Banksia pod ebony and lace wood

[Brian Brown]

It's been so long since I posted anything, I couldn't remember how. Here is the latest item I turned. For lack of a better name for the form, I call it a parfait cup. It is made from a Banksia pod, lace wood, and ebony. I didn't like how the random positioning of the holes in the banksia pod left a rough edge at the top, so I lamed it to some lace wood, so I could have a smooth edge. This was the first time I have turned a B Pod, and also the first time I turned lace wood. If you have never turned either, the only thing I can say is that they are really hard. Granite hard. Banksia pods are furry under the outside edge, and I had cut deeper than I expected to get past the fuzz. The fur was really hard to turn, but once I got past the hair, it turned nice, and looked good. Lace wood also turned nice, but slow because it was so hard. Ebony turns nice, like hard wax.

It is finished with one coat of walnut oil for now. The oil gave it a nice deep color, but I don't think it will be very durable. I am trying to determine a final finish, so any ideas are welcome. I am worried that a finish like lacquer will be messy in the holes.

It is about 8 inches tall, and almost 3 inches wide. The hardest part was turning the small cups under the goblet cup. Very thin, and I broke a bunch getting there. I don't think I'll turn anything that delicate again.

I welcome a critique on this one, especially on form, and proportions.

[Harry Robinette]

Brain
Very nice love the color coordination and the stem if beautiful. Just my thought I think the caller just below the top might be a little better if it was just a little smaller maybe 1/8" in height. Like I said JMO.

[Brian Kent]

Brian, that is wild! So much going on at once!

[Bill Bixby]

wow! what an amazing piece! Would be perfect for incense?

[Thom Sturgill]

Brian, I've turned one banksia pod - matched it with bubinga for the rim, stem and finial. Mine had no where near the style and flair yours shows, but I would expect no less considering your eye for photography. When talking proportions In an object like this, I tend to break it up because the eye does not take in the whole at once. The 'egg' and finial seem to be in good proportion and so does the egg and stem. I love how you layered the materials. Definitely a show piece and a keeper.

[Bill Hensley]

Very impressive! Color combos, style and proportions hit the mark. I have no suggestions for improvement, none, zip, nada.

[Chip Sutherland]

Very nice. I think the lam to lacewood was a good combination. I have rimmed my banksia with ebony. I echo your comments about turning banksia and lacewood. Hard stuff.

[Tim Rinehart]

Brian, lamming the lacewood with the banksia works really well, I like it and will likely blend these two at some time in the future. I've typically lammed mine with something like blackwood or walnut, but the character of the lacewood is a natural mate to the banksia pod.
Working with these pods is challenging at times, especially if your shooting for fine details.
I like your design and how you put the elements together, and using 3 different materials that can be a challenge but this works.
I kept looking at the the straight sections in both the stem and the finial, as I usually try to avoid straight sections, but you have that straight flare of lacewood at the top of the cup, and that makes me think having some straight taper in the stem and finial is ok, and perhaps even appropriate. I think elongating the finial an inch would improve proportions perhaps...but the overall piece is so classy in it's appearance, it's forgiven. You should be pleased with this, it came out really well.
I've typically chosen WOP (satin or gloss) to get the best overall appearance to banksia pieces, but since you've applied walnut oil, that will need to dry I think before you can apply the WOP. Usually takes many coats of WOP, and that's after having sealed the little pores (not the eyes, just the pores) with a slurry of CA while final sanding. That's a trick I picked up watching a demo by David Datwyler, he has made some incredible banksia pieces.

[Dennis Ford]

Brian; this is a great piece. The design is very good and the execution is very good also.
I think the finial could be improved slightly if made longer with more crisp details. I know that I would be proud to have turned it as is.

[Bob Rotche]

Brian, that is a really interesting piece and there's a lot going on. If you're serious about wanting a real critique, I would suggest you check out the new website www.woodturnersunlimited.com. There is a program in which turners who are interested in a supportive but honest critique can submit a piece for a formal review by a panel of 3 well recognized turning experts. The critique will then be posted as an educational article for the benefit of the artist as well as viewers in general. Really a great opportunity and you can't beat the price (free!)

