More Binh than Bert!

[Les Symonds]

Somebody remarked, of my reclaimed oak bowl, that it showed an influence of Bert Marsh, which was a bit of a surprise because I've been working on eastern influences recently. So, to shift the balance more towards Binh Pho than Bert Marsh, here's a more typical eastern shape.
This was made from one of the last pieces of that big batch of spalted holly that I acquired a year or so ago, and was the only piece that I turned really dry. It was horrid. Not a single shaving, just dust, dust and more dust. the final insult came when I'd got the bottom to exactly the depth that I wanted, only to find a worm track just exposed, with a live worm still in it......I cut the bottom 2mm deeper and the worm was no longer to be seen.









It's 7" high x 4.5" diameter (17.5cm x 11.5cm) and finished with a single coat of Danish oil, dried and buffed. I like the raw look of a low finish, which I believe suits a piece like this, so I give such pieces a heavy brush coat of oil, leave it for about 25minutes, then wipe it with a rag liberally wetted with white spirit.

C&C always welcome....Les

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Hi Les, very well done, are you sure it is Holly?

[bodrighywood]

Lovely piece IMHO though you may get some coming back about the worm tracks. personally |I don't mind them, all part of the natural process of wood but do make sure that they are all dead now. For it to be truly Binh as you put it you now need to pierce it and paint it LOL. I agree that the other one was more oriental than Bert marsh though, the foot was perhaps more in his style but overall definitely oriental

Pete

[Les Symonds]

Hi Les, very well done, are you sure it is Holly?

Yep, it's holy holly, in fact. I bought several BIG chunks of it and the farmer cut them off the trunk for me. The tree had been felled and lying around for several years, so the spalting was very advanced.

Lovely piece IMHO though you may get some coming back about the worm tracks. personally |I don't mind them, all part of the natural process of wood but do make sure that they are all dead now. For it to be truly Binh as you put it you now need to pierce it and paint it LOL. I agree that the other one was more oriental than Bert marsh though, the foot was perhaps more in his style but overall definitely oriental

Pete

It'll be no trouble, Pete, I gave it a couple of pings in my old micro-wave oven and squirted a drop of Rentokil in as well.

By the way, Pete....I also used your tip for wrapping it in cling-film whilst hollowing. I must admit that I felt a fair bit safer doing your way. Thanks.

Les

[TWiG]

Well it looks rather similar to the last one , but a bit taller , and who knows if Bert Marsh did not get influence from "oriental " styles but never thought to proclaim that !  It must of been awkward sanding the inside of that !  Nice piece though .... I have about 250 kilos of Ginkgo to work with soon and think It would be appropriate to do something oriental with that .... when I get around to it ...  ( re Bert Marsh ... look on the rear cover of his book , if you have it , the similarity to the reclaimed oak bowl is remarkable .. in profile anyway ...)    Terry

[edbanger]

Very Nice Les I really like this type of form.

When I do this type of work (breaking out wood) I use a bit of cling film then wrap gaffer tape over that so it's not going anywhere

Ed

[woodndesign]

 Delightful sound woodworm popping in a microwave ..  Sorts the chaps .. until you see flight holes it's never known with any timber, I'd a visit from a large piece of (as thought) clean Elm once turned .. Rentokil works well.

Ah .. too whom to credit .. along list of possibility .. I'd simply say one nicely turned piece, real credit a skillful eye and steady hand. The dimensions by design for the void, good indicator of wall thickness too. 

Well done.  Cheers  Dewi

[Mark Sanger]

Hi Les

I love this sort of work, just letting the wood tell its story very much in line with the Japanese Philosophy of Wabi Sabi which has been mentioned many times on the forum before and of which many makers included in their work.

Wabi-Sabi

Many of the forms we use today as you know are derived from antiquity, the bowl with the foot you produced and showed in the other thread is reminiscent of Japanese tea bowls from the Edo period circa 1700's, a the link below shows many variations and ideas you may which may be of use to you.

Edo period

The Jomon Period which dates back to 10,000 BC is another rich resource of forms that are often produced in turning today. That is not to say that 'nothing is new or it has all been done before'  but that is a different subject.

So it is more Edo than Jomon  keep up the good work. 

[Les Symonds]

The Jomon Period which dates back to 10,000 BC is another rich resource of forms that are often produced in turning today.

Thanks Mark....now that's interesting. my research had not yet been that extensive - I'm only just beginning to scratch the surface of oriental influences, but one thing that I have noticed, from your link to the Jomon period, was the similarity in form of some Jomon pots to those of the Bronze Age 'Beaker People' who settled here, having originated in eastern Europe, and possibly further east than that. The pot-bellied form with the out-turned rim seems to be common to both cultures.
I had been thinking of making a few pots in the Beaker style as I've had an interest in them ever since a Beaker burial was unearthed near my wife's home in Llanhari, south Wales.

The first two pots are  Bronze Age, this one is from Germany and probably dates to about 2800BC to 1800BC ........


.....whereas this one is from the UK, and is a little later


....whereas these two are Japanese, from the Jomon period, predating the movement of the Beaker people out of eastern Europe





Bags of scope for more turning, and the bveaker pots lend themselves to a bit of chip-carving decorataion.
Les

[bodrighywood]

Careful Les, Once Mark starts talking to you like that you get hooked LOL. Check out some of the early Chinese pottery, it is surprisingly primitive, People just think Ming but there are loads of different styles, some good books as well.

Pete

[Bryan Milham]

Les,

I remember the photo's of that lump of spalted Holly and thought how jealous it would make us all. Wood with life, that's been lived in, seen something of it's world, worm included (pun intended).

To the right person this will be everthing, I hope that person is not long in coming.

[Graham]

You have to ask where the ancients got there ideas from. The English Beaker vase shown above reminds me strongly of a wild bees nest.