Those are very impressive too.!! I actually had no idea that George Watkins sold blanks.
I've always been a fan of his stuff too and the joint effort from you both is very cool. Well done Simon.
Yeah, I didn't know either but I'm not surprised of what he does, George Watkins has a knack for casting and turning stuff also so, good for him.
Is great to see 2 well make pens next to each other and while of some similarity, each one has its own merits as a raw canvas, the rest is up to the hands of the artist that makes the final transformation...!
No wonder why I'm getting orders fast and furious and from every corner of the globe, I have been making these blanks for years (same pod different cutting angles) and they have always sold but 5 to 10 each month or less so, not long ago I was mentioning the "air-cut" that I had to do on my front yard 2 Banksias, (the mothers of my pods) and state that I had stored enough pods from previous good yield seasons that would last me a long time and certainly until the Banksia trees/bushes recover and start producing some more pods again.
I remember that I said that, I'm expecting at least 2 years before I get any fair number of new pods that are usable for making these blanks BUT, I may have to swallow my own words and accept that, at this rate, I will have the stock I had gone and I will be looking at those trees and consider it I have done the right thing or not in cutting them down so much.
In the long run, this is the ideal treatment for the survival and pod production of these Banksias, and I know that however, this is one of those times where, you think you have it all planned properly and all of a certain, you realise that, you van never account for everything...!
I may run out sooner that I expected sure, I still believe I done what was best for those 2 Banksias life span chances and that is what counts...!
One other aspect of these pods that I don't think that I have made much reference to, is the fact that, the pods when transform from flower to the pod itself, changing its appearance to very hairy and dark brown in colour, that would be what some people would think was the end of the pod maturity however, this is far from the truth, the pod stays attached to the tree, after the first year and it does so because the pod is not yet developed inside.
The seeds inside the pod can take up to an extra 2 years to develop, while some pods will never develop any seeds at all. They will all fall out from the tree but, that can take up to 5 years so, nature as created the pod as the "house" where the seeds will grow from, that red velvet that causes so much trouble when the finished blanks are handled by penturners, is there to protect the seeds from any rain, while the hairs keep the birds away, unless you are in Australia, and you have some species of native birds such as the black cockatoos and Galahs that can tear these pods into threads to get the seeds out so, a number of pods are lost to these birds.
The seeds will stay attached to the pod core until the pod fully matures and drops to the ground, at that stage, the hairs start to fall out, the hard seeds shell opens up with heat, and the seed separates from the pod and stays in the ground until germinates or is taken away by a bird that will ingest it and will drop it some place a day or so later...!
So, usable pods for these blanks, require at least 2 years in the tree, the longer they will stay, the more seeds will generate and the bigger they will become so, picking them up too early, is no advantage to anyone so, will see what happens.
Another thing that will change is that, as soon as I sell the ones I have done, all Banksia pods pieces will be stabilized with Cactus Juice, this will increase the blanks cost up AU$1.50 but, it will assist and improve their "workability" considerably, for those using them, some of you may have develop ways to handle them successfully however, that will be a different story for those less experience penturners or those that never worked with such material composition and nature.
Cheers
George
