Latest piece

[Mark Sanger]

Hi all

I have not posted in some time.

Here is a piece I recently made.

140 mm square including plinth, pierced sycamore with a glass marble on a sprayed sycamore base.

[Terry Miller]

A stunning piece of work Mark.
Thanks for showing it!!!

Regards

Terry

[Jim]

I love it, very nice .... 

[Mark Sanger]

Hi all

Thank you for your comments they are much appreciated.

[woodndesign]

Mark,  You are one of the best turners of us all out there with your thoughts and ideas, few doubt you push the envelope and think outside the box or bowl.

But this may as well be a bit of metal and slab of slate .. the marble is good for what you look to have done with it,

You may well have a market for it, after all it's sycamore underneath, but what is in it as a woodturned piece.

Cheers     David

[Bryan Milham]

Mark,

I can appreciate the concept and the boundaries you are pushing against, I can see the simplistic elegance you look for, but I'm with David.

There is so much paint over the work, there is nothing to say 'Wood' it could be metal, it could be plastic - it's devoid of the visible essence of our art.

If this is a concept piece, the start of a sequence, maybe you could sandblast or otherwise pop the grain before applying paint, so that it's still a visible feature under the paint.

[thebowlerhattedturner]

Hello Mark,
              another stunning piece.
Regards
John BHT

[woodndesign]

David and Bryan.

Why because it is made of wood must it look like wood I don't understand that logic at all.
I just accept it for what it is a beautiful piece of art.
Regards George

George,

Mark would no doubt say "it rests in what you see" As a beautiful piece of art it looks far from ever being on a lathe, OK 10%, it is solely an Artist Form as is any other and would sell as such.

Why in the making has it to resemble totally metal and slate base, so many times one Turner or another has made work to look as if it's Glass, porcelain or the likes to make an Artist Form, very well too, what is it that is said as to copy.

The point is how will Wood Art ever stand alone as an Artist Form if it is wrapped up as something else, your trying to compete with something completely different in form, if we can never establish and sell Artist Wood Art competitively for what it is 'Wood' it may not be recognised as a genuine valued Art Form, and yes some Wood Pieces change hands for Big Bucks mainly by Name only.

Cheers   David

[thebowlerhattedturner]

I think the fact that it is made in wood makes the whole piece even more amazing, it would be (comparatively)easy to cast the silver part in pewter and pierce and polish it. It would have been fairly straight forward to cut a piece of slate and polish it for the base but in my opinion the thing that separates the turners from the artists is the concept and the thinking behind it. Now that Mark or anyone else has shown us this piece I know there are people that are saying "I could do that" which we could, but, the difference is although you can make it you didn't think of it in the first place. To have the idea of an item and transform that idea through your chosen medium, in this case wood,is to my mind incredible. I would love to do artistic work but unfortunately my brain is wired so that I do not come up with the ideas in the first place although I am pleased to report that I no longer do round and brown, it is now round and brown and pierced and coloured.
Regards
John BHT

[Martin Lawrence]

How many piecs of fine ceramic or pottery that are accepted as art leave any of its china/clay showing... Correct noine.

If we as woodturners dont accept this type of work then we will never be recognised as Artists - most people seem to forget the Lathe is just another tool available to someone who has chosen wood as their medium, most of the pieces nowadays that leave people in awe spend more time worked on off the lathe than on it.

It may not be your choice to completely hide the wood but dont shoot in the foot those that are trying to push the boundries and get us recognised in the world of art.

Cheers Martin

[ru55ell1]

When I can make a curved square platter as good as this with or without piercing or spraying I will comment further :-)

[woodndesign]

How many piecs of fine ceramic or pottery that are accepted as art leave any of its china/clay showing... Correct noine.

If we as woodturners dont accept this type of work then we will never be recognised as Artists - most people seem to forget the Lathe is just another tool available to someone who has chosen wood as their medium, most of the pieces nowadays that leave people in awe spend more time worked on off the lathe than on it.

It may not be your choice to completely hide the wood but dont shoot in the foot those that are trying to push the boundries and get us recognised in the world of art.

Cheers Martin

Martin,

In what way have I shoot Mark in the foot, I've made a constructive comment of the form, which will or will not be taken on board by Mark himself and not of him as person.

With the view to china/clay, if you walk into a china shop you expect china, would you take that form that was not, but wooden masquerading as china, don't think people will.

As said as a form there is no doubt a market for such or Mark wouldn't be going that way and I embrace where he is taking turning, I'm not wholly round & brown, but this doesn't stand as a turned form, am I not right in making my comment or should I go along with the norm. and that it's lovely, super, great, like it etc and not make as would be hoped a constructive view.

Maybe there should be a set rule as to what should or shouldn't be said, more would have an understanding of how to comment and would comment honestly and no one should be upset.

Cheers    David

[Bryan Milham]

Maybe there should be a set rule as to what should or shouldn't be said, more would have an understanding of how to comment and would comment honestly and no one should be upset.

I agree and I work on the premise that there is a 'Be Nice' policy.

To that end I would never be rude about a piece posted. But we do post for comment and critique.

I cannot make an inane 'Oh, that's nice' when I don't think it is, but I will make a constructive comment on how I think it could be improved or what 'I' would have done different. Please note 'I' is the personal pronoun and is specific to me - everyone else is at liberty to think differently.

I did not get upset when my experiment with a Red Vase was not liked by the viewers. (Though I will say it looked better in the flesh and sold very fast.) I think it was David who posted a couple of vases fully painted which I also made a similar 'can't see any wood' comment about, he accepted that.

I can see where Mark is going, I can appreciate the effort and techniques he's employed and I do see it as a piece of art. However it's the first piece he's posted that I would not want to own, as it's not a style 'I' like.

Lastly, (and I won't get this quite right) someone did once post that the point of Art was to cause discussion and thought, well it's done that all right.

[Bryan Milham]

George,

Hear, Hear.

[thebowlerhattedturner]

The thing I like about this Forum is that you can offer and receive comments and critique without the nastiness creaping in as happens on other Forums.
I appreciate that completly covering wood is not to everybodys taste which is good ,if we all liked the same thing what a boring world it would be.
If we could all start liking round and brown please just to give my brain a rest
John BHT