"Alchemy"

[Brian Greb]

This post is for John Keeton.

John you where curious what I was turning that ebony ring for, well it's part of a stand for a HF. I call this piece "Alchemy" it is made out of poplar, curly black cheery, black cheery burl, and "Royal" Ebony. The bottom half of the HF is black and blue japan paint with gold, copper, dutch metal, and silver leaf gilding. The stand is a 48 segment ring of Gaboon ebony with Gaboon Ebony legs. The HF is 7.75" in diameter and 13" tall the stand is 7"X7" The entire piece is 16" tall.

This piece is a total of 52 hours of labor and took a week(7 days) to complete.

The finish is 16 coats of lacquer on the HF and hand rubbed shellac & wax polish on the stand.

Thanks for looking C&C are always welcomed

[Roger Chandler]

EXQUISITE!!!!!!!!!! What a profound piece of wood art. I hope one day to be able to entertain the thought of coming close to the excellence in this turning.

[alex carey]

wow........

[John Hart]

Holy smokes Brian. You go from "How to I mount this ring to my jaws?" to this??!!!!:eek:

Absolutely stunning.

[John Keeton]

Brian, the minute I saw this, I thought of the piece done by David Marks that was featured on American Woodturner recently. This is just a phenomenal piece - really well done.

The stand alone is a work of art. Great style and form. Not sure I would have put in the one piece of maple?? in the ring, but I am sure you had a reason.

In either event, one can take nothing away from this - just very nice!! Congrats!

[Tony De Masi]

Wow indeed. Stunning work Brian. This is one piece I would love to see up close and personal too.

Well done.

Tony

[Tim Rinehart]

I too immediately thought about the piece by David Marks, assuming there was some influence there.
Regardless, well played out and with so many colors, patterns, etc it could easily get over-busy...but something about it works...either by intention, or getting lucky.
I like it and the stand alot. I think the use of the stands for otherwise non-footed (or extremely small footed) vessels is an approach we'll be seeing more and more of.

Would love to see even more pics of this piece if you could.

Super job! I'm inspired.

By the way, what are the white accents in the ring?

[David E Keller]

That's way too cool. The combination of colors/textures is really nice. The stand is beautiful, and I like the whimsical inclusion of a constrasting piece. Really nice job.

I am impressed with the piece, but even more envious that you found 52 hours in a single week to work on turnings.:D

[Bernie Weishapl]

All I can say is wow Brian. Really a beautiful and elegant piece.

[Mike Golka]

Breath taking, I'm speachless. Very well done!!!!

[Richard Madden]

That's some fine work!!! Did you take any pictures along the way?

[Brian Greb]

Hey guys,
Thanks for all the positive support.

Let me try to answer some questions.
1)John K. was questioning my use of a single whit segment in the ring. That segment is holly and I used it to create visual tension in the piece. I guess it worked due to the comment.

2) Tim R. asked about more pics, I took some more shots from different angles, and I have a pic from before I gilt the piece. Sorry I forgot the camera while I was in the creative process. The accents in the ring, The large white accent is holly, the little oval accents are aluminum tube cut on a bias.

3) The name David J. Marks has been brought up. Yes his pieces are a major influence, but there is more to it than that. See David is one of my mentors, I learned how to properly turn a bowl from him, also I have taken multiple classes he has instructed. So the Techniques I have learned from him have permeated my work. I suppose you could call this piece an homage to the master.

4) Having 52 hours in one week to turn... well I must say it doesn't happen much but right now things are quite slow in the furniture business (I have 3 pieces finished awaiting payment, 2 pieces that the commission was canceled and there going to a gallery now, and i have 1 install awaiting scheduling... needless to say I have some down time) so I can focus more on my art.

Now the pics I have 2 low-shots, I took one overhead, one detail shot of the legs, and one shot of before I gilt the piece enjoy

[Thom Sturgill]

Amazing piece! Though I don't know him other than from his TV show, I'm sure the Master would be pleased.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Brian - very well thought out turning! Wonderful form and colors! Love the imagination and your ability to turn it into a finished work of art!

Also, I find that the name really fits the piece! Very nice work! Looking forward to seeing more!

[Tim Rinehart]

Thanks for the photos...even more impressive with extra shots. So many unique angles to that piece, I'm sure it can't be fully appreciated without picking it up and rotating around to look at each facet.

Great homage to Mark, without just copying what he did. It appears that you brought some of Brian into the piece, so I would expect you should earn any accolades from that piece rightfully.

Hey, as has been said...there's really nothing new out there, that hasn't been done before or represented in nature...we all just apply our spin to it.

Great job, and thanks for sharing the extra pics. I appreciate the one showing your base colors under the leafing too...helps to understand some of that process.

[Belinda Barfield]

This is just a phenomonally beautiful piece of art.

[John Keeton]

Had to come back for another look!! Tantalizing!

Thanks, Brian, for the extra pics - just really fine work!

[Bill Bolen]

Beautiful piece. Really love the finish...Bill...

[Toney Robertson]

I would love to see your piece in person. I am sure that pictures do not do it justice.

Great vision, wonderful execution not to mention talent.

Toney

[Baxter Smith]

Very well done and quite the process!

[Allen Neighbors]

I am truly impressed! Great work and patience...