[Scott Lux]

I really like this piece. Which is odd since I'm not a fan of forms on sticks. I know that's almost blasphemy.

[Roger Chandler]

Well done Brian! Conceptually, this piece is well designed and execution is very good as well. Combination of wood and bansksia pod is very complimentary. Obvious skill comes through in the piece as well. An observation here......it is different in that it has a lot of angular symmetry in the piece, and perhaps could have had more flowing curves.....a different look as in an onion on the stem, to compliment the onion on the finial, perhaps would have been a design choice that would have made it even better than it is.

The intent of the artisan is so important in these types of pieces, at least to me.......angular is different from curves and you have a combination of curves and angular features in this..........a beautifully done piece......any way you look at it, and whether one prefers curves over angles, angles over curves or a combination such as you have here, this is top shelf Brian!

Congratulations on a well designed and executed piece......you should be proud of this one!

[Ken Glass]

Brian,
I too, really like this piece. It seems to have all the right proportions of the different woods, and the form is very pleasing as well. Well Done.

[Justin Stephen]

Well done Brian! Conceptually, this piece is well designed and execution is very good as well. Combination of wood and bansksia pod is very complimentary. Obvious skill comes through in the piece as well. An observation here......it is different in that it has a lot of angular symmetry in the piece, and perhaps could have had more flowing curves.....a different look as in an onion on the stem, to compliment the onion on the finial, perhaps would have been a design choice that would have made it even better than it is.

Agreed. Specifically the very sharp transition from the lower part of the pod to the flare. I think I would have liked it better with a gentle curve transition there.


Congratulations on a well designed and executed piece......you should be proud of this one!

Definitely agreed. That is some impressive work.

[Brian Kent]

…the eye does not take in the whole at once. (from Thom's comment)

That is where I am with this piece. It draws me to stare at it. I am pretty sure that I really like it, but I need to stare at it for an hour.

[Wally Dickerman]

Very well done Brian. I really like it. My critique is with the pedestal and finial. The rule of thirds is a good one and could be applied here. The finial appears to be about half the height of the pedestal. 2/3rds would be better. A small flare of some sort on top of the finial might improve it. The pedestal stem appears a bit heavy to me. I feel that in most cases a curved surface is more pleasing to the eye the a flat one. A gentle curve the length of the stem would look better to me.

I really like what you've done to the base. To my eye it might be a little too wide but it looks good as it is.

Banksia pods are fun to work with. Even if you do have to put up with little seeds shooting at you like bullets:)

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice work Brian. The colors and layers look great. My eye is drawn to the appearance of straight lines in parts of the pedestal and finial. IF it was possible to make those very slight curves, it might appear more pleasing to my eye.

[Kathy Marshall]

Great job Brian! I really like the wood combo, the ebony and lacewood go very nicely with the banksia pod!

[Brian Brown]

Thanks to all who took the time to comment. As always, the comments are extremely valuable. It is amazing what we see when we want to see it. I could have sworn that the lace wood rim over the b pod cup was a continuous curve, but when I put a straight edge on it, it couldn't have been any straighter. As for the stem, it was actually continuously curved, but when I put the straight edge on it, the curve was so slight, I had a hard time seeing it. So just for fun, I did some modifications based on your comments. These modifications were done (sloppily) in image editing software, not on the lathe. Nothing was changed height wise, but I narrowed the base, and curved the stem and rim. The green and red lines show the ratios in composition. Does it work better now? Any other changes you would make?

[Robert McGowen]

I did not comment previously, as others know more about this style than I do. Just looking at your changes with the image software though, I think that the changed image is a much better looking piece than the original. (sorry!) The change in the stem is especially noticeable and the smaller base really helps.

[Wally Dickerman]

Big improvement Brian. It's surprising how sometimes just very small changes casn improve the balance and overall appearance of a turning.

[Bob Rotche]

Interesting design study. I agree with Wally. Not very big changes but makes a very noticeable difference.