Beaded Cherry

[Baxter Smith]

The shop was getting hot this afternoon, so after turning a couple of Osage bowls, I decided to catch up on some pictures. Finished this a couple of weeks ago but had some unexpected wood come along to capture my attention.

The cherry is from a crotch I cut last spring and roughed out. It had some interesting grain but I was in the mood to try another beaded piece. The piece had distorted a lot in drying and by the time I had gotten everything into round, the bottom was pretty tiny. (I was seeing see light through the unbeaded section and bottom:eek::))I think I have to learn to not drill my holes quite so deep! Didn’t have much choice other than to stick it on a pedestal.
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6”w x 18.25” h Cherry and holly dyed with black transtint. Finished with Bush Oil and Buffed.

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Due to the height, I thought I would borrow a trick from DD’s playbook. :DThanks David! I didn’t have any lead wire so I sacrificed some sinkers from the tackle box.
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Could only fit in a ½ oz of lead. Maybe it helps.

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I think Wally Dickerman said a hollowform should look as good upside down as right side up. ;):)
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What do you think?

Thoughts and suggestions are always welcome!

[Steve bellinger]

Well Baxter i for one am glad it got thin on the bottom. If not i'd be looking at something different.,and this is to me just one really great looking piece. Super job man.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I love it! Love the pedestal and finial and the way you kept a continuous theme between them. Great form and I really like how the beading adds texture but does not obscure the grain! Very nice work Baxter! You should be extremely happy with this one!

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Bax,
This piece is head and shoulders above anything I've seen you post. I mean, perfect beads, wonderful proportions and you made the finial a perfect image of the pedestal. The shape is very nice and the workmanship is dead nuts perfect. It's a treat to look at. This one would get my vote for WOW cover. Please consider posting it there.
faust

[Nate Davey]

Man I like this Baxter. Great form and the beads really set it off. Finial and pedestal are first class as well.

[David DeCristoforo]

Man oh man, there is a lot going on with this one. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing but there are so many elements to consider! In trying to break it down, a bit I came up with this:

The workmanship is masterful, whatever one might think about the form.

The finial is right up my alley. I love it. There is a bit of a flat in the top section but not enough to be a big issue. The curve in the pedestal is a bit "sweeter".

The "main" form is great and the beading adds visual interest without overpowering the figure of the wood.

The pedestal is fantastic. I am not totally comfortable with the embellishment being at the bottom but that might be simply because an embellishment like this is almost always in the upper area of the pedestal. The pedestal reads better to me in the "upside down" pic. But again, that might be attributed to personal preference. Either way it's an exceptional piece of work.

I might have to look at this a hundred or so more times before I can digest everything into one thought. Right now I'm hovering between "I love it" and "I really like it but..." Wherever it lands for me personally, this is a tour de force and you should be very pleased with it.

[Jim Burr]

Oh heck yeah! That's just amazing Baxter!!

[Dennis Ford]

Fantastic work.

[John Keeton]

Baxter, lot of fantastic work in this piece, Baxter!! Great concept, great wood combo, and the commonality in the elements is perfect. I can see the area in the finial that David mentioned, but it is not a deal breaker by any means. There is so much about a piece like this that involves individual taste, and mine may differ from yours regarding certain elements. But, this is a superb piece!!

[Bill Bolen]

Marvelous piece Baxter. I love the colors, bead work and form. WTG my friend!

[Roger Chandler]

Very skillfully executed............no way about it Baxter..........the pedestal is just way too busy for my tastes........this one is over the top...............your skills shine brightly, but the base of the pedestal with all its additions and "Drozda-esque" elements are over the top in my opinion...........the complexity overpowers the beauty of a truly beautiful piece had it been just a bit more toned down.

No one can doubt your skills............that is for sure, Baxter!

[Roland Martin]

I agree, the display of craftsmanship is over the top, extremely well done beading and the form is spot on. Leaps and bounds, my friend, Thanks for posting this beauty!

[Thom Sturgill]

Absolutely stunning Baxter. i love the repetition of the form in the 'beads' on the pedistal and finial. frankly I think it looks better upside down LOL.

[BILL DONAHUE]

That's a fantastic piece. Like everything about it, especially the beading, which I too have been experimenting with recently. Please explain what you mean by using sinkers. I apparently missed earllier posts about this.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful piece Baxter. Love the beading. Really like the base and finial especially that you carried the theme of the base to the finial.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for all your thoughts and encouragement! They are always appreciated and pondered.:)

Bax,
..... Please consider posting it there.
faust
Thanks Faust. I appreciate the thought. Maybe someday I will do more than lurk on WOW once in a while. I do check out the work there on occasion but try and limit computer time to some extent.;):)


... a lot going on with this one. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing .......
Thanks David. That about sums up my thoughts as well!:) I appreciate your detailed insight on all the

components. I am more or less satisifeid with each of them ....but... this may be a case where the total is less than the sum of the individual parts.


