The Gilded Urn

[John Keeton]

This piece is a first on many levels. It is, by far, the largest piece I have done. As it sits in the stand, it is 17.5" to the top. The urn portion is just over 13", and the top is a couple of inches. Width at the band is a bit under 6".

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The inspiration here is obviously the work of David Marks, and it is my first attempt at chemical patination of leaf. Jeff Myroup provided some information for me, but it is really just a "wing it" effort, and there are many things I would do differently. The leaf is a mixture of gold (composition), copper and silver. The really dark areas of leaf are silver. The copper seemed to react much better with the chemicals, but I need a lot of practice to get a nice, broad range of color - not achieved on this one. There is a black and deep red painted surface under the leaf.

I am not crazy about the form, and wasn't from the beginning. But, it does make a nice canvass for trying this out. The top portion of the vase is box elder burl, and the bottom is Claro walnut. The band was an inset piece of maple to conserve the other two woods. The walls are between 1/8" and 3/16".

The "ring" of the stand is laminated hard maple - two layers - in order to have long grain all around. The legs are white oak, and are set in recesses cut from the band. There are three rubber dots on the inside of the ring that hold the form away from the ring.

I really need to shoot a well lit close up of the stand, and assuming the piece does not sell tomorrow at the Derby Celebration, I will do that. Kind of under a time crunch right now.

The elements of the stand were first dyed black with Fiebings USMC black, and finished with a few coats of Behlen satin black spray lacquer - neat stuff!

The form is finished with BLO, shellac (several coats) and General WTF. I learned a lot about the idiosyncrasies of the WTF finish with this one!

My thoughts on this one - as noted, I would not do this form again - just don't care for it. I will do more leaf work, but with a bit more practice beforehand. I just did a quick test board for this, and a flat board and a round form are two different things! I really like the stand, and while it was a fairly complex turning/flatwork project alone, it was worth it.

So......give me your thoughts on this one.

[David DeCristoforo]

Oooo, Mr. Keeton! This is simply spectacular! Don't give a hoot where the inspiration came from. I cannot find anything to say except what I just said... spectacular!!!

[Rich Greinert]

Wonderful piece to say the least, very impressive!

From a design stand point it would have a much different feel if the bottom of the vase followed through to a point. It feels a little "cut off" in it's present form to my eye.

Again a wonderful piece.

[Roger Chandler]

Aaaah yes..........been waiting on this ones debut! I like the way it turned out John...........the patination surprises me a little, as you only did a partial ..........however, you likely remember my comments to you that I thought it was almost a shame to cover up that pretty box elder and claro walnut anyway. I do like it however..............and you certainly have a winner on your hands.

This must have been a great deal of work...........many hours in this one without a doubt..........also nice that you are pushing the envelope a little and expanding your finishing arsenal............patination is something a long way off for me to even attempt. I also think this simpler stand is the way to go.........the arms on the other one made for a too busy form, and would have competed for the viewers eye.......[my opinion] but it was really nice on your sketch.........might be something to re-visit on some future project.

I think this will be well received at Derby Days!!!

[David DeCristoforo]

OK…. now that I have caught my breath, I want to add a bit to my comment. There are probably eight or more "little things" that could fall into the category of "ways to improve on this". Rich thinks it might be better if the bottom came to a point. Covering the beautiful wood with gold leaf was mentioned and that might fall in. Others may feel that the lid does not "carry through" as well as it might.


For me, any and/or all of these and any others that might be mentioned in what is sure to become a very long thread, are expressions of personal taste. I'm perfectly willing to acknowledge the validity of personal taste and I am sure that, if it had been me who had envisioned this piece, many of these details would have been done differently.


Nevertheless, my immediate reaction upon seeing this was a sharp intake of breath. It is beautiful in every respect and truly a work of art. Art is supposed to make you feel something. Some artists delight in making us feel pain or squeamishness. Others attempt to make us laugh. But my preferred form of art is that which inspires the joy of true beauty and that is what this turning does. Wherever you go from here, this is going to be hard to top!

[Brian Kent]

It's exciting to see a number of ideas and techniques that are impossible for me today, and beyond my understanding, and to see them come together in a striking form. Others (and you yourself) can suggest improvements. I'll just be standing over here saying, "Wow!"

[Jeremy Leasure]

Fantastic work. I'm not equipped with the experience to critique anything yet so I'll leave it there :)

[wes murphy]

Spectacular, Mr Keeton!

