Down time

[bodrighywood]

been 'off colour' for a couple of days so stayed in trying to update my website. Nearly finished this piece though and as soon as I get back I'll sort a base out for it. It's spalted chestnut and is 13" diameter. The collar and finial are purple heart (scraps of course LOL) with three chopsticks in it. I found a pack of a dozen of them in a charity shop and grabbed them. They aren't fixed yet hence the one drooping a little

Pete

[Les Symonds]

Hi Pete....hope you're feeling back on-colour again soon. That's an interesting take on an old subject....never seen a finial like that before! It makes
me want to get the little wooden hammer out and play a tune on it!
What a stunning piece of timber - how we all wish that we had stuff like that to play with. I quite like the idea of the complex curve and flattened top, which works well with the strongly horizontal lines of the finial. i guess that this piece is not going to be a favourite with some of the traditionalists, but it works for me and nobody ever made anything innovative without challenging convention!
Les

[edbanger]

What a piece of wood, personally I think that the pot and the finial are fantastic, but I think that it could do without the chopsticks I think that they take you eye away from the pot. Oh to have half your skill with the gouge!!! 

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Hello Pete, sorry to hear you have been off colour , you need to take more water with it We wondered where you were on club night.
 I really like this piece,and I realise this is outside of your comfort zone because it is a nice piece of wood and not the usual stuff you turn, now you can see what us other turners feel.
       I think the shape and colour and the finial are spot on but.............I don't like the chopsticks, well that's not quite right, I don't like them that long. For me they detract from the whole thing, I like the detailing on them so would probably cut them down a bit 
     Otherwise I think it is a lovely piece.
Regards
John BHT

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

looking at the picture again just after posting ^ I would make the chopsticks the same length as the flat bit on top.
 
John

[bodrighywood]

Thank you for the comments. At the moment it is all in limbo as when I do things I set them aside without gluing up in case I change my mind so comments re: length of the chopsticks is noted. I have just acquired some slabs of laburnum about the same size so when they have dried a bit I may have a go at some more similar sized pieces, got plenty of the chopsticks lol.

Pete

[woodndesign]

Pete, I do hope you're getting your color back, it's never nice to be down.

One really nice piece of chestnut and stunning finish, wondering on the overly flat top, but it grows on one with looking, then the whole piece is different to the norm.. without reading chopsticks, just the close up view, I'd gone for broken arrows ... given the metal tips .. on arrangement of the chopsticks, what about different direction or in a fan .. then the arrow idea still sticks with me ..

Cheers  David

[Bryan Milham]

Hmmmm...

Not sure. The spalting in the bowl is wonderful, as said, oh that we could all find timber like that but I'm not taken by the shape, the lower curve is excellent but the upper reverse curve,  mehh!

The finial body is, different, very strange shape.

The chopsticks (are they?), for me they would look better if they were different lengths forming an increasing width from the lower to the top one. But I then thing that they would loose the effect of their purpose. And as for the bent one

Okay, I've said each bit does not work for me, but as I've said before (about a posted turning), there is a discordance in the whole, which pulls a little at the sense of ones idea balance.

But then all the bits that would not work individually, work together and create a strangely compelling effect, overall, it pulls itself into an artistic piece that demands to be noticed and admired.

A very brave piece of work that I trust you are truly proud of.

[Roderick Evans]

Hi Pete, hope you feel better soon.

I like the form and the purple heart finial,I've been using purple heart for finials lately and I think they work really well with spalted timber.

The spalting of the chestnut is really nice but your eyes are immediately drawn away from the form to the chopsticks.

I agree with John BHT, the chopsticks would look better if they lined up with the flat area and probably thinner. I like the idea of three horizontal pieces piercing the finial to give it an oriental look and if you're still experimenting with the finial I think this will end up a really stunning piece. Sorry to sound a little negative but looking forward to seeing it posted again

Regards,
Roderick

[bodrighywood]

Thank you all for the comments. I don't mind people critiquing it at all, pointless posting if I did. Ideas come from people  seeing things differently. The bent chopstick will be changed for a straight one, and I will think about the idea of shortening them. As said sometimes a bunch of apparently discordant features can work together, something i have found looking at oriental ceramics and pottery where often something that at first glance looks wrong grows on you. part of the reason why I never glue these pieces up straight away but put them on one side for a while.

Pete

[TWiG]

I do not think hollow vessels and finials always  go well together , I seldom put one on my hollow forms unless designed for  from the start and then agonise over  it  ... a lot , some just seem right others not . My first thought at your finial was its resemblance to the "angel of the north " ( nothing wrong with that ) or perhaps a TV aerial , to me it does not seem to suit the piece but neither can I think of what would suit it , or what it would look like without a finial . I can see your line of thought with chopsticks and oriental style but I rarely see oriental ceramics with finials , more commonly a lid of some sort , ornate or simple .   Terry....

[georg]

   Sorry for the late reply I have been imagining your piece in our home,I think that it would sit very well on the slate hearth
   next to the wood stove  (NOT IN IT ) but then the finial would be too tall to look down on and a bit chunky.
   So if you go to your Pics and scrowl up so you leave just 2 sticks which in turn will lower the finial, then imagine it sat either
   on a hearth or low table. The other thing might be to make the sticks shorter or one shorter than the other.
   We put our pieces all over the house to view them at different heights and in different settings as we tend to look at our work
   NOT as ART but as DECORATIVE Pieces  that someone might like in there home.
   This is just my opinion not saying its right.

     REGARDS DIANE    

[bodrighywood]

Thank you Twig and Dianne. We do pretty much the same and rarely glue something up straight away as we find that something we are really pleased with at first shows up faults or ways of being changed after a while. This is the 2nd finial I have had on this one and at the moment am happy with but it may well change by the time it is put up for sale.

I agree that most oriental ceramics don't have finials as such but I am not trying to fully replicate but to give a general impression of the style when I do these pieces. One of the themes in my work is the use of wood that is faulty, damaged, or, as in this case, spalted and also using other found and rescued items. Whether it not it is right or wrong is purely down to individual taste and preference however and So I am afraid I will continue to put finials on my pots LOL. Sometimes I get it right sometimes I don't but without experimenting and trying something different we would all be making identical things in the same way which for me at least would be terribly boring. Don't stop expressing your feelings though Twig as it helps me to stand back and take a second look at something

Pete

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Hi Pete , just been catching up with the comments about your piece.
Just a thought, what about doing away with the existing finial and using the 3 chopsticks stuck in the top on an angle so that the tops of the sticks are no wider than the flat bit on top? Their length may have to be adjusted but I think that would look pretty good. I suppose the 1/3rds rule might come into play but that could be an advantage for working out the length needed.
     Perhaps you should take leaf out of Mark Sanger's book and stick a pepper on top   orrrr.............paint the chopsticks red. God my creative juices are flowing today
regards
John

[Bryan Milham]

Creative Juices?

I'll bounce a really strange idea off you all.

Add another couple of chopsticks, suddenly you have a music stave. hang a couple of notes(crotchet/quaver) and call it a musical box!