"Amflora"

[David DeCristoforo]

The "amphora series" was feeling neglected. I felt like I had reached a plateau with these pieces and maybe even started sliding down the wrong side so I had set the whole thing aside for a while. This one has a bit of a different spin on the proportions. I wanted to try a Mike Foster multi-axis thing but I did not feel competent to go for fourteen so I decided to start out simple…one.


My two favorite woods… rosewood burl and ebony. No dyes or finish needed. Sanded to 1500, waxed and polished. It's hard not to like anything made from these woods. The richness of the rosewood burl is amazing and this picture does not really convey it. I'm always amazed when I look at the beautiful NE bowls that Chris Ramsey turns from this wood. I would love to get my hands on some bigger pieces like he uses but, on the other hand, I'm not yet confident enough to attempt a piece like that! I always have "my heart in my throat" when I turn a piece of this wood because I'm so nervous about screwing it up.

So, here is the latest in the "amphora series". This one is 5" at the rim and 16" tall. Critiques are always welcome.

235501

[Russell Eaton]

Another AMAZING piece. Glad you didn't forget how to turn these.

[Roger Chandler]

Wow! David, don't know if you were shooting for this or not..........but it looks as if the wide points on the rim and the body down to the transition to your pedestal at the bottom of the body seems to hit the curve pretty well.........if you drew a line you would see the curve I am speaking of.

Wood is beautiful as you say, and I like the matching foot ...........ties everything together nicely! Form is great..........I know you were going for maximum use of that natural edge "flower" at the rim.........really nice.........proportionally, a tad smaller diameter would have made this perfect at the rim, but then you would have lost the natural edge........so you did the correct thing! Nice, Nice, Nice!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful piece David as usual. Love the wood and natural edge.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I like it!

I really like the wide flared NE rim and your use of sapwood to highlight the opening. Love the heart shaped bowl portion and the way it seems to balance on top of the pedestal! Also, nice job on the long taper of the pedestal! You are right on the wood combo used... beautiful coloring! Nice work David! You should be happy with the results!

[Eric Gourieux]

David,
Amazing. Again! When I see one of your posts, I literally stop...pause a few seconds and take a deep breath before looking at your picture. I know that something incredible is coming - and something to make me mad - or jealous. Anyway, you did it again. I, too, love those woods together.

I suspect that your technique is somewhat of a secret, but if you are up to it some day, I'd love to see a step-by-step photo series of how you turn these. Just seeing the process would help me, and I assume many others, in taking our work a step further. Your turning skills are so superior (to mine, at least) that you would not have to worry about having your pieces duplicated. For example, do you turn the finial separate from the HF and separate from the foot and then glue them together or is it glued up and turned as one piece? Is the "heart shaped bowl portion" hollow?

You've got a good thing going with this series. Keep the pics coming!

[Kathy Marshall]

That's a beauty David! I love the sapwood and NE accent and the flared rim. Beautiful wood and a great combo, nothing not to love about it.

[joel nucifore]

really nice it has the WOW all over it..............................

[Deane Allinson]

Beautiful piece! The small details are so important in a piece like this. The sapwood on the base, adds so much to the overall piece.
"God is in the details" - Mies van der Rohe
Deane

[Alan Trout]

David,

That is a nice piece, I am glad to seeing you do them again. I like the proportions of the foot on this one compared to the rest of the piece.

Alan

[Baxter Smith]

A reminder of what I hoped to see in San Jose......and didn't!;)
Great curves and subtle details make it work for me David! Gorgeous wood doesn't hurt either but without the former.......:)

[David DeCristoforo]

Thanx for the comments.

"…don't know if you were shooting for this or not…"


Thanx Roger… yes I was "shooting" for that. My earlier attempts in this "series" were "planned" on the fly with proportions being judged more or less by eye. I have never been totally satisfied with any of them. Right now, I feel OK about this one but after I look at it for a while, I will probably see something that necessitates another experiment!


"…I suspect that your technique is somewhat of a secret…"


Oh yes…. very closely guarded. But not for the reasons you might assume. I have always maintained that any reasonably accomplished turner would be stricken with uncontrollable side splitting laughter upon seeing what passes for "technique" in my shop!


"…what I hoped to see in San Jose......and didn't!"


Sorry about that, Baxter. I am only an hour and a half away from San Jose but was unable to get away. It was very disappointing but "sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you".




"…I'd love to see a step-by-step photo series…"


I would love to do one. I may get time at some point but right now, I barely have time to turn at all and I am loath to take any of that time to stop for photos!

"Is the "heart shaped bowl portion" hollow?"

Yes.