Black Maple HF with Frosted Finial

[Steve Schlumpf]

Sometimes I luck out and the final product matches what I initially envision. This is one of those pieces!

We have a juried Art Show coming up this November, held in Escanaba, MI., that is open to all Upper Peninsula artists. I have been toying with the idea of entering but wanted something a little different than my normal Southwestern style of hollow form. This is what I came up with.

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Maple hollow form, sanded to 400 grit, ebonized using black RIT dye mixed with DNA. The finial is clear acrylic and sanding was stopped at 280 grit so that it has that frosted look and not clear. The piece is 6 ¾” in diameter x 7” high to the top of the finial x 3/16” thick. Finish consists of about 10 light coats of Minwax Gloss Wipe-On Poly. I will let it dry for a week or so and then buff out just the HF portion.

If this piece meets with everyone’s approval – it will need to be named before entering it into the jury selection. Appreciate any ‘Artful’ name suggestions as I always draw a blank!

As always, your comments, critiques and opinions are welcomed!

Thanks for looking!

[Wally Wenzel]

Fantastic!!!!!!!!!
Wally

[Skip Spaulding]

Very , very nice, great contrast, guess you have an eye for art. Good luck at the show.

[Jerome Hanby]

It looks a little like a Hershey's kiss, maybe some name that plays off of that...

[Roland Falk]

Beautiful Steve, like the mix of materials- what a great idea!

[Keith Burns]

Excellent piece Steve. I especially like the frosted finial as it goes great with the black form. Not much on names but this one is definately a winner !

[Dick Mahany]

WOW ! That is a beautiful piece. I really like the contrast of the materials. Great idea and thanks for sharing. Hmmm, now where did I put that little piece of acrylic that was laying around.......

[Scott Hackler]

Steve, that is a great looking piece. The contrast really makes it work.

As far as naming... When I look at it I thought "Frosted Coal".

[Michael Short]

WOW Steve. You always do great work but this piece is absolutely stunning. Great match of contrast.

[Pete Jordan]

This might be my favorite, Buddy!

Wow!!!!

[Mark Hubl]

Very, very nice piece. Love the contrast and the mixed media's. This is an excellent piece. Good luck!

[Ted Calver]

Steve,
That's a knock-out!!! The ghostly frosted finial looks like 'Smoke Rising' to me.

[Steve Mawson]

Black Ice is all I come up with. Can't make up my mind how well I like it. Hollow form yes, not sure on the finial.

[ROY DICK]

Steve,
After I picked myself off the floor and got my wife to see such a stunning work of art. Neither one of us could or would not even try to give a name to this beautiful work.
My first thought was to "SHOW ME THE MONEY".
You set a very high bar.
Don't forget to let us know how you did. Big bucks I bet.
Thanks for showing this piece and for all you do for us at the Creek.

Roy

[Rob Cunningham]

Steve,
That's an amazing looking piece. The frosted finial and the ebonized maple are great together. The form and finish are beautiful. Can't wait to see it buffed out. Naming things is not one of my strong points. Good luck at the show.

[Bill Neff]

That is one the prettiest pieces I've ever seen. When you asked about a name my first idea was "Black Ice". Then as I scroll down reading the responses I saw Steve Mawson came up with the same name.

Bill

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful piece Steve. Really like the form and the finial is awesome. Well done.

[Ken Glass]

Steve,
"Buff it!" I sure don't know how the finish could get any better. Wow, that is a great piece. Form and proportion are great and that finish is excitingly cool. keeping the finial frosted really sets off the smooth finish of the HF. You should absolutely enter it in the show. I like Steve Mawson's name for it so far. Well done my friend.

[alex carey]

yeah that pretty much looks perfect, nice job.

[James Roberts]

That is AWESOME! Great use of materials and elegant form, the finial really sets it off.

Maybe "Ebony Ice" or "Black Frost"??

Again, great job!

[Richard Madison]

As our friends in Oz say, thatsabeautymate! Gonna look great when you get that dull finish polished up a bit. Given a choice, would like to see the finial neck down a bit more just below the "bulb", but a definite winner just as is. In a sense it is dyed rather than "ebonized", and looks great.

[Mark Hix]

Beautiful! Name it after your wife?

[Cliff McNeill]

That is Super Nice!!!!!! One step closer to convincing myself that I NEED a lathe!!

[Steve Frederick]

Whoa! That's really amazing! I love the black/white feel!

[Tony Joyce]

Frosted Ebony

[Mike Peace]

Midnight Ice

[George Morris]

Steve that is fantastic! great piece! From and finish is right on,great work!G

[Ryan Baker]

Wow Steve! Magnifiscent! You have just moved the bar again. I'm definitely going to add that to the list of things to try. Good luck with the contest.

[Mark Burge]

Great looking HF and finial Steve. Sure is a winner in my book. Giving it a Spanish name might be a nice homage to your usual style of HF. "Frio Negro" maybe or "Blanco Negro" or "obscuridad Blanca" You could go to Bable Fish (http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt) and play around for a name.

