Sweet Violet (The Easter Cup)

[David DeCristoforo]

This is my umpteenth attempt at producing a decent violet "sunburst". The cup is a bit bigger than the last one and the pedestal taller. The bigger cup offers a bit more "canvas" to work with. In the discussion that followed my last attempt Dan Forman pointed out that yellow and purple are not really compatible colors and will produce all kinds of challenges when combined.

With that in mind, I finally got a clue from a Steve Martin movie called "My Blue Heaven" in which he plays, of all things, a mafia guy named Vinnie, hiding out in SoCal under the witness protection program. There's one scene where an FBI guy is trying to get his social security number. Vinnie obviously has no clue so he just starts giving the guy numbers, one at a time. Finally, he gets tired of the whole thing and starts giving him two numbers at once… "2..5.." and the FBI guy says "That's one number to many". "Take off the five" says Vinnie.

So, I just "took off" the yellow. I used some ash for the cup which has a pretty yellow undertone to begin with and I brought that out a bit more with some oil. Then I just started airbrushing the violet dye. This is still not exactly what I wanted but the result in much better and there is nary a touch of green.

The base and stem are (what else) purpleheart.

191216

[Roger Chandler]

What a looker! Very elegant..........graceful stem [distinctly DeCristoforo for sure] love the form.......the bulb is very proportional to the rim flare, and of course the color...........very representative of Easter and its meaning...................superb, David!!!

[Jim Burr]

Great color work David! And as always...stellar shape. I'm not feeling the bulb/cup proportion...cup seems to big IMHO. Are you cutting back on bandwidth with only one picture? Come on...great piece...post the pic's!!!

[Curt Fuller]

Awfully pretty David, awfully pretty!

[John Keeton]

David, to be honest, this new form just isn't my cup o' tea, but I don't think anyone can do it as good as you!! Superb flow, great cuts, and the coloring is very nice. I do think the cup might be a tad large for the stem, but that would be really picking a nit.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

David,

Beautiful distinct lines.........precise.....delicate......gorgeous coloring...........

[Tim Thiebaut]

David as always this is awesome. Your stems are always so nice!

[David E Keller]

I'm not crazy about the combo of natural and manmade purple... It may be that the photo doesn't represent the colors well. I'm enjoying your foray into coloring, and I'm taking notes along the way.


I'm wondering if you could use shellac between colors to prevent blending of the purple and yellow? I don't know anything about dye, but shellac is my answer to almost everything.

[Baxter Smith]

Sure looks violet to me. Great job on the pedestal as always and an overall elegant piece. You must be learning more about coloring than anytime since first grade!:)

[mickey cassiba]

David...I'm always awed by your work! Sorry I have no actual input as far as a critique. Looking at your(and many others here)work is what keeps me from chucking the whole mess and moving on.

[David DeCristoforo]

Thanx for the comments, ya'll. I'm not done with the "violet fade" foray yet, A sealer coat between the two colors might be the next try. Only thing is, I'm afraid the second darker color will not really react with the wood in the same way it would if applied to "raw" wood. Have to see. Also, I much prefer the colors on figured maple which has much more "activity" than ash.

The shape is something I wanted to try. The first one I did was the rosewood burl piece I posted a while back. It had a much larger "bulb" and a shorter "bell". The idea to elongate the form was interesting but the first one ended up more black that violet. This was the second one to have a taller bell but I'm thinking I like the shorter one better.

And, finally, the color of the purpleheart stem. Not totally compatible today. But purple heart needs to oxidize before the purple color really "sets". When freshly sanded and finished, it's not nearly as purple as it will get after some time passes and it has a chance to "patina" a bit. Ultimately it should be much closer to the color of the cup.

PS sorry about the "only one pic". No, not trying to conserve bandwidth! I rely on natural light in my tent for my photos. Right after I took this pic, the sky clouded over and it was getting late and the light was gone for photographic purposes.

[Mark Hubl]

Keep at it. The form and stem are very good. Not crazy about the fade in the stem. When you get all these purple ones done, there is a little singer in Minnesota who may like them. He is royalty or something.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful piece David. Very delicate looking.

[Curt Fuller]

Thanx for the comments, ya'll. I'm not done with the "violet fade" foray yet, A sealer coat between the two colors might be the next try. Only thing is, I'm afraid the second darker color will not really react with the wood in the same way it would if applied to "raw" wood. Have to see. Also, I much prefer the colors on figured maple which has much more "activity" than ash.

I'm probably over simplifying this, but could you just use a scrap piece of the ash to experiment with the different coloring techniques? I would have a hard time putting the time into turning something like this and then using it for experimentation.

[Hayes Rutherford]

David, you sure have a way with this type form. It looks great from my point of view and I admire your efforts to "get it right". I have a little past experience mixing lightfast alcohol based dyes in regard to string instrument repair and never felt I was any good at it, only lucky occasionally. What is really strange is just this afternoon I mixed some violet from red and blue light fast wood stain powders and applied it to a test piece. If i can stay awake I'll post it.

In regard to "leaving out the yellow" that would make good sense because yellow being one of the 3 primary colors would draw violet toward brown. Having the yellow as a base will definitely contribute. Violin makers will apply a base color of yellow dye to achieve a brown that leans toward red or orange. If the violet dye you used gave you a hint of green that would indicate the violet dye's blue component was influenced by the yellow (theoretically speaking).

