Other woods with unusual movement like seen in rainbow Poplar?
For those who follow my wacky ideas on here I’m developing an idea where I use small cut squares of wood, say 3/4″ x 3/4″ and arrange them to form a larger picture, like photo mosaic software does. Think of the little squares I’m referring to as little ‘pixels’ that will create the larger picture when they’re all put together. The finished pieces/images will be fairly large, say 6′ tall x 10′ long.
So toward achieving this goal I’ve been exploring different wood species to see what kind of color/texture movements are commonly seen in them. For my idea to work I’m gonna need color movement in wood more than just common grain direction like you’d see in the oak species. I’m gonna need a wood species that produces a wide variety of movement and colors for the best results. At first I wasn’t too sure this process was achievable because all the wood species I was aware of didn’t have enough varied movement. I found a lumber mill a couple hours away that had some ambrosia Maple so I went to pick some up for experimenting. When I saw the cedar there I picked some out as well. But then I saw a chunk of highly colored rainbow Poplar he had sat aside and knew that was the right wood to work with. It has so much more color and movement than any other species I’ve seen so far. Pics of the cedar, ambrosia Maple and rainbow Poplar follow…
You can see how the rainbow Poplar has so much more variation compared to the ambrosia Maple and Cedar that it’s really the superior choice for what I’m trying to do. Imagine this rainbow Poplar piece cut into tiny 3/4″ x 3/4″ squares and how varied each square or ‘pixel’ would be compared to the same pieces made out of the Cedar or Maple.
So now my question is…are there any other species out there that produce variations in color and movement like this rainbow Poplar? I’d also be interested in seeing examples of species that have random movement even if not to the same degree as this Poplar.
Thanks!
Replies
Over time the poplar will even out towards a muddy brown. The purples and greens do not last. Most woods change over time. Light goes darker, dark goes lighter.. the before and after a few years photos will be interesting to see.
It's a ton of work for something that's going to change color when you don't want it to. I'd be happy to follow along, but this might be the very last project I'd do myself.
I finally figured out that by "movement" you mean what most people call "figure". That is, the grain direction changes a lot with ripples and curls. Is that right? Usually movement in wood means shrinking and swelling.
Oh shoot I should called it figuring from the start. I'll keep that in mind from now on. I've been given several examples of wood species that might fit my project needs. I'll post two pictures to give an example of what meets the standard I'm looking for. The first picture is of Chinese Pistache and is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. If I could find a supplier that might be the end of my search. The second picture is of Canary Wood and although it's beautiful it doesn't quite have the figuring I'm looking for.
I find that quilted cherry provides a lot of movement to a wood surface as the chatoyance changes as you look at it from different angles and is quite striking if you at the surface a walk around it.