[Pete Gray]

Firstly John I think this is a wonderful piece.
Yes there are plenty of suggestions for you to consider, however I tend to look more at the overall theme / intention of the piece and where it may be going.
Obviously this is not going to be a "one off" & as such this is a fabulous launching pad that we will be watching for future developements that may indeed incorporate some of the suggestions plus some of your own expansions on the theme.
:)
Pete

[Robert Henrickson]

Beautiful. Little to criticize, much to praise. I think the comment about bringing the base to more of a point was a good suggestion. I believe I saw this at an early stage some time ago -- if so, this set of legs is a great improvement.

[Deane Allinson]

Very nice, indeed. David touched on most of areas that aren't as strong as the form it's self. I tend to be a minimalist so decoration usually doesn't excite me, but this is an exception. I will look at this several more times to figure out why the applications are so appealing. Again, Very nice!
Deane

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

When I first began to read the turning forum and saw your picture I commented you looked like a well known country singer. Now I have to begin thinking about you as a not as well known California artist whose work I've always admired. I've often thought about taking a class with David Marks to learn his chemical patination process. I bought the DVD but haven't tried it yet. You did and got really wonderful results, especially for the first time. You are correct that DM has a way of drawing out multiple colors. I think he may use more silver than gold to achieve that.
Anyway John, as always, just a wonderful and artsy piece. I like your twist in using a light colored burl for the top. The handle (sorry I can't think of a better word) is particularly creative. Keep up trying new things so the rest of us can admire them.
faust

[Sid Matheny]

Just Fantastic! This is one of those pieces you just want to hold in you own hands!

Sid

[Ted Evans]

Absolutely stunning, but then, I do not recall ever seeing anything that you have done that was not. My wife saw it and her comment was, "oh my gosh, that is gorgeous, would you make me one"? I am sill laughing at the silly girl.

[Alan Trout]

John,

I really like the form on this as I have always really liked Egyptian urns. I tend to agree with Davids comments. There really are not any improvements that it needs, and any changes made are for the sake of personal taste or style nothing else. It is complete as it sits.

Alan

[Steve Schlumpf]

John - as I have been privy to a little more behind the scenes info than most... I can honestly say that the result was well worth the considerable effort! I do like the stand/legs you created for this piece and wonder if most here grasp just how difficult it is to create 3 equal and matched legs!!

I know this is only the beginning of your exploration into the patination process and seriously look forward to seeing where this takes you!

Oh.... forgot to mention... Very nice work!

Best of luck with the Derby tomorrow! Remember to take lots of photos and share!!

[Lee Alkureishi]

Really beautiful work, something to aspire to for all us lesser turners. I also like the suggestion of bringing the bottom a point., but that is really just a minor and personal taste thing. Fantastic!

[Curt Fuller]

John, that's really pretty and I'm having a hard time seeing anything about it that you don't like. If there is anything that might be improved I would say it would be the lid/knob. It's shape seems to break the flow of the rest of the piece. But maybe that was your intention. But I think that's really a nice piece.

[Wally Dickerman]

It's hard to be critical of this piece. Beautiful in every way.

I will offer my opinion on a couple of things....I feel that the bottom of the vessel seems "chopped off". Rather than a sharp point I would have liked to see a rounded bottom. The piece appears to be just a little top heavy. Perhaps if the vessel was a couple of inches farther down in the ring?

Just my thoughts on a very well done piece. You say you don't like the vessel form...I do.

[John Keeton]

Thanks for all the comments and thoughts. My thought on the bottom was that in order for one to show the piece (remove it from the stand) it would need a base on which to sit - that, and I don't particularly care for the rounded or pointed bases. Wally, I struggled with the idea of how deep to have the piece sit in the stand. Of course, that decision had to be made prior to determining the diameter of the ring. I wanted enough room to work with the leaf and still have it terminate well above the ring, so this is where it ended up.

On the top, as Roger and Steve know, the original idea for the stand included a shape similar to the top, and it would have tied together. In fact, I finished the stand, but the vase sits unstable in it, and it doesn't work on numerous levels. Overall, it detracts from the piece. However, I expect someday to use it as a base for another piece.

I was packing up for tomorrow's Derby thing and thought while I had the photo tent set up I should go ahead and take a couple of pics of the stand. The trick here was not really getting all the legs the same - that was pretty easy. The real challenge is in getting them to engage with the ring exactly the same in order for the stand to sit level. With three legs, it would always sit on the surface, but if one or more of the legs were "splayed" different than the others, the ring would not be level. I fitted the legs while the ring was still connected to the larger disk of laminated maple from which it was turned, and used the tool rest to gauge the "splay" on each leg until it was fitted correctly.

