"Dolphins In Oil" Cherry H/F, Turned, Burned & Gessoed

[BILL DONAHUE]

"Dolphins In Oil" is the second effort influenced by Molly Winton's demos in Nashville. It's an 8" x 3 1/2" hollowed form in Cherry with dolphins woodburned and the area representing oily water gessoed. One of the things Molly mentioned was the benefit of using alcohol on woodburned areas to remove the shadows or overburned spots. Tried it and it works very well. Also tried for the first time microwaving somewhat green wood after rough turning and it too worked well. This is wood I picked up in Nashville from Got Wood?, an excellent source of wood. I think this is the first time I've turned cherry and it's terrific.

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[Dennis Ford]

I like this piece a lot. The HF has very good form and your enhancement work is great.

[John Keeton]

Nicely done, Bill! Cherry is really nice wood to turn, and finishes great, too. The dophins are well placed and the piece has nice movement to it.

[Jim Burr]

I really like the mirror image top to bottom Bill. A lot of well thought out effort and finish work. Was this done in half or one piece? My wife found a "Hobby Lobby" about an hour south of us. Part of my rehab will be dropping some cash there!!

[Ian Jeffcock]

Bill, Great piece. I have been playing with some pyro. I'm going to have to try the alcohol. Great form, love it....

[Steve Schlumpf]

Great form - exceptional imagery! Has a very clean look to it and I really like the sense of motion the swimming dolphins provide! Have you sent photos of this to Molly for her input? Bet she would like it!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bill that is really nicely done. It is one pretty piece. I do like the cherry wood and form.

[Bob Rotche]

Bill, I'm really finding your pyro work very inspiring and have again saved pics for future reference. I really want to give this a try- Do you know if Molly Winton has any videos?

[bob svoboda]

Really nice, creative piece, Bill. I agree that Cherry is a pleasure to turn.

[Wally Dickerman]

Great stuff Bill. I think that you're getting the hang of this burning and gessoing. I'm looking forward to whatever is next.

[David E Keller]

Very nice. I love the design with the dolphins crossing over the 'oil line'. It reminds me of an M.C. Escher print. Thanks for sharing.

[BILL DONAHUE]

Thanks guys. Jim - it is all one piece. The groove was done with a thin parting tool to delineate the water from the air and to make it a lot easier to use the mirror images on the dolphins. Steve - yes, I did send pics to Molly Winton and asked for and received a critique. In her demos she emphasized the importance of critique in improving one's turnings, especially from those woodturners you admire and respect. I offered my own critique of it first to make it easier for her to state her opinion. (a lot of people are too nice to be frank and I wasn't sure how she'd react) I liked her critique. Wally - Molly credited you with being one of those who helped her.