..There is so much about a piece like this that involves individual taste, and mine may differ from yours regarding certain elements. ....
And those elements are??????:)

When I was getting ready to glue these parts together, I was very "on the fence" about including the cherry embellishments underneath the onion in both finial and pedestal. I had a feeling they might detract from the form itself...... but since they had already been made....I figured I might as well go ahead and see if I liked them. The jury is still out on that one.;):)

[joel nucifore]

Baxter wow what a beautiful piece, just the talent to put it all together is awsome... Is the lead just for weight? I think, great Idea.

LOVE IT

[John Keeton]

And those elements are??????:)

When I was getting ready to glue these parts together, I was very "on the fence" about including the cherry embellishments underneath the onion in both finial and pedestal. I had a feeling they might detract from the form itself...... but since they had already been made....I figured I might as well go ahead and see if I liked them. The jury is still out on that one.;):)Baxter, given I am a member of that jury, and the jury still being out, I am not sure commenting would be appropriate.:) Nonetheless, you seem to want to know. Please keep in mind that all of these things are so subjective, and none of them take away from the quality of this piece. They represent only my individual preferences, and could easily be totally wrong.

My personal tastes include the following:

In this type of turning, as in most, the form should be celebrated. Sometimes a replication can do that, but usually one sees that in the finial as the eye first focuses on the form and then travels upward. While I like embellishments in the pedestal, I feel they should be somewhat subdued - at least to the point where the form is the first thing seen. I think the replicated form in the pedestal is too much and competes against the form in this piece. It either causes the eye to first focus on the pedestal, or go from the form downward - either of which seems to fight against the form.

The transition from the pedestal into the form is concave and immediately (abruptly?) folds into a convex curve. IMO, it would flow better if the concavity continued and faded as it approached the shoulder of the form. When coupled with the area of the pedestal that appears to have consistent diameter (flat), it seems to disrupt the flow from the pedestal into the form. That would probably require the top of the pedestal to be just a bit larger in order to provide the curvature.

[Prashun Patel]

Wow, Baxter, this piece is stunning. I really like the form of the vessel. I thought you didn't get much cherry out yr way...;)

I'll throw an unsolicited comment out here though: I find the beads - while executed extremely well and beyond my own ability - distracting from the form and figure. I'm sure it feels just wonderful, though.

[Norm Zax]

Professional work Baxter! Like it a lot!!
Gotta ask: are the beads separate parts, glued to the pre-darkened elements of the finial/leg OR do you blacken the finished piece (and if so, how do you protect the beads)?

[Dick Wilson]

Ditto what everyone has said. Great job.

[jwjerry w kowalski]

Baxter, that's a beauty, I love the way you do your finials and pedestals, and the beading just make everything stand out and shout, your proportions are perfect in my opinion and would be hard to improve on. Great job.

[francesco dibari]

..... marvelous work ...... :)

[Baxter Smith]

.......Please explain what you mean by using sinkers. I apparently missed earllier posts about this.
Bill, when DD was creating taller and taller Amphora pieces, he came up with the idea of inlaying/hiding some lead wired in the base to aid in the stability of his turnings. Since this one was getting rather tall at 18 inches, I decided there might be a benefit to doing something similar. I didn't have any wire but I did have plenty of lead shot from reloading shotgun shells. I drilled out the base in two steps but couldn't fit much in. I decided a solid piece was the better way to go so went to my box of sinkers and got out a hacksaw. Cut off about the right sized piece then pounded it into a shape that would fit. The other piece is a smaller split shot that I used to use for trout fishing that was pounded to the size of the smaller hole.

... Is the lead just for weight? I think, great Idea.....
Yes. Give DD the credit!

Baxter, given I am a member of that jury, and the jury still being out, I am not sure commenting would be appropriate.:)
....
Thanks John, I appreciate hearing your thoughts! And as far as the jury thing goes, this jury of one is probably going to end up being hung!

.....I'll throw an unsolicited comment out here though: I find the beads - while executed extremely well and beyond my own ability - distracting from the form and figure. ..........
Prashun, your unsolicited comments are more than welcome!:D As far as the beads go... your tastes may change with time.;):)A year ago, the thought of dye, burning, beading, or doing anything else to cover up the wood was something I couldn't see myself wanting to try. The first time I saw a beaded form was one Wally Dickerman posted. My first reaction was "thats kind of neat, but what a waste of a pretty piece of wood." After trying one on a bland piece of wood and thinking this isn't too bad, I remembering reading that it worked well with figured wood. Didn't truly believe that but figured I would give it a try. My wife even likes it now that its done. Thought it was a waste when she saw me start it though.