[Eric Holmquist]

Great piece, I like the partial gilding that allows some of the beautiful Claro Walnut to show through. I really like the deceptively simple knob on top. The stand is really special. I think I need to think about making stands. I've tried playing with guilding and appreciate the round is different than flat comment!

[Jim Burr]

Yeah...that fires on all engine! A thought...and since we are all learning...I was looking at the transition between the BLM cap and the gold leaf. If you can create a more seamless transition...and I don't know if it can be done, but that would give a cool illusion. Gallery time for that one!

[charlie knighton]

glad to see you reaching, its a very nice piece, the flat bottom puts me off, but i like your thinking, and it is different

hope to see more of your exploration

[Jeff Myroup]

John
You should get the videos early next week. They went out today. I like your first attempt. Depending on the metal and chemical, the reaction can take some time.

[Scott Hackler]

Great piece John. There are a couple little knit picks that others meantioned but over all this is a very very nice piece. (like we don't expect greatness anyways) Good luck in the show.

[Rick Markham]

I know you don't particularly care for the form, but it really works spectacularly. This turned out super nice John, the boxelder almost glows with the leafing. I like the "plug" in the top too, it ties up the shape really well and the boxelder hemisphere on top is icing on the cake. The stand is really awesome, perfect right down to the chamfers on the tops of the legs. I learned alot from my singular experience with the WTF, it's a very different animal than WOP. I tried shooting it with my airbrush, with not much success, I will have to play a bit with that, as I'm sure it was "operator error." I ended up just applying it with white cotton tshirt material, and got an excellent finish, and it certainly saved me HEAPS of time over the WOP

[Kathy Marshall]

John, I think this is a beautiful piece as it is. Any little nits would only be personal preference and should not take away from the piece. I agree with the comments about the bottom appearing chopped off, but understand the need for a flat bottom for it to stand on it's own if needed. I love the contrast between the top and the main form, and the effect of the patina. I also like the form. Good luck in the show, I have a feeling this one will sell quickly!

[Doug W Swanson]

John,
I think you did a great job here. While there are a couple of very minor things that I don't care for (just my tastes), everything seems to flow really well together. I'm sure it will sell fast!

[Michelle Rich]

My, my, you have been experimenting. I luv the lid lifter..very appealing..a pointier bottom, as others said..great base..I've seen variations of this theme in quite a few places. it is pleasing, that's why it has endured. My only nitpick is the sharp deliniation at the burl top. If you had made it varied as you did into the black area, I would have said..THAT gosh darn Keeton HAS IT!(IMHO) But after saying that, this is a spectacular vessel, and you have great reason to be quite proud of it..I hope you get to put it in some Kentucky shows & see folks reaction to it..I think the general public and other artists from different disciplines will like it.

[Dale Miner]

John,

Looks like you have taken another (big) step forward.

You have the eye for doing your own critque, so I'll leave the nit picking to you. I rather like the metal leaf and patination.

Could you explain the lamination thing of the stand a bit better?

Later,
Dale

[Lee Koepke]

WOW.
I have always liked your work, and the works of David Marks .... put the two inspirations together----very impressive. I had to think that the legs were an even more challenging effort than you let on to be, my first thoughts were 'how do you keep the angles of those legs consistent in all three dimensions'.

Thanks for sharing this with us!

[Mike Golka]

John that is one gorgious piece, Very well done.

[Bernie Weishapl]

John I must say it is beautiful and impressive. Mary Ann said she can say is Wow and stunning.

[Dan Hintz]

This is arguably my favorite piece ever posted on the Creek so far...

[Russell Eaton]

John it looks INCREDIBLE! I like the way you incorperated the leaf in the shading of the piece. It is a great looking piece. Thankz for showing.

[Jamie Donaldson]

Spectacular in all ways John, and I would have extended and rounded the vessel base a bit more to make it PERFECT!!

[Bill Wyko]

John, every time I see something new from you, the bar gets raised a little higher (actually a lot higher in this case. ) Extremely well done piece in form, guilding, style and grace. Another one to enjoy and be inspired by.

[Ted Evans]

Just out of curiosity and for my education John, would you expound on your reasons for using more or less, straight sharp lines in the finial area whereas the remainder of the piece is more soft flowing lines?