Keep up the good work!

[Dan Forman]

David --- This approach did preserve a lot more of the violet color, while still hinting at the yellow. Had you thought of dying the inside of the bell yellow? That might be interesting, especially if gradated deeper into the bell. You would have both colors present, but not combining.

Remember that even if applied in discreet layers, yellow and violet (if transparent) will still neutralize each other, as the light will have to travel through both layers before being reflected back to the eye. And shellac might not work for the same reason, unless it is really clear. I would test any of those methods on flat wood first to see how the colors react with each other, before committing to another turned piece.

What you might be able to get away with, is doing the violet first and fading it, let dry, then come back with a very weak yellow, limit the overlap, and then build up the yellow over several coats on the clear section, without going over the violet again. This is strictly from a color theory perspective, as I have no experience actually spraying dyes. I do paint a bit, so my experience is from mixing paint, oils and watercolors (not with each other:) ). Are you spraying the dye and then finishing, or adding the dye to your finish,and spraying that?

I find myself warming up to the shape more and more, reminds me of a daffodil, was that your inspiration?

My preference would be to use red and blue as your primaries, and go from blue violet, to red violet, fading out to pale pink as you reach the rim, and maybe do the inside of the bell yellow. But then again, it's not my piece. :D I agree that some curly maple would add to the interest.

I'll be curious to see what more you come up with.

Here is a color chart I did with oil paint a few years ago that might be helpful. The first vertical row on the left is dioxazine violet, pretty much evenly red and blue. Top row is full strength, each square going down is mixed with additional white, until the color is barely visible. The top horizontal row of thinner stripes are full strength samples of other colors on the palette, and the row squares below show violet mixed with that color, with violet dominant, and the mixture tinted with progressively with white. I hope thats clear. :)

The first red is a slightly bluish red, the second slightly leans toward yellow. You can see as it progresses to yellow, the resulting mixes become more brownish.

Dan

[Michelle Rich]

for some reason I couldn't get the bigger picture up on the monitor..so I really can't see it well. But I know this, even without looking, that it is astounding & extremely well turned. Few turners could hold your gouge.

[Dan Hintz]

I finally got a clue from a Steve Martin movie called "My Blue Heaven" in which he plays, of all things, a mafia guy named Vinnie, hiding out in SoCal under the witness protection program.
Store clerk: "What's a rutabaga?"
Vinnie: "It's a vej a ta bull!"

[John Hart]

I'm so impressed with this form, I just can't get it out of my head. You've really done something unique here, David. And the coloration is just icing on the cake. I think I'll use that "Take off the 5" phrase. I do that a lot.

[Jeff Nicol]

David, I like the shape very much, and over time like you said it will change. You can get the purple heart to turn dark purple with some friction while it is still on the lathe, but if you go to far it will turn black! I like the shape as it has some lets say sexy lines and graceful curves, must me my inner cave man coming out!

Great job,

Jeff

[John W Dixon]

David this sure is nice. I love the details that you incorporated. I have been working on thin stem goblets and enjoy seeing what you keep coming up with.

[Cathy Schaewe]

I absolutely love everything about it, no exceptions. And I find the form extraordinarily appealing. Just goes to show everybody has different taste!

[David DeCristoforo]

Thanx again for the comments. I do think it will look better when the stem has aged a bit. I was going to dye it but the natural color of purpleheart after it has oxidized should be much more compatible with the cup color. Probably won't happen by Easter though! And BTW, Dan, that was arugula, not a rutabaga! I know that movie by heart!

[Paul McGaha]

You know, It's dangerous for you to be here....

David?

[David DeCristoforo]

"You know, It's dangerous for you to be here...."

"...in the frozen food section."

"Wise thaat?"

"Because... you could melt... all... this... stuff"

[John Hart]

Oh...gag me.

[Cathy Schaewe]

I'm suspecting that I'm just as happy not having seen this movie ....;);):D

[David DeCristoforo]

"I'm suspecting that I'm just as happy not having seen this movie..."

Why? Just 'cause of what Hart said? He probably hasn't seen it either.

[John Hart]

"Why? Just 'cause of what Hart said? He probably hasn't seen it either."

True...but I found the clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tncd84NYJ1Y and I repeat....Oh Gag Me :)

[David DeCristoforo]

"...but I found the clip...and I repeat....Oh Gag Me..."

Ok... don't rent this movie. If that makes you gag, you would need a barrel next to you to sit through the whole thing!!!

[Steve Schlumpf]

I like it and I really like what you are doing with color! As much as I like the form - I keep coming back to the idea that the trumpet portion of the goblet would look amazing if it were pierced. Specially if the interior of the cup was yellow and the color could be seen through the voids.

Just something for you to kick around for next time...

[David DeCristoforo]

Thanks for the comments Steve. I have actually been toying with the piercing idea but I'm not quite there yet. Actually, the inside of the cup is yellow! Just doesn't show in the pic.

[Kathy Marshall]

I just love this piece David! Your stems and finials are always extrordinary! and the coloring is fabulous!