Mesquite Bowl

[Kathy Marshall]

I turned this on Thursday with the intention of adding some embellishment to the rim. When I finished for the night, the bowl was finish turned except for the bottom. On Friday, I finished sanding and cut the grooves in the rim. Next was to decide what to do with the rim. I thought about branding it, then I thought about burning some geometric shapes in and then texturing the area around the shapes, but finally settled on burning in some mesquite branches and leaves.

I used a skew tip on my burner to burn in the branches and leaves. It looked ok, so I mounted it back in the chuck and applied some steel wool/vinegar solution to ebonize the band. When the ebonizing was done, the branches and leaves didn't look so good, the lines were a little too fine and kinda got lost in the dark surface. I knew I was going to need to do something else, and decided to quit for the night and hopefully I'd come up with something.

When I went to the shop today, I'd narrowed down my options and settled on using my Foredom to carve in the branches and leaves, cutting below the ebonized layer to end up with some contrast.

I'm pretty happy with the results, although it's certainly not perfect. I wanted to try something different (drawing with the burner) and even though I had to correct it, I learned some things that will help with the next piece.

It's 10" x 3" finished with DO and Antique oil.
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This is the tip I used to cut the leaves, the stems where cut with a V chisel.
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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[Richard Jones]

K,

good ogee shape, I would maybe have done a slightly smaller base, but that's just me. Wonderful detail on the underside of the rim on the exterior! Can you do a closer shot of that with a different angle?

While I've only turned a small amount of mesquite, I can see how trying to maintain the crispness of any embellishment detail could be difficult.

Wonderful bowl, thanks.

R

[Steve bellinger]

That's a really cool looking job on that bowl . I really like that little extra on the bottom of the rim.

[charlie knighton]

nice form Kathy, like the black rim and carving........it appears the black ebonized rim is not black/black. i have had trouble with not having something black/black with ebonizing and burning........i wonder if ink would make the rim blacker??????????

[Bill Holland]

I like it, I usually don't like any type embellishments on bowls. This really works, I think it would have more balance to have a repeating scheme all the way aroud the rim but hey that's why everyone makes different ways. I nee to step out of my box one day & make something in a style I have never done before- none of my bowls or platters have ever had any carving or embellishments at least none so far.

Bill

[Doug W Swanson]

I think it turned out great. The lighter than usual banding makes the bowl look old and somewhat rustic....

[Jerry Marcantel]

Nice job Kathy. It even looks like you put in some thorns. Good job....... Jerry (in Tucson)

[jwjerry w kowalski]

Kathy, I think you're getting close to do some outstanding and original work, the first tries are always the hardest and give root to new ideas and techniques, keep it up.

[Joseph M Lary]

What is the name of the carver you are using . I have seen it before but do not know what it called or where it get it . nice bowl I have been looking into pyrography & carving on some of my works .

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking bowl Kathy. I like the rim and embellishments on it. Nice from.

[David DeCristoforo]

The stem and leaf carving has the feeling of sumi-e japanese ink painting. I like the "white on black" effect too. This could really go somewhere!

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks everyone!
It's a good start and gave me some ideas to try. I never would have thought to do any carving after the ebonizing if I hadn't been forced to correct a mistake, but I do like the look and the contrast so I doubt you've seen the last of it.

K,

good ogee shape, I would maybe have done a slightly smaller base, but that's just me. Wonderful detail on the underside of the rim on the exterior! Can you do a closer shot of that with a different angle?

While I've only turned a small amount of mesquite, I can see how trying to maintain the crispness of any embellishment detail could be difficult.

Wonderful bowl, thanks.

R
Thanks Richard. I do think this is one of my better ogee shapes. The bottom is actually a little smaller than it appears in the photo. I forgot to take a pic of the bottom, but the base sits on a small beaded foot. I now also know that mesquite will not be my 1st choice for carving or pyroing in curving lines. It doesn't carve easily and because of the coarse grain, the skew tip had it's own ideas about where it wanted to go, but it does work great for branding.
Here's a couple of pics of the rim detail. It's basically just a step under the bead.
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nice form Kathy, like the black rim and carving........it appears the black ebonized rim is not black/black. i have had trouble with not having something black/black with ebonizing and burning........i wonder if ink would make the rim blacker??????????
Thanks Charlie, the rim is not black/black, I intentionally applied the solution very lightly to get the lighter color to let the grain show through. On pieces that I do want a black/black and the ebonizing doesn't quite get there, or burning leaves little bits of unburned areas, I use black gesso. It applies easily, and dries very fast, plus it gives a true black color

I like it, I usually don't like any type embellishments on bowls. This really works, I think it would have more balance to have a repeating scheme all the way aroud the rim but hey that's why everyone makes different ways. I nee to step out of my box one day & make something in a style I have never done before- none of my bowls or platters have ever had any carving or embellishments at least none so far.

Bill
Thanks Bill. I thought about continuing the leaves all the way around, or at least adding more on the left side so it was more symmetrical with the right side, but for good or bad I decided to leave it a little off balance for a more natural look.

Nice job Kathy. It even looks like you put in some thorns. Good job....... Jerry (in Tucson)
Thanks Jerry. It wouldn't be a real mesquite branch without thorns ;), unless I was going for a chilean mesquite brach.

What is the name of the carver you are using . I have seen it before but do not know what it called or where it get it . nice bowl I have been looking into pyrography & carving on some of my works .
Thank Joseph. The carver I use is a Foredom. The tip is one I got from one of the vendors at the Woodturning Roundup a couple years ago.
I don't know what the bit is called, but it came from RotaryChisel.com and they are carbide.

The stem and leaf carving has the feeling of sumi-e japanese ink painting. I like the "white on black" effect too. This could really go somewhere!
Thanks David. I saw the same resemblance to japanese paintings too and something done in that true fashion could be really cool.

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice Kathy. I like the both the contrast and design. I want to try something similar with a cherry bowl by scorching the rim then cutting through it with a reciprocating carver. Everything is good to go......except the ambition to do it.:)