[John Keeton]

Thanks, all! Ted, there are no straight lines in the top. There are two areas with upward curves - both underside and upper, and the knob has a flare to it, with the top surface consisting of the dome of burl (matching the dome area of the form) and the upward curve leading out to the top edge. Hope that makes sense. Sort of an Asian look, I suppose, but I am not sure there is any other reason than just contrast. I tend to like contrast in color, texture and form in a piece. As commented before, the original base for this piece replicated the knob/finial, but was not used. I probably need to post a pic of that just to give you an idea of the plan - albeit a bad one!

Lee, the legs were simply cut with a bandsaw from flat stock dimensioned to thickness, with attention to grain direction for strength, then sanded and tapered. It was a pretty quick task, really.

Dale, the glue up for the ring consists of two layers of maple, with opposing grain direction so that there is long grain all around on at least one of the layers. It was a disc, with a glued on waste block, and the ring was turned with a thin layer of wood holding it on the disc. The legs were let into the ring while it was still on the lathe.

While opposing grain direction isn't a good thing for most glue ups, there is so little wood involved here, I do not expect any difficulties.

[David DeCristoforo]

"...opposing grain direction isn't a good thing for most glue ups..."

Whenever I made pieces like this that were laminated, I always used at least three layers. It's kind of like making plywood. The more layers (glue lines) there are, the more stable the piece. Also, more layers means thinner layers which lessens the likelihood that the pieces will move. I don't imagine that you will have a problem with this one but on future pieces, using more thinner layers would add some insurance.

[Dale Miner]

Thanks for the explantion John. I agree, there should not be a problem related to wood movement. Without the layers, there would have been at least one leg joining at a vunerable area.

Looks like you got the weatherman to let up on the rain for the event.

Later,
Dale

[Hayes Rutherford]

John, this sure is a nice piece to add to your ever growing body of work. With your skills, I think you should do a few more.

[Ted Evans]

Thanks for the explanation John, makes sense....and I like the base just as it is.

[Doug Herzberg]

John, everything you post is spectacular, but this takes the cake. I showed it to Mrs. Herzberg, who said to me, "You've got a long way to go, buddy." As if.

I'm not going to critique - I'd be way out of my league, but to paraphrase Potter Stewart, I may not be able to define art, but "I know it when I see it."

[Baxter Smith]

Very striking work John! Two things seem to really stand out to me. The "stand";) is one of them, and the other is the way the patination ties the two different woods together. I am not always enamored with heavily patinated pieces, but I find your minimal use of it very attractive here!

[Nick Stagg]

John, I think you did a marvelous job!! From a technical standpoint its very, very good......the ring, the legs, the long grain, you put some thought into this.

As with all surface enhancements it takes repetition and experience to become skilled, but I'd say you're well on your way.

Congratulations!!

[Norm Zax]

Great piece John. I am particularly impressed with the way in which the burl is now conceived as golden (the BLO's contribution?) and the gold filtering in to the walnut, slowly dissipating into dark brown. The majority of exposed walnut is a decision I fully back and the lack of Mark's multi colors served you well here. I agree with Rich that a sharp bottom (or nearly sharp) would have given the form a more fluid character.
Is the leaf also covered with BLO and is this a good move (perhaps unavoidable)?
Very well done!

[John Keeton]

I really appreciate the supportive comments!
Great piece John. I am particularly impressed with the way in which the burl is now conceived as golden (the BLO's contribution?) and the gold filtering in to the walnut, slowly dissipating into dark brown. The majority of exposed walnut is a decision I fully back and the lack of Mark's multi colors served you well here. I agree with Rich that a sharp bottom (or nearly sharp) would have given the form a more fluid character.
Is the leaf also covered with BLO and is this a good move (perhaps unavoidable)?
Very well done!Thanks, Norm. In my limited experience, box elder burl has a yellow cast to it anyway, and BLO and/or shellac seem to enhance that somewhat. The leaf was not applied until the entire piece has several coats of shellac - mostly to fill the grain on the Claro. There was a lot of wet sanding with shellac and rubbing out. After patination, the leaf is sprayed with shellac to set the colors and stop the chemical process.

[Tim Rinehart]

JK, nicely done. This is a beautiful piece, and while it may not do it for you in it's entirety (if I get your comments), it certainly gets the rest of us quite well. I like how you are able to keep reinventing both style and elements and your elaboration on them really is a source of inspiration and experimentation for alot of us. Thanks for that and for sharing this piece.

[Erik Johanson]

I gotta say I think this looks beautiful. I happen to be a fan of a lot of the work David Marks does and While your not so much a fan of the form I think you nailed it. David tends to do a lot of pieces with an Asian/Egyptian (or at least the ones I have seen) feel to them and I think you nailed it. Great job.