.......Gotta ask: are the beads separate parts, glued to the pre-darkened elements of the finial/leg OR do you blacken the finished piece (and if so, how do you protect the beads)?
Norm, all the black pieces are holly that was dyed with transtint before they were epoxied together.

Thanks again for everyones time and comments!

[Kathy Marshall]

Fantastic piece Baxter! I love the form and the beading is stunning! The finial and pedestal look great in themselves, but I think I'm with the jury in that the embellisment in the pedestal draws the eye away from the form, but again they are turned beautifully.

[Alan Trout]

Baxter,

I am always hesitant to critique because in many ways the way I see things is a bit off from the rest of the world and I like certain things for strange reasons. Take what I think with a grain of salt. First I will say I like every part of this piece and I think the level of craftsmanship is exquisite. With that being said I do not like it all as one piece. I think the form would stand best on its one without a Pedestal. But I think the final fits the piece very well and compliments the piece. Its height is well proportioned to the vessel. I however commend you for thinking outside the box. That is something that more of use need to do.

Alan

[Michelle Rich]

I think it's lovely, Baxter. you can also , ususally get free from a tire place, the weights they use for tires. I used them for years to make bullets. Work well. They'd do just as well to keep your piece steady. :-)

[Jason Ritchie]

What a beautiful and stunning piece! Great job on the photography as well! The lighting was perfectly balanced.

[Allan Ferguson]

Wonderful piece.

[steven carter]

Baxter,

When I look at a piece, I try to formulate my response before reading the responses of others so I am not influenced by other opinions. That being said, when I viewed this piece I found myself immediately intriqued by the obvious high level or workmanship, and it was immediately apparent that this is excellent work. When I look at a piece I let my eyes be drawn to the focal point, much like viewing a painting. In this piece, I found my focal point jumping from the base to the main form and then the finial, only for the process to begin all over again. I am an old computer programmer, and felt myself going into an endless loop.
Just my 2 cents worth but I think this piece has a problem that I've never produced, too many great elements. I think something like DD's one curve piece, the base could be made to draw attention upward to the main form and finial. I hope someday to produce a piece that has too many great elements!

Steve

[David DeCristoforo]

…about this piece. It took a while. There is a lot to digest and that might be the reason. Overall, I am still impressed by the level of workmanship this exhibits. But there are a couple of things that don't "sit well" and detract from the cohesiveness of the form.


The strongest distraction for me is the embellishment at the bottom of the form. It just keeps grabbing my eye and forcing me to look at the bottom of the piece rather than seeing it as a whole. The transition between the body of the form and the pedestal is sweet as is the sweep from the top of the pedestal into the "onion". But then my eye gets stuck and I have to kind of "skip over" the embellishment and down to the base. Then the embellishment interferes with my eye returning to the top of the piece and I have to "skip over" it again.


On my last piece, I made the mistake of making the base too big. On this one I think the base might benefit from being a bit bigger. This is something that bothers me about many of the elevated forms I see. When the base is too small, it unbalances the piece and, in the extreme, results in a piece that looks "ungainly" . It's a mistake I made on many of my early pieces and as I look back at them now, I realize that I "intuited" this and began to make my bases a bit broader.


The finial, as I mentioned before, "flattens out" at the top. This is another mistake I was prone to and many of my earlier finials have straight sections which detract from the "flow". One of the hardest things for me has been getting that "sweet curve" in the upper area of the finial. One thing I have tried is to make the top flair of the finial a bit bigger. This allows for more of a curve at the top without making the finial look top heavy. It seems like there is an obsession with getting these things as small and thin as possible. But I am finding that a little more "meat" can result in a finial with a bit more substance that still looks graceful. I am thinking that proportion and "flow" are much more important than "getting it thin".


This may seem like a lot of "critiques" but it's only because there are so many elements to consider. Overall, this is a great turning and the mastery it embodies is self evident. I don't mean to pick it apart. None of the "issues" i mentioned are "deal killers" and should not be construed as anything but one learner's observations (opinions).

[John Keeton]

One of the hardest things for me has been getting that "sweet curve" in the upper area of the finial. One thing I have tried is to make the top flair of the finial a bit bigger. This allows for more of a curve at the top without making the finial look top heavy. It seems like there is an obsession with getting these things as small and thin as possible. But I am finding that a little more "meat" can result in a finial with a bit more substance that still looks graceful. I am thinking that proportion and "flow" are much more important than "getting it thin". (BOLD ADDED)David, this is a timely and interesting comment! I have been having much the same thoughts, and have even considered doing an "exaggerated" finial such that the curves are dramatic. It will take the right piece, and perhaps a couple of runs to get the desired effect.

Don't mean to hijack Baxter's thread, but just thought that was a very intuitive comment.

[Pete Jordan]

One of the nicest pieces I have ever seen!

