Shades of Copper

[John Keeton]

First, let me apologize for the pics on this one! This turning has the most glass like finish I have achieved, and with my woefully simple and inadequate photo setup, I could not get rid of the reflections! The black is actually a very nice, airbrushed fade down on to the copper body. The big, black glob in the middle is me, the camera, and most of my shop "fish eyed" into that one spot!:o I tried several different exposures (evidenced by the varying backgrounds), tweaked everything I could, but no luck! I think I need to take this one over to Jamie Donaldson's for professional pics!

The body of the curly maple vase is dyed copper - same as the pitcher I just did. The detailed collar was first dyed black, then spray painted black, and finally, a coat of black tinted shellac was applied to get a deep black.

The textured accent ring was painted with metallic copper paint and black paint rubbed into the texturing. The copper bead in the finial is straight from Michael's, except that I applied black paint into the texture over the reddish brown that was there. The finial is holly, dyed black.

Dimensions are a tad under 6.75" to the rim, and just under 10" to the finial tip. Diameter is about 4.25" and the finish is comprised of multiple things - lacquer, shellac, and many, many coats of WOP. It will be buffed and waxed in a few days.

I owe an apology to David D!! On a similar form he recently posted, I commented his finial appeared a bit tall for my tastes. But, in working with the proportions on this piece it became evident the finial needed to be half the height of the form - the exact proportions used by David. You had it right, David!!

This is pretty "high fashion" even for my turning tastes, but it is one of those pieces I just needed to do and get it out of my system! As always, all comments are welcome.

[Mike Tilley]

John I don't know where to start just a stunning piece would love to be able to do work like that!!!

[ray hampton]

Mike say it best

[Steve Mawson]

Quite unique, for sure a deep deep shine. I suspect that it is much deeper in person. Did you hollow from the hole that the finial sits in? I do agree that the finial fits the piece. Still not sure how you do the color but it is striking.

[Nate Davey]

WOW, that's all I can say. Your attention to detail and finishing is spectacular.

[Roland Martin]

WOW, John:eek:!!!!!! Drop Dead Gorgeous! The finish on this is, uh, can't find the proper word:confused:. IMHO, this is absolutely the crown jewel of all of the fine turnings you've posted here. Flawless all the way around. WOW. I'm gonna have to sleep on this one, I'm speechless!

[Alan Trout]

John,

That is a pretty neat piece. I really like the coloration and your attention to detail.

Alan

[BILL DONAHUE]

Wow! That is simply one of the most impressive turnings I've ever seen. Just happened to look at the creek immediately after it was posted and have spent the last 20 minutes looking at it and re-reading the comment. Questions: 1) is the accent ring depressed into the form; 2) how is the copper bead fastened to the finial; and 3) what type of paint gun do you use?

[David DeCristoforo]

Wow, John! That is truly a spectacular piece. If I was going to "pick a nit" (who can resist?) it would be that it might have benefited from a bit of a "tuck" at the base. But that is probably just coming from my own attempts to "hit the sweet spot" with a similar piece. The finish and coloring are awesome and the finial looks just right. 9.9 on this one from here....

[Sid Matheny]

Oh man I don't think I have seen one I liked better. Speechless!

Sid

[David E Keller]

Wonderful piece, John! The coloring and the detailing is very, very nice. The shoulder strikes me as a bit busy at times, but when I look at it again, I like the detailing… How's that for a wishy-washy evaluation?

[Harvey Ghesser]

Perfect...

[Jim Burr]

That finish is just crystal...hard to beat it! The accent ring...is it turned/carved...bought/painted...just wondering. Gallery kinda work...again!

[George Morris]

Wow! John just beautiful! Very well done!

[Doug W Swanson]

Beautiful! This piece has so much going on but it's hard to find any faults with it....

[Bernie Weishapl]

John all I can say is Wow and it is beautiful. Mary Ann sat and looked at this thing for over 20 minutes. She said I am just speechlees.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

John from all your quality turnings you've posted here, for me this is your best piece. The only thing that's missing for me is a slight tuck in at the bottom. I know that's not your thing as I remember you saying that before,but for me I like the slight shadow & lift a little tuck offers.
Really though Great work John

[Baxter Smith]

"Glitzy" is the first thing that came to mind though I am not sure that is the correct word! For me, the color fade and finial are my favorite parts. My thoughts were similar to DD about the base and DK about the shoulder. The finish is amazing though the loss of crispness in the shoulder details seems to be the tradeoff for that. Quite the spectacular piece John!

[Dick Mahany]

What I really like about this piece is the combination of so many detailed factors that come together beautifully. From the elegant form, to the beautiful finial details, to the coloring combinations and application of final finish and the interesting embellishments..........it is georgeous.

[Dan Forman]

John---Just when I thought you had reached your pinochle (:) ) with the handled vase, and now this! Love what you are doing with the copper and the dye.

Dan

[Bill Bolen]

Dang John, that is about as pretty a piece as I have laid eyes on!

[Lupe Duncan]

Wow really nice work John.

I wanna grow up like you.....

[John Keeton]

Thanks, I really do appreciate everyone taking the time to look and comment. Joe is right about the bottom "tuck" - I just don't care for that feature even though I know it is apparently the thing to do nowadays.

There is a lot going on with this piece, and that is why I felt I could "get away" with the extra detailing on the shoulder/collar area. If it is going to be "Glitzy" (I like that word, Baxter!) then it might as well be gaudy! :D

Thanks, again!

