Fouquieria Splendens

[PenWorks]

This is about as plain Jane a Euro you will find me making. But it is by design. It is all about the wood. Made from an Ocotillo Cactus plant.
Link to the plant and beautifull flower it makes....
http://azuswebworks.com/html/ocotillo.html

This is a desk set, the base is made from the ribs of the plants, the bark peeled off and lightly sanded. There as some of pieces in its dried natural state.

I could sell these all day long, but there are two problems.....
A little boring to make, you know when you cut the wood nothing fancy inside and finding the Ocotillo branches. Furniture makers scavange the desert for them to use in furniture making. Also, finding pieces to drill and work for pens is not easy. As you can see, nature wants to pre drill them. The root system like most cactus plants is very shallow, so the water is gathered on the needles and sucked into the limb. The hole I choose not to fill in, is where the needle was removed. Anyway, here is a piece of Arizona sunshine

 

[Old Griz]

Tony, have you thought about filling in the voids with turquoise or some other stone... maybe pink coral... would really make a plain wood something special...

 

[Gary]

Very nice Anthony! I shows what can be done when you really try.

 

[PenWorks]

Tom, I ussually do fill the voids with Turquoise. But I saw that hole and thought it looked cool.
And I needed to whip something up quick, it is my door prize I have to give away today, because I'm the speaker at my BNI meeting this afternoon.

 

[opus]

Anthony,
I really like that pen, seems like it would be a big seller to the "Snow Birds" down there. []

 

[dougle40]

Good job Anthony . IMHO I think that leaving the needle holes open really adds character to a normally bland looking piece of wood .

 

[Tom McMillan]

Neat pen---so neat to see what can be used for a pen too!!

 

[tipusnr]

Great look on a plain Jane format! Good luck at your meeting.

 

[KKingery]

Plain or not, it's very good looking!

 

[jkirkb94]

Nice idea with the pen. [] I bet it is fun trying to collect the cactus with all those needles![xx(] Kirk[8D]

 

[opfoto]

I like it. The holes makes it a step or 2 better than a Plain Jane. As was stated it adds interest to an otherwise Blah (tho nicely turned) pen. Nice Job Anthony.

 

[jwoodwright]

Anthony, Wow! For being "Plain Jane" it has character...[]

 

[woodscavenger]

I love the character of the holes. Nice local touch as well. I have done some small boxes and segmented bowls with walnut, oak, and ambrosia maple all with insect created holes and I really like the way they turn out. The only problem I have is when I finish them I have problems with wax buildup. Pipe cleaners become my best friends.