Playing with embellishment

[Bob Rotche]

Here are a couple of shallow cherry bowls, both about 9" in diameter, turned with wide rims to practice embellishment techniques. First is a pyro'd Celtic knot pattern with pyro texture background. I learned that drawing this out is challenging and frustrating and really easy to screw up. The burning will definitely take some practice as well. Harder than it looks though I really admire the work of people that do it well so I will keep practicing. I like this one when I look at it from a distance but hate it when I look too close. I think it will be relegated to the basement.

The second has a nice crotch feather and the rim was carved with linear grooves in a radial pattern, painted with black gesso, then sanded down to reveal the bare wood. Really easy to do and gives a fairly striking look. Pyro'd little grooves around inner and outer edge to disguise carving slips. Definitely want to play with this some more.

Let me know what you think, C+C always welcomed and appreciated.

[Baxter Smith]

Well done Bob! . I am sure it will become better with practice but I admire your willingness to start. Burning is something I would like to try more of at some point

[Roger Chandler]

For just getting into pyro work on this level, you have done great Bob...........much more adventurous than I have been so far....I just got a pen a few months ago to sign my name with.........still have not mastered that as of yet! :o:)

[Eric Gourieux]

Bob those are nice. I particularly like the second one. Well done. Do you apply a finish over the black gesso?

[Jim Burr]

Dogonit Bob!!! You are on a big time roll!!! I'm a bit more fond of the knot pattern, but the radial thing is super cool!! Nice job on adding a big gun to the Rotche stash!! I was wondering how big the respective bowls are?

[Rick Markham]

Those are fantastic Bob!

[Kathy Marshall]

Those both look great Bob! If this is the result of your beginning pyro, can't wait to see what you can do with some practice!

[Doug W Swanson]

I think you are being too hard on yourself, Bob! They both turned out great!

[joel nucifore]

I agree both are awsome keep them coming

[Jay Jolliffe]

Tell you what Bob, you can send the Celtic Knot one to me & I won't put it in the basement. Great job on both.

[Michelle Rich]

Good practice bowls..I'm sure you will improve with each one you make..keep sharing so we can travel with you on your journey.

[Johnny Taylor]

Bob I think they both look really good:cool: Keep it up!

[Bob Rotche]

Thanks all for the words of encouragement, it really does help. I suspect many of us tend to be overly critical of our own work and I know I've sent a number of things to the burn pile that maybe didn't need to. Always good to hear from people that are struggling with the same issues. I tend to be more process oriented rather than product oriented so I really don't mind trying new things with variable success at the beginning as long as I see progress. I'm not trying to turn out a quantity of product to sell, in fact I have yet to sell a single piece. Maybe some day when I figure out what area I want to focus on and stick with it long enough to master it. For now, it's still wood turning ADD and jumping from one thing to the next! It's a fun process and even more so when it can be shared with a group like this.

[Thom Sturgill]

Bob, I love both of them. I love working with cherry, turns well and takes the pyro well, yielding a variety of shades with some nice color. Both are well done and I like the knot pattern. Looks well done too. Remember that you can use a sharp knife to scrape back some of the burn where you vary from your line.
I agree with Jay, you could send that to me and it would not end up hidden in the basement.(Hard since Florida homes rarely have basements)

I suggest getting a cherry board and practice burning on that. Do several blocks of different shading techniques. You can always sand it off and practice again. Also do boards of different woods before starting on an actual project. Each wood species burns a little different, so at least try a few lines shaded areas etc.

[Tim Rinehart]

Sheesh...take a nice feathered crotch piece and you just butchered it...hmmmph.;)
Of course...this is pure jest. I love the celtic knot work and know how difficult it is to just layout something like that on a small scale, let alone a plate like that. I suspect you're being over-critical, or the photos just aren't showing what bothers you to us. I like it.
The second piece is where I'm thinking maybe you were aiming for a bit of a distressed look for the outer rim area by sanding off some of the gesso'd area, but don't like that it now 'looks sanded'. You may want to experiment with wire brushing to remove some of the gesso without leaving a 'sanded' look. Just throwing ideas out...but wonder what it would look like to follow back up on the areas where the gesso was removed and rub in or dry brush some alternate color or even metallic color (i.e rub-n-buff).
Good to see the experimentation.

[Tony De Masi]

Nice work Bob. I favor the "knot" piece myself because it's not perfect. Certainly has that hand crafted look to it. Keep em coming too.

[Bernie Weishapl]

For a first those are well done. Lots of practice and it looks like you are on the way.