My first granite table

My first granite experience was in the solid surface counter top shop and Ken took over the business from my Uncle Mark and their other partner Bill. Ken decided to expand the business by offering Granite as well as Solid Surface which was called Durastone, (like Corian), a product that we made. One of the first things I learned about Granite was how easy it was to polish it and then I learned to cut and fabricate it. I took to it like a duck to water and started making my own little pieces of granite art. Fabian was the name of the man who came into the business to teach us how to fabricate granite and he was the primary fabricator of the granite and I was the fabricator of the Solid Surface, but I learned all the same and one day Fabian cut out this little round sink hole for one of the coolest under mount stainless steel bar sinks I've seen! The Granite leftover from the cut out is called Baltic Brown and it measures about 12 inches wide. I got this idea to turn it into a small table and I wanted to make it a little unusual! I wanted to glue on a 2nd layer of stone, but it was a different color. Fabian had trouble with it in the first place. He told me not to mix colors by saying, "we put joints in stone to hide them by using the same color of stone" and I replied by saying, "it's stone, you can see it, so what does it matter!" So I made what was in my mind and got the respect of Fabian anyway, because he said it looked cool!


The leg of this table is a branch from a Cherry Tree that I got from Carl, a good friend of mine. I was looking for something like this branch and Carl's father had just cut some of his tree's, so I went and chose a nice piece. The base is made out of Solid Surface and I had to pour it around the branch in stages, meaning that I couldn't pour it all at once, because of how thick it was going to be. Solid Surface is a man made material basically a plastic and when the Catalyst is mixed in, it causes a reaction to harden it and the reaction causes heat. It would have warped with the thickness of the base. It still warped a little and sits better on carpet rather than a hard surface. It is 25" tall and weighs 30 Lbs. The top is 11.5 " wide and the base is 18.5 at it's widest point(s).

A few weeks after I made this interesting table, our sink supplier saw it and wanted to show his friend. His friend had a store in Park City and he sold furniture but nothing like this. I didn't want to let him take it so I took a picture and gave it to him to show his friend. A week later, I received word that he had sold my table for a handsome sum! Shocking was more like it!! I was completely and utterly shocked when he told me it was selling for 10 grand and from a picture no less in a week!!! I was amazed! I was also amazed when I found out what I was going to get out of it, a mere $3,000 and I even spent 59 hours of my life making it, (It was my first, and it took some time to figure things out, it doesn't take nearly that kind of time anymore), but I was shocked that I was only going to get 30%, so I told them no and kept it. I have been called foolish and stupid for that decision, but I think that I would have been more foolish to have let it go and to be taken for every other piece that I've made since. I haven't sold any of them and sometimes wonder if I made the right decision, but I know that I did. I'm not that dumb. I have done my research and most middle men and/or sellers only make a commission of 25 to 40% not 70%. I know that I made the right decision and I would be more than happy to sell my work, but not to be taken for someone else's benefit.
What you see, is what I saw and each thing I've ever made, was a visual picture in my mind. I know that I have some kind of talent and I hope that it can help Amy and I out in the near future. I love what I can do with a piece of rock. I'm thankful for the talents that our Heavenly Father has given me and I hope that it gives others as much joy as I get from it. I am going to tell of each of my pieces one by one and as I finish one to the next, I'll be trying to sell them as well. We're going to sell this one, or at least give it a try, on ebay this week. I'm going to start it at that mere $3,000 and see what happens. I was also told of a place in Salt Lake that specializes in local artists work, so I will probably give that a try to too!

This is what it looks like in our house.

My 2nd Table

This is the 2nd try at making something unique! Fabian had been over to his friends shop and brought back some really nice red and black marble. The red marble was very expensive and the other is not as and more common than the red. The other shop had an extra piece, so Fabian brought them back to see if I could do something with them. I decided to checkerboard it somewhat, (with only 4 squares, the game would be over quickly), but I liked the design of black and red squares. The stone holding them together around the bottom perimeter is called Tan Brown and I had to use something, because the red and black was all but taken with only a few little pieces left! The edge is a waterfall edge or a half bullnose and I ground it down by hand. It wasn't hard to do, marble is significantly softer than granite, though it was hard to keep it's shape when polishing due to softer stone!



I had a few problems with it and one problem was that it broke in half and I had to try to put it back together. It worked better than I thought it would and it's very hard to tell where the break occurred. Once I got that done, I had to choose what kind of base I wanted under it. Wood is such a nice thing to work with and I really love all of the varieties that are out there. Usually, I like a lot of knots and holes anything where bugs have gotten in burrowed, eaten or damaged it. I feel that it gives it a lot of character, but I went with a plain old piece of a Redwood Fence Post. I covered it with Amber Schlack to give it a richer red color. Amy and I think that it looks very nice and it gives the room some nice color. This one is Amy's 2nd favorite, while her most favorite one is the Cherry Tree Plant Holder. This table is 23 1/4 inches tall and the top is roughly 17 5/8 inches square and an overall weight of 43lbs.

