-figure style who was active from approximately 470 to 450 BC. The Niobid Krater was used to mix water and wine to reduce the alcohol content of the wine, which was otherwise quite strong. The original Niobid Krater is 32" tall x 32" in diameter. This collaborative vessel is about half the size of the original. The vessel was discovered in Orvieto, Italy in the 1800s and now resides in the Louvre, Paris, France.
The volcano scene depicted in "Pele's Fury" is painted by the enormously talented George Aldrete. The vessel is created from three exotic wood species,
Hawaiian Mango, Wenge, and Bloodwood. Adding additional character to the vessel are brick-like rings of mango and bloodwood and thin accent rings of Wenge, each of which are actual delicate segmented rings, a detail not found in other fine art pieces. The inside of the bottom includes an "Escher-like" inlay pattern of Mango, Bloodwood, and Wenge.