[Doug Herzberg]

Baxter, I don't know why I'm just now seeing this. My first thought was that it's the best I've seen you post, both technically and artistically. I see someone else said that, too. I'm kind of new at this, but I've experimented with beads a little after seeing some of Wally's work and I know exactly what you mean about the enhancement of the grain. I like it.

[Hayes Rutherford]

Baxter, pretty much echoing what has already been said. You have developed some great skills and got some people looking long and hard at your work and that is a winner!!

[Baxter Smith]

I am truly appreciative of the positive comments and thoughtful critiques that have been offered on this piece. Creating something that may be worthy of such contemplation is both humbling and rewarding.

Being politically correct is not what I have in mind when I say this. I agree with those of you who mentioned they liked the similarities between pedestal and finial. I am also in agreement with those of you whose eyes just won’t stop jumping! :)

I seem to have an opinion on something I have turned as soon as I am done with it…. if not before. As soon as the epoxy was set on this one, my eye went to the form, then almost immediately down to the cherry embellishment in the pedestal. Not good! ;)

Eliminating the lower cherry embellishment or both of them was the first thing that came to mind. I later wondered if the “eye grabbiness” of the lower embellishment could be reduced by simply dying it black? Or would the black color now make that portion an unnecessary detail? You can’t always have your cake and eat it too!

Although I don’t seem to be inclined to do this, it’s a definite example to the benefits of doing “a series” of turnings.

All the other points mentioned have also been considered on multiple occasions and they are food for thought! Since I have revised and edited this multiple times between last night and this morning, I am going to keep it simple, stop here and head for the shop!

Thank you again for all your time and input!

[Prashun Patel]

(Humbly): I wonder if you might minimize the 'eye dropping' down to the lower cherry element by ebonizing it to the same color as the rest of the stand.

I really appreciate how the stand otherwise provides lift to the vessel, and allows the vessel's base to carry its curve to a small point, instead of forcing it to be wide as is necessary had this been free-standing.

[Baxter Smith]

....... I wonder if you might minimize the 'eye dropping' down to the lower cherry element by ebonizing it to the same color as the rest of the stand.......
You are not the first to wonder that Prashun.;):)Might be interesting to cover it with a piece of black electricians tape since I am "photoshop challenged".
I used concentrated transtint on the other portions. I'm not sure how the application of Bush oil and ren wax first would influence the final color match.

[John Keeton]

And, this is where some blue painter's tape and black satin lacquer might come in handy!! You could even mask the finial embellishment and spray it to match.

[Eric Holmquist]

Saw this piece in the instant gallery at the New England Woodturning Symposium, very nice!

[Steve Vaughan]

WOW! That's such a fantastic piece! It's gonna be a while before I can do something like that. Love the grain and the colors and the curves!

[Rich Aldrich]

Excellent work Baxter.

[Scott Hackler]

Baxter, this is a very nice piece and really shows off your turning skills. I really like to challenge myself with my turnings and with this piece it would seem that you did that as well. From the base of the HF to the top of the finial, I really like it. The thin stem merging into the form looks VERY nice (of course the thin appeals to me!). I will have to agree with the bottom cherry bead. Visually I think the stark contrast in the stem element ...with the rest of the stem... keeps pulling my eyes down. Perhaps dying it might relieve this issue. I would definitely photochop it first before applying any dye!

Overall, this is a very nice piece and I hope you make some more to refine this form.

[Jake Helmboldt]

I think the beads really set this apart from the many other variations on this style. Plus, having tried turning evenly proportioned beads I have mad respect for your ability to turn those and not ruin the lines of the piece. Really nice Baxter.

[Breck Whitworth]

As a fellow science teacher I must admit you probably have quite a few skills in the physics department to construct such a beautiful work of art supported with a such a tiny pedestal. Absolutely beautiful work

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks again for taking the time to express your thoughts!


...........I will have to agree with the bottom cherry bead. Visually I think the stark contrast in the stem element ...with the rest of the stem... keeps pulling my eyes down. Perhaps dying it might relieve this issue. I would definitely photochop it first before applying any dye!

Overall, this is a very nice piece and I hope you make some more to refine this form.

Scott, I had a small cherry bead that I had considered using and gave it a couple coats of Bush Oil, then a coat of Ren wax. After putting on some concentrated Black Transtint and leaving it overnight, it was a close enough match to consider trying.

Stuck a piece of black electrical tape over the bead on the pedestal and asked the wife what she thought. First response, "I told you not to put it in" and the second was "what do you want to change it for, just leave it alone." The black tape made that element "disappear" but didn't think it would be wise to go out and change it right away.....all things considered.;):)

I was thinking about doing another one with several refinements in mind even before this one was finished .... but then along came some osage orange, some ash, some yellow birch, some elm, some peach, and some hophornbeam that needed to be turned....and I have trouble resisting...:rolleyes: