I'm bleeding wood...

[Mark Pruitt]

Bloodwood, that is.:p Here is my "blood work" from the last few weekends. These 6 bowls are Christmas presents for colleagues. Luckily none of them are SMC members so I'm safe posting them here.;)

Each of these is approximately 6" x 2", some a tad less due to design or to splitting. All are sanded to 1200, finished with Watco (natural) and Beall buffed. I have to say I felt a little satisfaction when someone picked one up before any finish was applied and asked me what finish I had used.:)

I would love to hear your thoughts about these. Which ones do you like, which ones don’t do much for you, etc.

The first one was kind of plain so I dressed it up a bit with a beaded rim.
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[Mark Pruitt]

By the time I got to the second one, I acquired a Sorby texturing tool and decided to try it out on this bowl. The best I can say for myself is, I didn’t ruin the bowl. Actually, the texture pattern has grown on me at this point. But, I decided that too much texturing can detract from the grain and is best left to pieces with less-interesting grain patterns.

This bowl also drove me crazy with splitting at the edge. I kept cutting away at it, thinking I could go beneath the hairline split. I finally decided to change strategy, and used CA and fine dust to fill the hairline crack. Two or three applications, and the cracks were no longer visible.
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[Mark Pruitt]

For the third, I was in an experimental mood (dangerous for me), and wanted to see how small of a foot I could make with the bowl retaining its stability and not wanting to rock. I made it something of a HF, though I cut an opening far bigger than average for a HF. I tried to give it a floating quality. This one had a fair number of worm holes.
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[Mark Pruitt]

I’ve been itching to make a trumpet bowl, and that’s what I chose for the fourth. The grain in this one has a spiraling aspect to it, and I am not certain as to whether that is the result of the profile or in the wood itself. My belief was that it’s the profile. A good friend says he thinks it’s the wood. I dunno--you decide. :confused:
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[Mark Pruitt]

The trumpet was fun enough that I wanted to do another, but my self-imposed rule was “no two alike” so I made a hybrid. Part trumpet, part “normal.” The grain of this one has much of the same swirly stuff as the trumpet, but again I’m left wondering how much of it has to do with the wood itself and how much with the profile. Anyway, this is my favorite of the six. The boss gets this one. :D
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[Mark Pruitt]

And finally, this one has the thinnest walls of the bunch. I kind of scared myself getting the walls as thin as they are (a bit less than 1/8”). This one too presented the issue with splitting at the edge, which I remedied the same way as the earlier one. I was happiest with the inside of this one.
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One other thing that I would like critiqued is the photography. I set up a homemade photo tent that I completed on Saturday, and am experimenting with lighting. Some of these bowls were particularly challenging to set the lights for minimal glare. The third was by far the worst, and I’m unhappy with those pics, but it was the best I could do it seems. I’d love to hear your thoughts about improving that. The lights (and bulbs) were the same as in the link provided by Raymond Overman in his response (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=464687#post464687) to my “photo tent” thread last week. (Thanks, Raymond!)


Thanks for looking.

Mark

[Stephen Hibbs]

That's a whole lot of beautiful bowls, and I'm sure they look even better in person. Is bloodwood naturally that rich, or did you use an oil to enhance the color? I really really like that "floating" bowl, and I think I'll steal that for one of my future pieces, if that's ok with you ;) . The small foot enhances the shape a lot. There's not much to critique with these as I like them all, so i'll leave it at that.

[Paul Engle]

Very nice indeed Mark, I like the #4 for sure, keep raising the bar and we'll get there, I smell a winged trumpet bowl in the wood pile ..... next year LOL:eek:

[John Hart]

They're all beautiful Mark! Ya know, when I did a trumpet style bowl out of bloodwood, I got the same vortex effect in the grain. Must be the wood. And those splits....Yow....I drove one right through my finger at about 700 rpm.

#3 is my favorite. Nice job on all of them. :)

[Frank Kobilsek]

Mark,
I wished I wirked in your office.

I have a couple bowls ready for co-workers who provides cool wood collection opportunities this year and/or House warming gifts.

Very nice collection of work.

Frank

[Bernie Weishapl]

Those are some beauties. Nice job.

[Scott Donley]

WOW! you have been busy :D All look great, # 3 is my favorite, but it was a tough call ;)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I don't have any favorites among these Mark. They are all beautiful! Well done!

[Jim Ketron]

Awesome Pieces Mark!
Beautiful!

[Ernie Nyvall]

Beautiful bowls Mark. I like the texturing job.

[Jim Becker]

I'm seein' red, Mark...oh, that's right! They are supposed to be that color! (Nice work!!!!)

[Travis Stinson]

Great work Mark. The details on the 1st and 2nd make them stand out to me.:cool:

[Ron Sardo]

Boy, Have you been busy!

Nice work Mark

[Mark Cothren]

Nice work, Mark! The texturing is very interesting. Would love to see some more of that.

[Corey Hallagan]

Mark I like all three. Great shapes. I think the texturing really works on that one and the last one is my favorite shape. Nice work.

Corey

[Mark Pruitt]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the kind comments. It's beneficial to hear what you've said, as it gives me a different perspective.

I'm a little surprised to see #3 getting as much approval as it has; that was the one that I had the greatest reservations about. In fact, my initial inclination was to reject it outright. So, thanks for the different set of eyes.:)

I think it was Frank Chaffee who was referring to himself as "a dwarf in the company of giants" or something to that effect, following his abysseration earlier this year. That's pretty much how I feel. Anything you have to say creates a learning opportunity and is greatly appreciated.

[Mark Pruitt]

Well....a little bit of cheer for me today: I gave these bowls to my colleagues this morning. Not a single complaint!:rolleyes: More Christmas presents to be posted in a couple days!:)

[Paul Engle]

Mark the textured one looks super ..... can I be your friend :D ??? they all look great. I really like the almost hf also neat shape.

[Keith Burns]

Mark, I missed these the first go-around. They all look great but my favorite is No. 2 as well. Great job:) :)

[Jason King]

#3 has to be my favorite of all the bowls. Excellent job.

[Dennis Peacock]

Beautifully done Mark.!!!! :cool: :D

I really, REALLY like the texturing. Simply beautiful.

[Ed Scolforo]

Mark, good looking stuff here! I, too, like the textured look, especially #2. I'm not a fan of the trumpet style, but I love the movement it gives to the wood. But I'd have to say that I like #6 the best. Good work!
Ed

[George Conklin]

They all look good, Mark. My favorite is the textured bowl also:) .

[Blake McCully]

Mark,
Super bunch of bowls. #3 gets my vote. I like the "almost HF" and the tiny floating foot.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Mark, wonderful bowls. My favorites are #3 and #5 but I like them all. If you were Brittish you could talk about your "Bloody" Lathe and be accurate. I'll bet those shavings made your shop look like a CSI dream.:)

[Terry Morrill]

Hi Mark,
You have been a busy man. It looks like you have really been bit by the turning bug since Bill Grumbine's picnic.
Terry Morrill