Stump Table aka Swamp Art

As ya’ll know, awhile back I finished a free-form Walnut slab. The big question – now what? I couldn’t see putting a plain, tapered leg under this beautiful piece of wood, so I got me an idea… a tree stump coffee table! The “powers that be” (aka the girls) didn’t like the idea of a single stump in the middle, so I thought about it some and decided that two stumps would be even better, joined together by a branch. So I glued a BUNCH of scraps together…literally , just junk. In retrospect I could have used some cheap “Tuba fores” and it would have been easier, but this worked, there is maple , cherry, yellow pine and poplar all glued together .Then using a “Lancelot” and” Holy Gallad” I went to sculpting. The inspiration for the stump was the bald cypress one finds in the swamps of south eastern US, I have fished around  many a one.

I used a light brown dye that closely matched the walnut slab and just lightly sprayed very light coats so as to create the shadows, and then topcoated, and a little glaze and another top coat. I did sand the stump as best I could to “sorta” smooth out the sharp facets, and give it a decent feel when finished .
This was fun project and everyone who has seen it, really liked it. Got some “substantial” offers for it, but it was claimed by camera girl early on , but can definitely make more.
This is just an example of getting a little creative and having some fun , try one you will enjoy.

Be safe and get creative

… started power carving, rounding the hard edges with an orbital sander…

…and mortise & tenoned the branch in the bottom as well as under the tabletop for support…

…much sawdust later, I finished the stumps by spraying, hitting heavier in some areas and lighter in some to give it a more natural look. The bird’s nest underneath added character and something a bit whimsical…

…and CameraGirl brought her truck today to be able to take it home. Hopefully she’ll get us some photos of it in her house.