Arcos,
You are now thinking about design. If there were ‘Rules’ we would have a much easier time of turning but the first thing to happen would be someone would break them!
The one often quoted rule I can think of is the ‘Rule of Thirds’;
- the maximum/minimum diameter should be at the 1/3 – 2/3 position in relation to the height.
- The lid shoul be 1/3 of the height.
- the finial should be 1/3 of the height.
- the foot/top, should be 1/3 of the maximum diameter.
- etc
It works well and gives a pleasing ‘balance’ to the look of your work. But…
…even this is ‘wrong’, it’s based on the Golden Ratio, a figure of 1.618, where 0.618 approximates to 2/3. Google it, you’ll find lot’s of info, there are even rulers you can buy or designs for 3-legged dividers you can make to help work this out.
Again, this can be ignored and other mathematical ratios used, Pascal’s Triangle, the Fibonacci series etc.(and you thought Maths at school was a waste of time!), so pretty much it boils down to the use of uneven but balanced proportions.
The other things I try and stick with are;
- No long straight lines. So a fillet (small flat) between 2 curves is good, but a long flat would ‘generally’ look wrong. Look at the shape of the piece and you’ll see that there is a slow curve from shoulder to foot, at no point is there a flat area.
- Any change must be defined. So the ‘Bead’ in the foot, (used to conceal the joint) does not flow/grow from the waist of the curve, it has sharp ‘defining’ cuts to delineate it from the waist. You’ll note that there is not an equivalent bead on the neck, it would have looked wrong.
Design is a personal thing. Two things I can suggest to you are;
- Look at ceramics, architectural items and other media see how they deal with curves and proportions, and,
- Buy a sketchbook and draw shapes, some from what you see, others that you think will work or you’d like to try turn
Doing this and you will soon start to see what ‘you’ like and don’t like in a shape and what does and doesn’t work.
So to answer your question, Would a foot of equal diameter to the neck work for both look AND stability? Or, design wise, would it simply not look 'correct'?
Yes, the foot could have been made wider, (where you say neck I assume you mean shoulder) but it may not have fitted the overall shape. I would have needed to lift the leg waist position and flare the curve to the foot sooner to get the proportions right. It defiantly would have improved the stability as well.
I was not working for ‘functionality’ in this piece ‘delicate elegance’ was the aim. It looks ‘right’ to me and my good lady loves it, but as in all things it is a personal thing. One lady hates it because she does not like Banksia, she does not see the form, just the holes, you can’t please everybody!
The last thought I’ll leave you with is honest critique helps you develop, it’s what I try to give to posted work, but it is ‘my’ opinion, no one else’s. Others are free to disagree and I am pleased when they do so, also the poster is free to dislike my opinion, that is his right as he turned it to his own design criteria.
