Jury Piece

[Michael E. Thompson]

I am getting ready to submit a few bowls to be juried for a small local gallery. Would you be kind enough to critique a couple of them, so I can get an idea what to expect. This is my first jury submission, so be honest and upfront. The gallery will have the bowls on hand, not these pics.

Both bowls are birds-eye maple with some spalting. Both are about 1/4" thick and approx. 7-1/2 diam. Sorry, the pics are a bit fuzzy and colors are off a bit.

Thanks for the feedback.

Mike

[alex carey]

I don't really like the second one, the form just doesn't work for me.

The first one is much better, the form works but these bowls don't seem to be artistic as much as they are utilitarian.

[patricia stein]

nice shape wondering what finish you plan on applying.sometimes danish oil will make the spalted area look muddy. how many bowls have you turned.

[Robert McGowen]

I have to agree with Alex on both counts. I like the rounded bowl much better than the straight sided one. When I looked at it though, I didn't really think "artistic" as much as I thought "nice salad bowl."

[Michael E. Thompson]

" I don't really like the second one, the form just doesn't work for me.
The first one is much better, the form works but these bowls don't seem to be artistic as much as they are utilitarian. "

Interesting, never thought of it that way. I should concider that more, from my prespective, I don't use any of my bowls as utilitarian.

I would agree, I like the first one better as well.



nice shape wondering what finish you plan on applying.sometimes danish oil will make the spalted area look muddy. how many bowls have you turned.

They have a BLO finish and hand rubbed with steelwool. No buffing. They are very smooth and natural feeling. Do you have a better suggestion?

I can only guess at the number of bowls I have turned, its well over a hundred though.

[Ryan Baker]

I think the form of the second one is just fine. I like it at least as well as the first one, which is a much more common shape. I probably would have made the second have a little bit of concave curve to the side, so it isn't just perfectly straight -- though this is an example of where straight sides can work. I agree that both are very utilitarian forms. Whether they are appropriate for your juried gallery depends on what they are looking for ... if it's just quality of work or if they are looking for particular artistic merit.

[alex carey]

some people would give you a number of different ways to finish a piece, personally I tend to like the more natural finish that you've given it.

[Michael E. Thompson]

Thanks for all the feedback. The bowls are being delivered today and will be juried on Thursday. We shall see.

Mike