White Oak burl on driftwood

[Mark Cothren]

I recently got some white oak burl from a man in Kentucky who is a friend of my brother-in-law. I turned this little hollow form and am sending it to him as a "thanks". I have it perched on this piece of driftwood now, but to be honest I'm not real crazy about the combination. My wife, however, seems to love it. So I guess it stays. I still have to tweak the pedestal a bit. I took a wire brush to the driftwood to clean it up, then torched it a bit to add some color. All comments/critiques/suggestions/etc welcomed.

The hollow form is about 6" wide and about 3.5" tall.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/markfromark/woodturning/WhiteOakBurl01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/markfromark/woodturning/WhiteOakBurl02.jpg

[alex carey]

loving it and the combination, nice job.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Mark - that is an amazing hollow form! Love all the colors and the distinct divisions within the wood! Very different!

Also like the idea of the driftwood stand. A unique approach to lifting a form! Really nice example of thinking outside the box!

Thanks for sharing!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Mark that is beautiful. Really like the form and that wood.

[John Keeton]

Mark, beautiful wood, and the form is excellent. I will put in another vote for the driftwood - nice combo, though I guess it does limit display space.

[Frank Van Atta]

A really great piece. At first I thought the pedestal needed lowering a bit, but the more I look at it the more I like it just like it is.

[Keith Burns]

Mark, the HF is first rate and the base is too. You really stepped out there with this one and did a great job.

[Baxter Smith]

My first thought when seeing the picture was that you had turned a burl that had grown on the limb of the piece of driftwood. Not as impressive now but still very nice!:)

[Thom Sturgill]

I understand your reservation about the driftwood, but I think your wife has the right of it. It either needs a v-e-r-y formal presentation to contrast with the wildness of the grain or the wildness of the driftwood as a complement. The natural shape of the driftwood makes the form you have impressed on the burl stand out.

[David E Keller]

That's beautiful. Great color and nice shape.

[David Gregory]

Your wife is correct. Now, you owe her a night out for dinner. She has a great "eye" for what constitutes great presentation. Oh, if you just can't bring yourself to send that to your friend for fear he won't like it........PM me and I'll pay shipping plus a nice bonus and I'll take it off your hands. No sense in letting it sit around and collect dust. :D

[Edward Bartimmo]

It looks great! You can stop as is and it is one of a kind.

If you want to do more and based on your comments it seems like you may not like how closely the colors match between the two pieces (compete against each other). Have you considered muting the colors of the driftwood, which would result in more contract and focus on the colors of the turned pieces. The shape of the driftwood becomes the complimentary background to the turned form, with the driftwood color no longer competes against the form. This can be done by either using wood bleach or normal bleach diluted in water. Apply it using a spray bottle. This should grey out some of the color.

[Michael Armstrong]

I think everything goes together very well. I have to admit that I had the same thought as Baxter and that it was all one piece. Had me scratching my head for a while.

Michael

[Gary Conklin]

This piece looks great and the dw really sets it apart! Kudos!

[Mark Cothren]

Have you considered muting the colors of the driftwood...

I had actually mentioned that to my wife - suggested making the driftwood black. She told me fine, but find another piece of driftwood to experiment with...:D I think she likes it much better than my turning.