for critique

[pete honeyman]

Hi folks - I have a couple of things on which I would value some opinions - firstly a bowl made of burry wych elm - it's just over 12" across - as you see i couldn't bear to turn away all that figure, so came up with what you see - the central bowl section has a raised lip which is hard to see on the pics.

The others are these two small elm bowls lined with gold leaf - a horrible fiddly job. I just felt that small elm bowls are all very well, but wanted to lift them out of the ordinary - again, an idea worth pursuing or not?

Looking forward to your comments.

Pete II

 

[wizer]

I'm not sure about the first one. I do indeed see why you did it. The grain is beautiful. The rim is perhaps to wide. I think I might have tried to do something with the rim to give it a bit of interest.

Love the other 2. Must try this technique.

 

[Bodrighy]

I'm the opposite to Tom in opinion just to confuse things and prefer the first one. It ould have been interesting to turn the bowl sextion offcentre, perhaps something to think about if you do another one. The overall appeal for me is the simplicity so the figuring is the main attraction.

The other two really aren't my cup of tea so there's not criticism of the work. They look well made though not having used gold leaf (except the tobacco) I can't comment on how well you have done it.

All look good and well worked and finished.

Pete

 

[CHJ]

Lovely piece of wood and well finished in the first one but I too feel the rim is out of proportion with the bowl, somehow not quite in the display league and not very practical, but I'm limited on display aesthetics appreciation and go for the more mundane practical with my output.

The two smaller ones look well finished and in good proportion, personally I do wonder about the time, skill and effort expended on something that is designed as a container but having its main feature hidden or placed in an area subject to maximum abrasion.

All the above is in no way intended to devalue the work and effort you have put into the items, IMO all three are worthy of note on workmanship and finish terms.

 

[Blister]

Hi Pete

I like them all , Its what YOU see in the product that matters

I always bang on about knowing what you are going to make when you visit the workshop , and you wanted what we see ,

Nice to see something different , :wink:

 

[The Wood Doctor]

an idea worth pursuing or not?


Pete II

Pete,

Any idea and technique is worth pursing until you know the limitations and benefits if the technique. I have seen some wonderful examples incorporating gold and silver leaf so pursue away!

I rather liked all the pieces but was more drawn to the gold leaf ones.

Ben

 

[johnny.t.]

Hi Pete, I don't like the first bowl very much, the bowl part just looks to small to me, I think I'd pop it back on and extend it outward.

The other two are a good idea 8) , although I would say for me the one on the right looks better than the left one, the left hand one IMO has too much rim to it or not enough of the gold area, the line around the gold bowl part looks very effective. Definately an idea worth persuing
Any chance of seeing a closer pic of the gold leaf effect?

JT

 

[mikec]

Hi Pete,
My personal favourite is the smaller bowl for the same reason as JT has stated.

I can understand why you made the top piece as you did but IMHO it doesn't have the right balance, too much rim. Maybe an accent line just in from the outer edge would alter the balance. Either way they are well executed pieces, the elm has great character.

Regards,

Mike C

 

[Paul.J]

Lovely piece of Wych Elm Pete,and not too bad a bowl i think.
If you wanted to keep the lovely figuring perhaps a square type bowl/platter would have been better to keep and show the grain,as you made in your comp entry. :?:
Not so keen on the gold leaf pieces as there is not so much contrast between the two materials.

 

[duncanh]

Hi folks - I have a couple of things on which I would value some opinions - firstly a bowl made of burry wych elm - it's just over 12" across - as you see i couldn't bear to turn away all that figure, so came up with what you see - the central bowl section has a raised lip which is hard to see on the pics.

I really like the look of the first bowl (as I did when I saw it on Flickr this morning) but without seeing a profile shot or something showing the overall shape it's hard to say if it works or not.
It's certainly an unusual design , but a more traditional platter form would also have shown off the grain (although it would have been partly hidden when the platter was in use).

Similarly for the second 2 - it's hard to judge without seeing the shape.

 

[user 5053]

Beautiful pieces of wood, good tool skills and interesting concept. With reviewing your work it would help if you say whether you are doing it as a hobby, professional or aspiring pro etc. If it is a hobby then as long as you have enjoyed making the piece then that is all that matters but as a pro you often have to take a much more hard line and pragmatic approach looking at the time spent the cost of the wood and what will quickly sell etc.

 

[pete honeyman]

Many thanks for your responses - very interesting - I expected a chorus of disapproval of covering good elm with gold leaf ! The first one I'm pleased with even though I'm aware that the proportions don't really work in the traditional way. I guess that's why I posted it here. I'm not a pro by any means, but I do sell work in galleries and online, so I do want to produce stuff that people will buy (otherwise the house fills up with bowls).

Pete

 

[CHJ]

.....I do sell work in galleries and online, so I do want to produce stuff that people will buy ...Pete

The real criteria then as I see them are "What sells in your local gallery" and "What sells from your on-line presentation" they may be totally different concepts.

Once a 'flow' of sales materialize I would have thought that an injection of the odd left field item or a personal design concept would be in order to see if there is a new market.

I guess a lot also depends on whether you want bread and butter sales or maximum kudos low volume.

 

[Bodrighy]

This sort of thing sells if you are a name or if you are selling via Etsy e.g. american and australiab market. I find that the breqad and butter stuf is the more practical things. Americans love the 'arty'things but be careful that you don't underprice as they have a high standard over there with some incredible outlets like Del Manio. Brits are still struggling to think of woodturning or any wood based craft as an art form (looooong debate) though it's slowly coming around. Just keep turning things that you like and see what people are buying.

pete

 

[pete honeyman]

After your comments I had another look at the large elm bowl - the proportions are all wrong, but I decided I still liked the shape, so thought I'd try this

While I was at it, I made another incorporating a bit of famous Scots iconography -no, not a deep fried Mars bar, tasty though they are - the Tunnock's teacake.

Tunnocks website is great BTW, http://www.tunnock.co.uk/index1.htm

The gold leaf or foil is glued down with diluted PVA, then burnished when dry and sprayed with clear car lacquer. The lacquer actually gives quite a nice finish on the wood too.

Pete II