[Chris Rae]

That is an incredibly gorgeous piece Steve!!! Wow, you've created something wonderful and beautiful! Thanks so much for showing us.

[Walt Caza]

Wow Steve,
You really flexed some turning muscle on this one!
For me, the sloped top of the finial elevates the piece.
Touch of genius, without it... pales.
Real finesse vision and execution.

Um...not sure the vibe you are goin' for...
I could toss silly names all night. Here's a quick dozen...

Moonbeam
The ghost and the darkness
good (triumphs) over evil
The dark side...
nightcap
mystique
light & shadow
emergence
out of the darkness
nightslayer 7
over the abyss

and my fav at the moment:
Hope
(= translucence rising from the darkness)

Great work!
good luck with it,
Walt

ps Black diamond came to mind, then I realized it was cheese...
ha

[Harvey Ghesser]

Pure talent, Steve! That's what you are! Lucky man....

[Barry Elder]

The Art of Contrast! Excellent!!

[Toney Robertson]

very nice.

I like the mixed materials. Very creative.

Toney

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone - it means a lot!

Also appreciate all the suggestions for names! Will have to think about these for a while!

[Dolan Brown]

Wow that is stunning.

[Curt Fuller]

Wow Steve, that's really beautiful! I can't think of any names that would be better than those already suggested. But what came to my mind was what it would look like with one of those battery powered tealights sitting inside illuminating the finial.

Being for a UP competition, how about something related to Aurora Borealis?

[Maria Alvarado]

Steve, that is really fantastic. I think you're a shoo-in for a prize. I like the various dark/ice names but particularly in the first photo it makes me think of a high-speed photo of a water droplet (if you're saying "huh???" right now, google water droplet and see image results). Anyway, outstanding work!
Maria

[Norm Zax]

Beautiful and creative! Well done. My naming suggestions:
Crystal Stalagmite
Frosty Stalagmite
Norm

[Gary Herrmann]

Very well done, Steve. I agree with the other folks. Putting ice in the name would be good. Football season is approaching. It's not a bowl, but maybe ice bowl or something like that.

[Jeff Nicol]

Steve, You have done it again! A simple elegant form topped off with a bit of mystery and whimsy! The contrast is awesome! So here goes for a name:

Midnight Mist
New day rising
Ray of hope
From darknes to Light

I could sit and think of more, but you are most likely overwhelmed with ideas!

Thanks for showing it to us!

Jeff

[Joe Pfeifer]

Nice piece, very creative. I like the frosted finial with the dark black. Once you mentioned Escanaba, all I could think of was "Escanaba in the moonlight".

Good luck in the show.

[Norm Zax]

My wife just saw the pics and loved them! Thats saying alot as she prefers work were the wood's identity is almost hidden. Her name suggestion: "Frosted Chocolate". Her argument: important not to ignore the base.

[Scott Gibbons]

that is awesome.

[robert hainstock]

After the personal showing for Sylvia and myself just now. all I could think of for a name was the afore mentioned "Black Ice". However I think you and Coleen will come up with something better.
When you get ready to ship that to Esky, I have lots of various packing materials. Beautiful piece! :D:D:D:D:D:D
Bob

[Brian Brown]

Steve,

That piece is amazing. Just beautiful. As for the name, my first thought was "Black Frost", and I see several others have had the same thought. My other thoughts were "Frost Bitten", "Frost Bit" or "Frost Top". I also like "Black Ice".

[Greg Ketell]

That is gorgeous.

To me, with the finial on it looks like a "water droplet" or "water droplet in a dirty pond". Not dissing the HF in any way, that is just the artistic interpretation that came to mind. :)

[Phillip Bogle]

Amazing work Steve! The first thought was a Genie coming out of the bottle.

Watch out guys! Steve may be a "shrink" in disguise, and this is his latest model of a Rorschach inkblot test.:D

I hope I pass!

Phil

[George Guadiane]

Nice, Nice, NICE!!!

It looks a little like a Hershey's kiss, maybe some name that plays off of that...
How about Crystal Kiss? I really like the finial.

[Barry Stratton]

WOW Steve, that is a nice piece and the contrast between the materials is great. The "frosted" finial was a nice idea and the slanted top looks familiar.

I was thinking "Ice Age" when I saw it.....best of luck!

[Scott Gibbons]

gelo midnight (Midnight Frost)

[Jack Mincey]

Steve,
I think you have gone and outdone yourself. This HF is very very nice. It should do well in any show.
Jack

[Mike Svoma]

Incredible Steve.....Simple classic elegence.

Nuf said.

Mike

[Mike Golka]

That's a beauty Steve!!! Well done.

[Eugene Wigley]

Steve, all of your work is very nice but... this one is FANTASTIC. Your choice of frosted acrilic for the finial and black dye is perfect. I hope you win first place. Thanks for posting it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Steve....simply elegant.....contrast...form.....finish.....simply elegant....

Midnight Frost.......

[Richard Madison]

Has anyone suggested "Midnight Moon" yet? And is there a prize for the best name?

[mike fuson]

Very Nice indeed Steve, very nice.