Maple Vase, Turned, Burned, Branded and Gessoed, A La Molly Winton

[BILL DONAHUE]

This one could be called "Red Snapper A La Molly Winton." Three weeks ago I drove 7 hours to Nashville for the Tennessee Woodturners Symposium specifically to see Molly Winton's work and demos. It was well worth the trip. Her demos were excellent and I had to try what she taught but with a topic close to my heart - the BP oil spill. Our fishing was halted and the beaches were a mess, though it could have been worse. This piece is maple with the bottom third branded with a basketweave pattern, the red snapper were woodburned and a gesso finish was applied to represent the Gulf's waters. The stretch in trying something new was the most fun I've had in woodturning.
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[Baxter Smith]

Very nice job. Its fun to turn something that has meaning!

[Roger Chandler]

Now that is a work with excellence on several levels! The finish is great, the pyro is superb, the form on the vase is well conceived and turned, and then the representation of the gulf oil spill and the native red snapper depicted on it is special indeed. No doubt that Ms. Winton would highly approve!

[charlie knighton]

very nice, Molly gave you a nudge in the right direction, sorry i missed you

it was a good time, and a learning experience

[Jon McElwain]

Very attractive form, and great work with the pyrography. Being from Alaska, I feel your pain over the oil spill. It took a long time to recover from the Valdez spill - of course who is to say everything is back 100%?

[John Keeton]

Bill, nice work, and a great symbolic gesture, too! That is a nice maple vase on its own, as well.

[David E Keller]

That's a great looking piece! I appreciate the sentiment, and I think you've done a great job executing the vision. I'd love to catch one of her demos sometime.

[Jon Nuckles]

A very nice work with meaning. That looks like a nice piece of maple, as well.

[Brian McInturff]

As soon as I saw this I thought of Alaska. I was stationed there during the Exxon Valdez Spill and the company I work for now is Hq'd in Baton Rouge. We were and are still involved in the cleanup. Back to the piece: I love everything about this piece. Form, pyro work, finish, meaning, wood, everything about it. It would look great with a mate, one on each end of the mantel. Or on 2 small tables(you'd have to be in my house to really understand).

[Chip Sutherland]

Excellent adaption. The two best things I learned from Molly were: 1) gesso 2) isopropyl alcohol. Gesso has a lot of potential. I love the flat look but then spin it on the lathe and polish it into a durable finish...reminds me of milk paint. Load up gesso coats and then carve through it to show the wood grain. Load up the gesso coats, polish then and you can lightly scratch in designs. You get flat lines with a polished background. This is a technique from the art world but I cannot remember the name. Also remember that gesso comes in white and gray....and it can be tinted. I haven't tried layering shades and colors but that's something else.

The alcohol cleans up the tanines that are released from pyro leaving the brownish smudge next to the pyro. Makes for crisper looking burn lines....although it will also show bad lines, too. Alcohol doesn't raise grain much at all. Lightly sanding by hand with 320/400 grit will take care of it.

[Ron Stadler]

Beautiful piece, love the form and pyro work is really cool. That's such a shame about the bp spill, what a mess.

[Michael James]

Bill thats a great piece all around! Any chance we can get a better glimpse of the textured area???? Very curious here. I have seen some of her work and it is quite impressive! Nice job.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Vase and pyro are great Bill. I hope to get to see Molly demo someday as I am loving pyro.

[Dan Forman]

Very good. Some nice negative shapes on the fish too.

Dan

[Michelle Rich]

Holy Mackeral :-) Adore it. Glad to see "political" statements" in your work. I do alot of it (segmented vases, bowls etc) to bring attention to animal rescue. You did a great job here. It's gorgeous

[Bob Rotche]

LOVE this vase! Have been toying with the idea of trying pyro and this sort of pattern is precisely why. Layout and pattern are outstanding. My only suggestion would be that I would like to see cleaner edges on outlines of fish. I have saved this pic for future reference. Few questions- how long did the burning take to do, what pyro unit are you using and are you happy with it, and what is a gesso finish?

[Mark Hubl]

Bill,

Nice vase. Looks like you took away a lot from the class. Way to go with an inspiration close to your heart, looks great and tells a story.

[BILL DONAHUE]

Thanks again for the comments - keeps me motivated. Now that dead dolphins are washing up on the beaches I'll have to try another with dolphins. Bob - I asked Molly Winton what woodburner to get & she recommended the Burnmaster Eagle so I got it. It's perfect but then I don't have any experience with any others. Gesso is something that painters use as a base coat on canvas before applying paint (so I'm told). Molly recommends it because it has a thick flat/matte finish that looks like burned wood and it is not absorbed into the wood so it doesn't bleed into the bare wood. John - I'm in Dallas for the Sunbelt Conference Swimming Championship cheering on the Western Kentucky Swim Team and of course, my son, Chris.

[Jim Burr]

Hmmmm...something fishy about this one:p:rolleyes:. Even with out the great artwork, I'm really am touched by the emotion you put in the piece. It's aood day when we have a cause that inspires us to create.