[Michelle Rich]

a lot going on in this vessel. the "paint job" is spectacular. The height of the finial is right on, &drop dead perfect. the one thing, I do not personally like on this vessel is the copper ring. I loved it on a vessel you did previously. I think it might have been a shorter vessel?? But here, because there is so much going on, it is a tad too much to my eye. Now in person, it may be totally different. It is a spectacular vessel, and the craftmanship is easy to discern. You should be totally proud of this one. she's a beauty.

[Russell Eaton]

Another beautiful piece. Maybe in a few months I can actually find time to work on a turning project again. The color is spot on and the fade job is great. Finish is incredible, maybe the best "glass" finish that I can recall.

[steven carter]

John, I have to use the palandromatic expression used by many who have replied so far.. WOW! The finish is fantastic.

[Steve Campbell]

John I am not really qualified to comment on many turnings, But I just had to say I love your "High fashion" piece. I only wish I could come up with new designs like that.
Thanks for showing us what "can" be.

Steve

[Tim Rinehart]

Very nicely composed piece John. You've combined these elements in a very nice complimentary fashion, down to the similar piercing on the finial gem and collar.
Your mind must never stop thinking...and we truly appreciate it. Wonderful inspirations here from something as simple as a hobby store bead, to the beautiful coloration of this piece!

I suspect, as you suggest, it really shines in person even more.

[Bob Rotche]

I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said other than to say, John, you are at the top of your game and an inspiration to us all.

[Steve Schlumpf]

It's a beauty John!

Love how you got the curl to pop! Nice work on the form and your top is a good example on how you can create steps up to the lid as long as the transitions are small and keeping within the curve. The use of copper as a contrasting color works well with the colors of the form. Just enough of a contrast as to draw attention to the copper without it taking over. I do think I prefer your embedded copper flakes as a look though, maybe because it is even a little more subdued.

Glad to see you got the black figured out! Looks like it was worth the effort! Your finial is.... well, it is your finial! Very elegant and fitting for the piece!

Very nice work John! I can't imagine this will sit in a gallery for very long!! Looking forward to seeing what you create next!!

[Dale Bright]

I hope you have more of these in your system, John, well done!!

Dale

[jeremy levine]

Just great

[Prashun Patel]

Amazing finish. Amazing all the way around.

[John Keeton]

You folks are gracious in your remarks! Thanks.

I do think I prefer your embedded copper flakes as a look though, maybe because it is even a little more subdued.

Glad to see you got the black figured out! Looks like it was worth the effort! Your finial is.... well, it is your finial! Very elegant and fitting for the piece!Steve, it is hard to do "gaudy" with subdued accents.:D As we discussed during the finishing process on this one, the black gave me fits. So, as a learning lesson to pass on, I could find nothing that would work to tint WOP. I tried every black dye I had, universal paint tint, epoxy tinting pigment - nothing worked. I had a situation where I needed to apply more black to the fade, as well as the top, but several coats of finish had already been applied. More dye was not an option.

Shellac is the key! A few drops of Transtint black, and it produced a very bright, clear black that worked perfectly.

So, if you run into a similar problem, pull out the dewaxed shellac!

[David DeCristoforo]

"...I needed to apply more black to the fade, as well as the top, but several coats of finish had already been applied..."

I ran into a similar issue on my last "stoppered bottle" piece. I don't use WOP, being partial to lacquer. The big advantage on a piece like this is that alcohol based dye will "burn in" to lacquer so more color can be "rubbed in" after several coats of finish have been applied. The process is similar to French polishing. You might consider a lacquer finish on future pieces where you intend to fade one color into another. Just a thought...

[John Keeton]

Good thoughts, David. On this piece, the original fade was done with dye and an airbrush - with a good result. However, through a slight mishap in the finishing process, I needed a "touchup" but was unable to achieve that with dye. Had the original finish been lacquer as you suggest, that would have made the fix much easier.

Overall, I like lacquer, but the WOP seems more consistent for me. So long as I get a good initial result, and don't screw it up later, it seems to work OK.

Thanks, though, for the suggestion. If I had my druthers, I would prefer to have a professional spray setup, but as I have noted before, doing one piece at a time just seems to make that impractical.

[James Roberts]

To put it in the vernacular of my teenage son, "That's Freakin' Awesome!!" I agree with some of the other posters, this may be one of the finest pieces you have created. Thanks for sharing.

[jwjerry w kowalski]

One of the nicest turnings I have ever seen, absolutely beautiful!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Uniquely beautiful John.

[Rich Greinert]

Impressive work John. Very impressive.

[robert baccus]

Somewhere between WOW and Orgasmic!!--------------old forester

[Kathy Marshall]

Beautiful piece John! Really nice dye job and finish, just ditto what everyone else said!

[Jerry Rhoads]

Oh John, wow, wow, wow, wow, and WOW. that is a beauty

[Roger Chandler]

That one is "pretty nice" John.....;):D

[Cheryl A. Prince]

Really nice work John! The effort and time you put into the finish really paid off with a wonderful fade between the light and dark! Keep those creative ideas coming as they inspire us all to step outside our comfort zone and try something new!

[John Keeton]

The additional comments are very supportive - thanks!!! Of course, with an addiction like this, the kind of support you all offer is counterproductive!:D Nothing that more wood, more tools, and more shop time won't cure!