At the February meeting I brought in several open natural edge maple vases that were colored and carved. I called them a study in complementarity. An example in black is shown here.  To create the vase with the solid background color, I treated the sanded but unfinished wood with color. For the black I use India ink and for the other colors I used fabric reactive dyes dissolved in water. Dissolving in water gives more vibrant colors than dissolving them in alcohol. The water based dyes will raise the grain and require a light sanding. The alcohol based dyes dry faster and do not raise the grain but do not have the vibrancy of color. After the color has dried I apply several coats of Spar varnish thinned by half with paint thinner. I apply the thinned varnish with a paper towel while the vase rotates slowly  on the lathe. After I am satisfied with the build up of the varnish, I carve the pattern with a reciprocating carver.  I use super black India ink from Speedball which contains shellac in solution. You can apply the ink with an inexpensive foam brush for large surfaces like on the vase on the left. It produces a uniform black surface with a few coats. For the colors I use fiber reactive dye from Dharma Trading Company.  These are dyes that are also used to produce tie dyed tee shirts.