Finally a finial! Critique encouraged!

[Tamara Brown]

Ok, I finally turned my first finial, first hollow form and first collar! Brian made me do this one all be myself! :eek: The HF is made from Russian Olive with a Wenge collar and yellowheart finial. It is 7" tall and 3 1/4" around. The yellow eyeball is part of the sapwood. I am generally pleased with the shape and the transitions between the elements, I think I needed a curvier line at the base of the finial however.

I am using the finial as the lid. Please let me know what you like or don't like, I can take it! ;)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Tamara,

Very nice work! I like the shape of the hollow form and the basic design elements in your finial! Nice finish and outstanding photography!

About the only thing I would like you to consider on the next one is the fit of the collar - more specifically - the continuation of the HF curve through the collar. This is just my opinion - and worth just what you paid for it.

111208

I think you did a great job on everything! Looking forward to seeing more hollow forms from you real soon!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Tamara I think you did a very fine job (all by yourself ;-)) ), and what a pain Wengé can be :-(, The only thing I would change is the collar to the HF, echoing what Steve is referring to, other than that, very fine piece, thumbs up :D

[charlie knighton]

very nice, it is nice to be able to use the finial or not

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Tamara, a very nice job! To be very picky, I might point out the straightness of the lower portion of your HF. A continous curve might be a little more pleasing. picky, picky, picky I have this same trouble with many of my vessels. To achieve that continous curve requires not being in a big hurry to shape the base; keep the lower third diameter large until the end of the shaping.

[Toney Robertson]

That looks VERY nice.

You did a good job.

Toney

[alex carey]

Looks good, I woulddn't change the shape at all. I would just change the diameter. It feels to bulky to me.

[Bill Bolen]

You should be tickled with this piece. Has a bunch going for it! Great crisp lines on the finial too...Bill...

[Burt Alcantara]

Tamara,
If you look at the grain you'll see how it curves to the bottom. If you followed that line just a wee bit you'd have it nailed. I also think the finial could be more slender. It should be subordinate to the form.

Great job!
Burt

[Bernie Weishapl]

Tamara you did a great job on your finial. They will get easier now that the first is done.

[Jarrod McGehee]

Tamara, great job on the whole thing. I'll be there one day too. I'm still working on my basic turning troubles. I'll get there with you sooner or later. but very nice job

[Richard Madison]

Just one more teeny nit to pick - At the very bottom suggest a radius from the side to the bottom rather than the fairly sharp edge. And despite the various nits, a very nice piece, especially for your first!

[Jack Giovo]

Your turning is super - I like it also.:D

Jack

[Dewey Torres]

Ok that's it I quit!:mad::mad:

JK... this is really that good!:D

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tamara,

As you know by now.....save this one and see where you are a year from now.....

I think it is a really nice first or 5th finial! I agree with your statement that to my eye..a little more of a rounded curve at the base of the finial would be more pleasing...

But since you and Brian are both professional photographers and artists you understand the concept that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"!

I like what I see! You did well Tamara!

[Dean Thomas]

Hey Tamara, NICE JOB!!!

Asking for comments & critique from a large crowd can be daunting. They're opinions, for sure, and reflect the individual tastes and senses of perspective and balance of scores of folks. Pick the names and tastes that you respect and work with their comments and politely thank the others.

I like the shapes. ALL of them, actually. I agree that the finial might want a bit more curve so it flows out of the cap better, but I can't make up my mind if it's because of the actual curve or because of the stark contrast of the wenge & yellowheart. I would have liked the finial to be scaled down a bit. I feel as though it might be a tad large in comparison to the rest of the vessel and thus kind of dominating the over-all picture.

Again, I really like the shapes. They are easy on my eye, there is an earthy, naturalness to them that does not jar my eye. The only jarring is the transition from wenge to yellowheart, and that might just be me. :)

Keep up the great work.

[Brian Effinger]

I really like this, Tamara. I also like the separated collar - just because it is different. It could be your "signature" item on your turned work.
Keep up the good work. :)

[Nathan Hawkes]

Ok, I finally turned my first finial, first hollow form and first collar! Brian made me do this one all be myself! :eek: The HF is made from Russian Olive with a Wenge collar and yellowheart finial. It is 7" tall and 3 1/4" around. The yellow eyeball is part of the sapwood. I am generally pleased with the shape and the transitions between the elements, I think I needed a curvier line at the base of the finial however.

I am using the finial as the lid. Please let me know what you like or don't like, I can take it! ;)


Great job, Tamara! Especially for your first try on everything!!! Like you and some others have mentioned, the line at the base of the finial could flow a bit more continuously, but man, how hard it is to try to mentally piece those all together when you're turning a finial to go onto a piece that's already finished!! The only HF I've completed with a finial I won't post here!!! ;) I did however mount the collar to it and turn it on the piece to get the lines right, then turned the finial almost completely straight up from the lid. It doesn't flow as well as yours. Keep up the good work, and I'd love to see your next pieces too! Keep up the good turning.

[Steff Pace]

I like all of it! I haven't even turned a finial yet, but I admire Cindy Drozda's stuff. I don't know how she gets them so thin and delicate. I like yours, I would be afraid to pick it up if it were any thinner, and I really like the bull's eye on the hf, way cool. Keep up the good work!

[Jeff Nicol]

Tamara, The critiques are all great, but your little HF and finial are just great to me. The pictures are wonderful and the contrasts between the wood is the whole point. Each of us has something that we like better than some one else. It does not mean that either one is better or the right way. If you look at all the great turners in the world and ones that have passed to that great woodturning shop in the sky, you will see elements in some of their works just like yours. So keep doing what you are doing and you will get to a point where the only thing there is to critique is that we did not turn it!

Happy turning,

Jeff

[George Clark]

Tamara,

Really excellent work, in my opinion! What a great start. While many of the critiques may be valid, I think their implementation would make your piece different, but not necessarily better. I like it just as you finished it. Great photography, also.

George

[Tamara Brown]

Wow, thanks for all the wonderful suggestions and compliments. I really do learn alot from the different opinions given and appreciate each one. What a neat way to learn!

Thanks for the compliments on the photography as well...I gave my husband so much grief on my last post, he made me shoot this one myself! For those of you who don't know, we are both photographers. We like to tell people that I shoot people and he shoots things...I guess I have learned a thing or two from him concerning that as well.