Small Bowl

This was certainly a tricky one, this months UK workshops monthly challenge was

"Smaller than a Matchbox"

What to turn was the first challenge, the subject is so broad!  I decided to go with something simple, at least as far as form was concerned, a natural edged bowl in Pearwood.

More Timber ID

Just a couple of pictures for wood ID, this time it's London Plane, this sample is from a tree brought down in the 1980's hurricane.

My policy has matured!

Actually, my Beech has spalted, but it's similar. Some logs I set aside have eventually spalted, quite nice patterns, but I could have wished for better, still, maybe some of the others will produce better variation, meanwhile this Hollow Form is reasonably pleasing, I made it with a wall thickness of about 8mm, this gives it a pleasing weight in the hand, the finish is shellac. The form stands about 210mm tall.

Of further interest, this is the log from which the little offcut I made the video with came from, it needs a final finishing on the flat surface, I will pop the pic up in a few days, so then they will be a sort of father and son pic!

Commission

A recent thread on the UK workshop forum led to a nice small commission to produce a cricket trophy based on the actual ashes trophy, complete with an inscription, this is the end result which I am happy to say has been received with delight by the customer!

The original has a square section pair of handles which would have been very difficult to incorporate into this small (6" in height) urn. Mo was a great Uncle of the customer.

A small debate.

An online discussion about wood ID has prompted me to upload some images to make the case for the wood in question to be clearly NOT Laburnum, and quite likely to be Yew.

The discussion can be found Here

Grass Trees

A friend gave me several pieces of exotic timber last summer (thanks again Ian!), among them were two lumps of Grass Tree root, odd looking things, and even stranger to turn, no shavings, dust from the off, or rather very very short fibres, but dust like enough to absolutely demand a breathing filter, I usually do anyway, but here it was vital.

All went well until the final stages of hollowing when I got a small catch and the thing flew into 5 separate pieces, I was not happy.  But once I recovered the bits I found that they knitted together prety well, so, much CA later, it was back in one piece, I finished hollowing it out and tidied up the outside to blend the small ridges where the joins were, and finished it with shellac.

It is about 7 inches wide and 4 inches or so tall.

What's it for?

The ubiquitous question whenever something decorative but practically useless is on display at a craft table, it's not an unreasonable question, but does betray  a slight lack of imagination.  The best response I have heard of late though is  Pete Moncrieff-Jury's "To enhance your living space".  Perfect!

With that in mind I wonder who would consider their living space enhanced by this next oddity?

This is a hollow sphere (I use the term somewhat loosely!) balanced upon a tall pedestal which has a metal leaf finish in the small support bowl. Both items are in Sycamore, the stand is ebonized with black lacquer.
The sphere is also lacquered.

A new experience

Woodturners Unlimited is a forum which has as among it's members, some exceptional craftsmen and women, I am frequently in awe of the quality and thoughtful designs that appear in the posts each day. One of the features of the site is a critique section, you can submit your work to be critiqued by a team of 3 experienced turners who will independently assess your work and offer advice on improvements as well as comment on how they feel about the piece in general. I am not shy of offering such comments on the work of newer turners as they often request it in their hunt for information, knowledge and technique, but like many things, you never stop learning and so I sent in my blue vase for the team to check over.  I was a bit concerned as colour work is not everyones cup of tea and I did wonder if this would be a problem. My concerns however were ill founded as all three found positive things to say as well as offering several very useful tips for future pieces, not least in the photography dept!

My thanks to Terry Scott, Keith Burns and Richard Kennedy for taking the time to look the vase over and offer their thoughts and tips, much appreciated! :)

you can read the critiques here.

Back up and running!

December 23rd mt PC got fritzed in a thunderstorm, most frustrating! Now however I have a new beast that is a joy to use so at least that is a positive result. Consequently I am able to process and post up some recent projects.

This one is a direct take on the designs of David Decristoforo from the USA, I am very impressed with his designs, fluid, graceful and very innovative. My spin of course is the addition of colour, in this instance everything except the interior of the "goblet" is coloured is some fashion, stain for the red, ebonizing lacquer for the stem and schlagg metal for the outer part of the cup. Made from a single piece of Sycamore, the top is natural edged, the whole thing is finished with satin lacquer buffed to a gloss finish.

Eau Natural

Coloured yes, by dyes? No, this is Purpleheart, a coloured timber from the Americas often used in construction. The finial lid is Ebony. The finish is spray lacquer for the finial and Shellac for the form.

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More colour

Just a small vase in Sycamore, but it coloured up nicely. Shots give a view around the piece with the final one an oblique view.

Another step.

I was very pleased yesterday to be approached via email by Jayne Edwards who is developing and running the new "Made in Pembrokeshire" website, specifically aimed at supporting and promoting Pembrokeshire Artists and Artisans with work by Aeron John (Photography), Alice Cahill (Fashion Wear), Graham Brace (Fine Art), Jacqs Scourfield (Quirky Jewelery), Rachel Mullet (Pembs themed gift items) and Sian Odoherty (Fine craft cushions).

Eventually I will be making items specifically for this outlet, and the first MIP item which is only available through the online store  http://www.made-in-pembrokeshire.co.uk/  is this very nice, Delicate Fruit Bowl  in Ash. (below)

Obviously I hope that MIP has much success in marketing our varied productions and I am delighted to have been invited. Do go and have a browse through the various treasures, (I am not a presence just yet, but soon will be!)

Fishguard Festival

We arrived at Fishguard reasonably early, about 8:45, it was already raining steadily, so it was a bit of a rush to get all the stuff from the car to the table. The tables were set up inside two adjoining marquees which proved a little impractical as the inner sections of the roof funneled water right into the covered area, apparently the company had omitted to place the guttering!

Once we had set everything up a few visitors began to drift around the 8 or 9 tables and peruse the various items, but the conditions were far from ideal and a warm hall just yards away with the rest of the festival beckoned temptingly and folks did not hang around for long.

Still we managed to stick it out for a couple of hours, at which point, "H" the photographer next to us announced his stuff was now getting wet too, and was abandoning the event before he lost any more to the now sodden interior of the marquee, we were a little more fortunate in that the incessant drips were at least not hitting any of the display, though my cardboard boxes I used to carry stuff were beginning to look like they would be hard pressed to contain a polystyrene ball without falling apart they were so wet on the bottoms.

All credit though to Michael, the event organizer, as he quickly made alternative arrangements for the exhibitors under the now useless marquee, to have access to a separate room inside the building, warm and dry!  In a flurry of activity kindly assisted by staff members and other stall holders, we all managed to move our stuff and tables to the room and eventually got re-established and set up ready for the rush.

Unfortunately, the rush failed to materialize and although we had a steady flow of people they were very much in dribs and drabs with a good 75% passing right by without a second glance, so as such the footfall was pretty light and sales were matched. Nevertheless, this was the first time that Fishguard had tried including crafts at this event, it primarily being a food oriented affair, so no doubt many visitors arrived, not expecting to see the crafts.

We did get some very nice people visit our table though and most were nicely impressed with the selection and quality of the items, many took business cards which could possibly lead to sales a little later.

I would definitely attend the event again though, it's very rare for a first time thing like this to run smooth and successful, and I am sure a few lessons were learned by all that will go some way to making next years festival have a greater potential for success. I would like to thank the "Spirit of Enterprise" team and Michael the organizer for the opportunity to attend and display our creations. Thanks folks!

Jen manning the table in the tent.

Shot taken by "H" Cheers!