Touch of Oz

[Scott Hackler]

This is another one of my all consuming pieces lately. This is my entry into the Woodturners America contest under the "Beauty" section. I tried to incorporate as many turning skills into this piece as I could. The heads are turned, carved and pyro'd (the centers were burnt with a tip I made to simulate the seeds). The stems were turned and then cut and reassembled to 1) form a curved connection point for the heads and 2) to apply some sort of curvature to the stems. The base was turned square and off center and then textured. The blades weren't turned but rather cut, steamed, bend and shaped for accent pieces. Everything finished with BLO only, because I wanted a matte finish and the BLO yellowing worked well for this loo (IMO). Done from white oak.


This is my largest piece to date, standing 24" tall and 14" at the widest point.

Comments and critiques are welcome always. Thanks for looking!


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[Tim Thiebaut]

Scott you are on a roll thats for sure, not only are you knocking them out fast, you are really thinking outside the box, well done and good luck with your turnings in the contest.

[charlie knighton]

Scott,

seems like you used a lot of skills, well thought out, everything came together, the whole image seems stiff
at st paul there were some cups on long stems that the air conditioner moved, did you see that?

[Lionel Mercier]

A lot of various work. I like

[Scott Hackler]

Scott,

seems like you used a lot of skills, well thought out, everything came together, the whole image seems stiff
at st paul there were some cups on long stems that the air conditioner moved, did you see that?

Charlie,

I saw those cups too and they were pretty neat. For this piece, because of the size and weight of the flow heads and to be in porportion to the heads, the stems had to be thicker. I know its hard to see in the pictures, but the cut lines in the stems actually make an appearance of a more natural flow that perfectly straight stems would have. I have been thinking about making some small versions of the sunflowers but all my techniques for these involve larger tools....so... that might prove to be difficult at this time. But going from 5-6" heads to say....2-3" heads would allow for a stem diameter that might allow for steam bending.

Thanks.

[charlie knighton]

i was just thowing it out, here was the cups

[John Keeton]

Scott, I think you captured the movement of the sunflowers with the tilting back stems and the heads all lined up with the light. Your pyro of the seed pod is dead on! IMO, the size of the seed pod as compared to the total diameter of the flower appears a little large, but the execution is excellent. This one doesn't have quite the "excitement" level as does the other, but it is nonetheless very well done. There are a multitude of processes, and until someone undertakes a piece like this, it is hard to appreciate what goes into them.

[Scott Hackler]

Thanks John. I know that this one doesn't have the same effect on people as the other one (at least from pictures). In person, even saying so myself, it looks more dramatic. Your right about time spent. I believe I have about 3-4 hours on each one of the heads and who knows on the turning and segmenting of the stems. I ended up having to pin them with epoxy because Tightbond by itself didn't survive the "snap" test!!

Now tonight I have to figure out how to place both of these recent pieces in a compilation photo, for the contest. I have a vision in my head, but I am not quite sure how to "capture" that image.

With the lower replies, it makes me wonder if this SHOULD really be my entry in the beauty section! Maybe there is still time to turn and .....pierce... something else since that seemed to be more popular!

[Dane Fuller]

Scott,
That is truly amazing. I wish I could capture just a tiny fraction of what your mind's eye sees.

[charlie knighton]

With the lower replies,

sometimes lower replies just mean you as a turner have intimated the board, we do not like to say anything negative, and have nothing to help you or improve your turning

i have not ever done any type of flowers, so all i could do was think of those cups, or tulips blowing in the wind, you may want to check Bill Tilson's website also
http://www.gulfcoastwoodturners.org/GALLERIES/GULFCOASTGOLD/BillTilson/index.html

R.I.P

[Steve Vaughan]

WOW! That is really nice looking! Good luck in your contest!

[Dennis Ford]

It is a very nice piece of art, you should be proud of it. I like to enter art contests but rarely guess correctly what will do well, you should not worry about whether it will win or not.

[Chris Burgess]

Is this the piece that caused the 'Blakedy Blank Blank' thread?

Just another awesome piece. Great job.

[Steve bellinger]

Scott i knew when i saw the header that this was gonna be a knock out and you didn't disapoint in the least.:Dgreat work and best of luck in the contest. Now where's the beast?:p

[Scott Hackler]

Thanks for commenting everyone. This wasn't the blank blank piece. It actually wasn't terribly difficult after I developed a procedure for turning, carving and burning the flower heads. Just really time consuming and I don't like spending days and days on very many pieces. The end results aren't too bad but it gets hard to stay motivated on the multi piece things because they don't look like much until their assembled.

[David E Keller]

I like this piece, Scott! It's so different from the day to day stuff that I generally see, and I find that to be appealing. The pyro is very well done, and I like the whole composition. You've put together a terrific duo for the contest... Best of luck!

[Roger Chandler]

Very unique and obviously from a talented individual Scott............don't take low posts as an indication of anything..........a well conceived and well executed piece............one that I don't have the time to even attempt! I think you ought to stick to your plan to submit this to the Woodturners America contest.........

For what its worth.........John Hart invited me to do the contest as well............I just do not have the time, so I hope you can enter this piece...........for sure, it is a beauty!

[Baxter Smith]

Very cool Scott. I am sure this one is even more impressive in person!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Scott that is a cool piece. It is a interesting piece and I do like it. Pyro looks really good.

[Scott Hackler]

Thanks fellas!

[John Hart]

I have to offer my congratulations as well Mr. Hackler. I know you've been working tirelessly on this project. These pieces are a nice testament to perseverance. :)