Always look on the bright side.....

[Doug Barratt]

............... and I thought you were such a polite bunch of artists
                        Haggy

The sad thing is the way threads like this reflect on the AWGB as the owners of this forum when read as it is by so many of it's wider audience, even though the opinions aren't that of the AWGB.

[GBF]

How do you know what is the opinion of the AWGB.?

It because so called turners are selling junk like this that the buying public have little respect for woodtuniong in this country.
While there are so called turners trying to pass of this standard of work as representative of woodturning in this country it will never have the respect of other crafts like  Glass ,Pottery or Ceramics

Regards George

[Doug Barratt]

How do you know what is the opinion of the AWGB.?

I didn't say I did!

[Doug Barratt]

It because so called turners are selling junk like this that the buying public have little respect for woodtuniong in this country.
While there are so called turners trying to pass of this standard of work as representative of woodturning in this country it will never have the respect of other crafts like  Glass ,Pottery or Ceramics

Have you never seen poorly made & designed glass or ceramic ware? There's plenty about.

[GBF]

Does that make it OK then I don't think so.   Regards George

[Les Symonds]

I can see Doug's pint, but consider this.....if the person who had made the bowl that I started the discussion with, had put it into the gallery of this forum and asked for constructive criticism, then I would have been more than happy to give it and I would have kept it positive. However, this person is masquerading as a craftsman, making all manner of claims for his/her work. He/she even calls it a 'bespoke' piece, which it obviously isn't, as it's offered for sale in  an open auction. the description is littered with superlatives aimed at making prospective buyers believe that this is a work of art. the maker is a charlatan and is worthy of far worse criticism than I aimed at him/her.


Les

[Doug Barratt]

Does that make it OK then I don't think so.   Regards George

No it does not, what it shows is the assertion that poor quality items of a craft form are not detrimental to that of high quality items of the same craft,If glass & ceramic can flourish so can wood.

There are plenty of examples of poorly designed & made wooden furniture, this doesn't stop top end furniture selling for any less, if anything it makes such quality furniture more desirable & so more expensive.

It's up to us as turners to make the best possible wares & in doing so raise the profile of woodturning whilst making poor quality work look even poorer. The general public on the whole aren't stupid & know quality when they see it.

[Graham]

I agree with that entirely Doug.

[Doug Barratt]

I can see Doug's pint, but consider this.....if the person who had made the bowl that I started the discussion with, had put it into the gallery of this forum and asked for constructive criticism, then I would have been more than happy to give it and I would have kept it positive. However, this person is masquerading as a craftsman, making all manner of claims for his/her work. He/she even calls it a 'bespoke' piece, which it obviously isn't, as it's offered for sale in  an open auction. the description is littered with superlatives aimed at making prospective buyers believe that this is a work of art. the maker is a charlatan and is worthy of far worse criticism than I aimed at him/her.


Les

Les, he is merely selling his bowl on an auction site,quite obviously he is going to use words to try & make his piece sound good, it's just advertising, do you ever believe adverts?
I've just looked & he still has no bids which tells me his word play isn't working, his Shabbychic- vintage username did make me smile though.

[Graham]

Worth noting also that he has a 100% positive feedback on over 2000 sales, though they may not be turning related 

[Les Symonds]

The general public on the whole aren't stupid & know quality when they see it.

I'm not so sure, Doug. I think I'd accept that the discerning public know quality when they see it, but I think that it is a sad reflection on society, nowadays, that poor quality, cheap goods sell well. You've only got to look at retail businesses like Poundland - they have just opened scores of new shops and employed hundreds on hew staff, and are heralded as one of the great successes of the retail world. I think that there is a massive section of society who might know quality, but who are prepared to believe that the throw-away goods that they buy are the quality that they want.

Les

[Doug Barratt]

. I think that there is a massive section of society who might know quality, but who are prepared to believe that the throw-away goods that they buy are the quality that they want.

Agreed & sometimes they are, I buy quite a bit of gear from my local pound land & other discount stores for use on the allotment, I know full well it's cheap poor quality, but I weigh that up with the facts that when the local scrotes come calling they aren't going to bother with my gear & even if they do it's all cheap to replace.

As with most things it's horses for courses, if someone buys an ornament they know they will discard in 12 months time chances are they will buy cheap, others will pay good money for a beautiful pice of art, either way there is a market for both.......which you decide to turn for is up to you.

As for Mr Shabbychic it would appear from his other items he is a bit of a Del Boy selling anything & everything, I wonder what the chances are that he actually turned the bowl he waxed so lyrical about.

[Paul Hannaby]

Don't you people have anything better to do than pulling apart the work of someone who hasn't requested your critique and has no opportunity to respond? Ask yourself how you would feel if one of the first few things you ever made was subjected to this sort of treatment.

One of the aims of the AWGB is to promote woodturning. I'm pretty sure none of the aims include ridiculing other people's efforts.

I'm assuming the copyright owner was asked for permission to use the photos before they were posted on here?

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

"I buy quite a bit of gear from my local pound land & other discount stores"
Sorry Doug, if it doesn't come in a Harrods bag or from Fortnum and Mason I don't buy it!!

[Haggy]

We have similar discussions when we mark children's work at school and sometimes you have to laugh to keep your sanity! 
On the flip side  the kids really believe their work to be good and so do their parents, even though to the educated eye there is a lot of room for improvement.
  I think there has been a lot of time and effort put into this piece for sale and as a result can understand why the seller is asking for £20-00. 
What the seller doesn't realise is that he/she still has a very long way to go to match the standards of you people and would probably feel like giving up altogether if they saw some of the work that was exhibited at the Loughborough seminar or this gallery.  I don't think it brings woodturning into disrepute, it just makes your work look awesome -the public are discerning.
                      Haggy