Box Elder - Aftermath, Crosswinds, Mount St. Helens

[SteveRussell]

Here is a piece in my "Aftermath" series, the inspiration for which was the catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980 of Mount St. Helens, which became the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. This platter captures the mountain a few seconds after eruption, as the upper part of the mountain is blown away.

News reports indicated that as a result of the eruption, 57 people were killed; and 250 homes were totally destroyed. In addition, 47 bridges, 15 miles railways and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. The eruption of Mount St. Helens caused a massive debris avalanche, which reduced the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 feet to 8,364 feet and reformed it into a mile-wide horseshoe-shaped crater.

This shallow platter is turned from a highly figured piece of Box Elder. In the lower center portion of the platter, you can see the summit of Mount St. Helens and just above to the right and left, the plume of ash and debris are represented by the streaked curl on the right and burled areas to the left of the summit.

The platter features a delicate blind back-cut rim and is 1/8" thick. All pieces in my "Aftermath" series mark significant events in human history which significantly changed the world, or our perception of it.

[Joe Herrmann]

I think this is my favorite of the three pieces. Thanks for posting them all. I've not turned a lot of box elder but I have turned a lot of maple. This piece of elder looks as close to its maple cousin as I have ever seen.

Joe