The Bishop's Mitre (Intentions)

[David DeCristoforo]

The question of where one get's one's ideas often arrises. The answers are always varied. For me, I never know when or where the next one will strike or what the "inspiration" will be. But, for better or for worse, come they do. This is the second time I have had an idea for a turning while playing chess. The idea of a split finial has been around for a long time. I have no idea (no pun intended) who did it first but I can say that the first one I ever saw was on a Mark Sanger piece.


It was not my original intention to make a finial like this. I was planning on a hollow form on a pedestal with a fairly "conventional" finial. But this thought broke in and I was stuck with it. This is my first attempt at a "carved" finial and I may be tempted to pursue this further. On the other hand, it might look just a bit too much like a clothes pin to be worth investing much more than a "oh well" on.

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[Allan Ferguson]

A very pretty and interesting wood in the body with appealing shape. Your finial will take on a different look with change of view. Excellent work as usual. I have been looking forward to seeing something from you.

[Alan Trout]

David,

What is funny is that before I read your post, when I first looked at the finial I said " Man that reminds of a clothes pin" But with that being said I think it goes well with the form and and I like it along with the contrasting colors. The wood in the main body is awesome. The continuation of the upper curve into the final really keeps everything together and makes it very pleasing to the eye. The main curve of the body is wonderfully voluptuous.

Alan

[Nate Davey]

Beautiful form, David. The wood if fabulous. The finial craftsmanship is top notch. I'm going to need to sit a stare at it for a while to see how I feel.

[Brian Kent]

My favorite part of the piece is the way you oriented that spectacular grain. Then the finial splays the energy like a fountain instead of a lightning rod. I love the Bishop's Mitre reference. As a "man of the cloth" I think some of the church's garb is hilarious. I would never want to wear one, but I would like to be asked to wear one. My wife says the first time I wear a clergy collar she is leaving me. She is still with me.

[Roger Chandler]

Wood species? Looks like cherry burl....a lot going on with the grain on that one! Nice contrast on the wood and finial.

[Doug W Swanson]

What is funny is that before I read your post, when I first looked at the finial I said " Man that reminds of a clothes pin"
Alan

That's exactly what I thought. I love the form and the colors of the wood go so well together but I'm not very crazy of the finial....

[Jeff Moffett]

I love that your pieces are inspired and always have beautiful flowing lines. The wood and form are gorgeous. I don't have a strong opinion either way on the finial, but it certainly adds interest to the piece. The top appears to be very small, so I'm curious if you hollowed from the bottom. If not, how big is the opening?

[David DeCristoforo]

"...I'm curious if you hollowed from the bottom...."

It's hollowed from the top through a 5/8" hole. The wood is the last piece of the "found" burl I made the last "series" of hollow forms from. I hope I can find some more!

"Wood species? Looks like cherry burl..."

The wood is the last piece of the "found" burl I made the last "series" of hollow forms from. I hope I can find some more! It was suggested that this was a mistletoe burl that had grown on a honey locust tree. This was from a guy who is very familiar with the woods from California's Central Valley. It sounded good to me so that's what I going with.

PS The finial and "stopper" are rosewood...

[Roger Chandler]

very pretty grain in that David......I hope you can find some more as well!

[Kathy Marshall]

As everyone else has said, the wood is gorgeous! and the rosewood is a perfect contrast. As usual, the form looks great (I don't remember a form from you that was anything but). I think the finial is interesting and I like it.

[allen long]

The wood is stunning. I love both the finial and base form as separate parts. And I think the transition/flow from the bottpm form into the finial is beautiful. I am not entirely sure they work together, mainly because the bottom tends to overwhelm the finial proportionately from a width to height perspective. Perhaps a slightly shorter and wider finial? The craftsmanship, fit and finish are all absolutely stellar!

That all said, I could certainly learn a boatload from you on turning technique. Let me give you an address to ship this piece when you make your next one!

[Curt Fuller]

David, I've really enjoyed seeing the different forms you've created from that beautiful piece of "found" wood. But this one stands above the rest in my eyes. I think the unique finial sets it off very nicely. Not knowing where your inspiration came from I can't help but think of my own reverse inspiration. The finial looks like a curvy, kind of sexy old clothespin. And I mean that in a complimentary way. You've taken kind of an everyday, what was at one time commonplace, household item and tweeked and bent it into something that looks really cool atop that beautiful hollowform. At least that's how I see it. But I'm not a chess player.

[David Walser]

David - I love the piece. I'm not sure if the finial adds or detracts. The finial doesn't remind me of a clothes pin as much as it does of a lady's boot. I look forward to your refinements of the concept.

[Rick Markham]

David, It's been awhile since I have been on here and it was nice to see a piece you had posted. The wood is definitely unbelievable, I hope you find a boat load of that stuff! I really like the form, it's very organic in appearance, almost fruit like. I like the finial. On the next one I'd be tempted to take some additional weight out of the center of the bishops hat, It would minimize the "clothes-pin" appearance, and if you gave that negative space one of your super sweet curves (needle files and rifflers?) I think it would make it feel much lighter. I can't see from the single viewpoint if it would alter the form too much and lose the bishops hat.

It's a stellar piece, and I look forward to getting to see where you go with this. Well done!

[Philip Duffy]

Besides which, David, most folks these days would not know a clothes pin if it was stuck on their nose!! Well done on a great looking piece!! Philip

[Mark Hubl]

Now I know what a bishop's mitre is. Learn something new every day. Curious, was it the actual chess piece that inspired, or just thinking of the word bishop? Any way, another lovely piece of wood and form. I am struck by the flow into the finial on this one. Nicely done to my eye. I too saw a clothes pin before reading your comments or enlarging the pic. Maybe it is an age thing! Upon further examination I like it, maybe not so much for what it is, but for what it is not. I like it because it is different. I know that many strive for a "signature" along this journey in wood, it is nice to see the experimentation and know some of it's inspiration. Your talents in woodworking are many and I look forward to see what you do with the addition of carving/sculpting to your pieces. Also hope you find some more of that wood.

[David DeCristoforo]

"...was it the actual chess piece that inspired, or just thinking of the word bishop?"

The chess bishop is almost always represented by some reference to the mitre. In most sets, the mitre is a simple angled saw cut. The pieces I have are a reproduction of the original "Cook pattern" Staunton pieces designed and manufactured by John Jaques in 1849. These pieces are much more refined and detailed than the "average" chess set. You can see a picture of the original set here and you can see the bishop's mitre clearly...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staunton_chess_set

[Rick Markham]

The picture of the chess set makes it crystal clear now, I also think the angle you have it turned slightly leads to an optical illusion of it's "thickness" at least for me, can we see a profile of the finial? it looks like you've pretty much matched the curve inside of the chess piece, I like the way you've flared the tops out, it's almost as if they are leaves about to open, regardless it really flows nicely with the form, especially the transition from the form into the cap.

[David DeCristoforo]

"...can we see a profile of the finial?"

Here ya go...

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[Rick Markham]

I take back my original comment, it was an optical illusion. It's really spectacular David, it only vaguely resembles a clothes pin, maybe Dr. Seus' clothespin!