Clocks

When I worked for KMB Countertops, I got this idea from a good friend named Carl to make clocks out of the Solid Surface material. KMB stood for Ken, Mark and Bill, the owners of the company. Ken is who I work for now in the Granite business. Mark is my uncle and Bill is Ken's brother in law. I worked at KMB for about 10 years and in the last 3 years of working there I made some clocks. Each one was different or better known as "a one of a kind", some just happened by accident, but most were designs I thought up. I had to learn to make each and every one of them and some were just stubborn and challenging! I made some money on a few of them, but mostly people just wanted them for free! I gave a lot away, they made nice gifts. I lost quite a few due to temperatures that made them break and I still have several left and in storage. The pictures show a lot of them without numbers, so use your imagination. Some are finished and show the creativity of each clock. I dont make clocks anymore, but a granite clock would be cool!

This is the first clock I made and I gave it to Carl for the idea!

This one is the 2nd and I gave it to my mother.

The wood in this one came from a pallet. I liked the knot in it and tore it apart to make this clock. Cool huh?

This one just happened by accident. I had another idea, but it ended up like this. I don't remember what I had in mind before, but this one was cool just how it ended up!!

I needed a tooth pulled, so I traded with my Dentist!

This one is in a recording studio in New Jersey. I had a friend and her uncle owns the studio. She had me make this and she payed me about $40 for it.

I still have this one and I use it around Halloween. I just need to finid the right creepy-crawlies for the numbers of the clock!!

Everyone tells me this one looks Japanese! It was easy and fun to make!!
My sister is holding this one. It's big of course and somewhat heavy, like 10 lbs. and I made $100 on it. It's still hanging on his wall!

Made with scraps!!

My first attempt of a cow design. I made 2 others and they both sold. It just so happens that I don't have pictures of them. If you like this cow design, I still have it!

If this one looks like it was hard to make, then your exactly right! The maple pieces would float and I had to push them down until the plastic hardened! I still have this one too and I love it!!
This one's base is a separate piece and my nephew, Blake said today "Elephant." Looking at it closer, the knot does look like an elephant!



This one is quite heavy and it cost me plenty! I had to pour the plastic twice to make it work and then I could never afford the time piece. That alone was $80 and the glass cover I wanted for it was $200. I still have it and it's still not finished, maybe one day. I made and designed table as well. I gave that too my sister and her husband for their wedding present.

This one is made out of a Cypress Tree Root. This is it's true color. The outside is very hard, but thin skinned. The inside is very soft and like cork and it stinks!! It grows in the swamp and that's what it smelled like when I cut into it!

I learned how to put things into the resin, like these Sacagawea dollars. The person who got this one took a hammer to it (right in front of me no less) and retrieved the money! Nice!!!

I also put things in the resin like...

Aluminum...

A smiley face, ugly, but I got $120 for it...

A Black Widow Spider. I came into work one morning and Ken, Mark and Bill caught and put to death (by way of resin torcher), this spider! I kept it and one day it became the 6 for this clock! The guy who bought this clock only gets to display it on Halloween. The rest of the year, it stays in a box in a closet and if it comes out before Halloween, his wife will throw it out! He loves it, she doesn't!! I sold this clock when I worked at Walmart and it went for $150 which went to charity.
And finally...

This one sold for the most. It went for $275. The company my mother worked for had me make it for an employee which name has been erased. The blue was made with auto paint and it was also made to look like the company emblem. It turned out really nice and I hope the recipient liked it as well.
I made so many variations and I never really made any money out of them, except for the few, but it cost me more than it was worth, so I stopped.

Spalted Maple

The wood in this clock is called Spalted Maple, Spalting: is any form of wood coloration caused by fungi. Although primarily found in dead trees, spalting can also occur under stressed tree conditions or even in living trees. Although spalting can cause weight loss and strength loss in the wood, the unique coloration and patterns of spalted wood are sought after by woodworkers.

I found a stencil that I liked for the numbers and then clear coated the clock for protection. It was a very hard clock to make. I had to push all of the wood pieces down one by one because they kept floating to the surface until the solid surface hardened. It was a fun clock to make and the results are very nice. The dimensions are 12 1/4" X 12 1/4" X 1"

Peacepipe

When I started working at the Granite Shop again, I worked with a guy who was part Native American and he made a Peacepipe out of 2 pieces of stone. Kevin and I were going to make one as well. I finally finished mine and it's pretty big and over the top! It weighs almost 9 LBS and is 26 inches long. It has just about the same amout of super glue and bondo holding it together as there is stone in it! Currently it could be used, but I'm going to plug it so it won't. I'm afraid that if someone got a hold of it and tried to smoke with it, that they may die due to the glue and fumes involved. I had a suggestion to sell it and so Amy and I will probably sell it as a decorative pipe on ebay.