First Hollow Form - Critique Requested

[Shannon Grizzell]

This is my first attempt at a hollow form. I've been turning for a while, but am just getting confident enough to actually show some of my work.

The wood is mesquite. It's about 7.5" x 4". The finish is spray lacquer.

I was going for the classic greco-roman vessel shape. My original intention was to turn the sapwood completely away, but I decided I liked a small patch of sapwood on the one side.

While making this piece, I learned that hollowing was more difficult than I expected. :o

I want to learn and improve so all comments are appreciated. Thanks for looking!

[Neal Addy]

Great first HF, Shannon. I like the neck and body shape. Not much to critique here.

What tool did you use for hollowing?

[Mike A. Smith]

I think you nailed the form Shannon and good call on leaving the sapwood.

[Patrick Taylor]

Great job! I like the sapwood... good design choice. I've not done HF's yet, but my perseonal preference would be for a smaller foot. Great finish, by the way. Great smooth curves too!

[Mike Vickery]

Very nice, I find the form very pleasing.

[Dennis Peacock]

Well Shannon,

I "tried" to find something I didn't like about it to critique, but just couldn't. :D

According to my eye, it's perfect in form and finish.

[Brett Baldwin]

I'd say you've hit the ground running Shannon.

[Harvey M. Taylor]

Beautiful. I think all mesquite turnings should have the identifying sapwood in it somewhere.Good lookin' piece.

[Paul Heely]

Very nice Shannon. I like the form and the way you kept the sapwood. Nice job.

[Steven Russell]

Hello,

Your vase looks great, with clean lines and an excellent finish. The only thing I would offer is to consider making the foot a wee bit smaller in the future. I turn lots of Mesquite (it's my favorite local timber) and I like having a bit of sapwood on some of the pieces. It adds a nice contrast (if the sapwood is bright yellow like your piece) to the rusty red/brown heartwood.

Hollowing will get much easier the more pieces you do, so no worries there... :) If you're into Grecian vessels, take a look at museum collections like the Met in New York for inspiration. The fifth century was a magnificent time period for these wine and water forms.

If you're unable to visit a museum personally, most allow you to purchase books at their online store that will show tons of pictures of the different vase forms. If you need a few recommendations for books, please let me know. Good luck to you and welcome to hollow form turning! You're off to a terrific start... :)

[Bernie Weishapl]

Shannon well done. The form, the finishs and of course the mesquite with sapwood is a beauty. I really like it.

[Shannon Grizzell]

Thanks for all the great feedback.

Neal, I used a Sorby swan neck hollowing tool to hollow it out.

Steven, I live in the Houston area, too, so a visit to the Met isn't an option. Are there any local exhibits you would recommend? Any book recommendations you have are appreciated too.

With regard to making the foot a little smaller, is there a particular ratio to strive for in relation to the largest diameter, for example, or more a matter of just tweaking it till it looks right?

Thanks again!

[Paul Engle]

Nice work Shannon, on " show" pieces some artists use the golden triangle, that is to say the foot is about 1/3 the size of the largest / widest part of the piece, if your hf is say 5 inches dia, then the foot should come in at about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches dia plus or minus 1/2 in, I am doing a burled maple right now its widest is 5 1/4 " and the foot is about 2" ,which , when the collar is done I will reverse it and par down the foot to about 1 3/8 inches. you can go to the search button here on the site and type in golden triangle there are a couple of great articles designed to show us the ratios used and how pleasing they are to the eye. good luck and keep turnin !!!

[TYLER WOOD]

As a fellow Texan, I love the skeet!!! Nice piece, the form is nice. I personally would love to see all skeet have some sapwood in it. Just makes it look really nice. You nailed this for your first form!

[Dick Parr]

Very nice looking vase. Would not have known that it was your first.

Great Job! :)

[Bill Wyko]

Top notch. If that's your first you're going to have to work hard to make #2 better.:D

[Curt Fuller]

That's really nice! The foot on it is just right depending on whether you want it to be stable enough to hold a hand full of flowers or something. I've never been much of a culture type person but for some reason a lot of hollowform vases are turned with the intention of being diplayed by themself with nothing in them. In that case a smaller foot, somewhere around 1/3 or less of the diameter of the vase seems to look good.

[Don Eddard]

Very nice, for number one or one hundred. I agree with the suggestions for a slightly smaller foot, but that's after really searching to find something to change. Great job on some beautiful wood.

[Richard Madison]

Shannon,
Very nice piece, with smoothly varying curvature, and certainly worthy of posting. Suggest turning another, almost identical, with only slightly smaller foot, and maybe slightly smaller neck and top. Small changes, just barely enough that you can see the difference. Set them side by side and see what YOU think. You obviously have a good eye for form, and will be able to see the effect of very subtle changes.

For ref., I made three "identical" goblets once, or so I intended. Placed side by side, one was very nice (he said modestly), one was ok, and one (which looked ok by itself), was not so good, yet the differences were very small.

Keep on turning. Your "artistic vision" has already surpassed several (a bunch?) of us. Just some thoughts.

[Steven Russell]

Hello Shannon,

Your Question: Steven, I live in the Houston area, too, so a visit to the Met isn't an option. Are there any local exhibits you would recommend? Any book recommendations you have are appreciated too.


Humm... Last time I checked there were slim pickings in the Houston area for fifth century Greek vessels, but you might check around. The Museum of Fine Arts had a few examples when I last visited a few months ago. They were hosting Impressionist Masters from the Met. Very nice! Here is a link to area museums...

http://www.houstonareaweb.com/museums/

As for books, you're in luck. :) Here are two of my favorites for Grecian works: "Archaic and Classical Greek Art" by Robin Osborne $14.98 and "The Red and The Black", Studies in Greek Pottery by Brian A Sparkes $24.98. Both are available at the Met gift shop and I think you may be able to get them online. If not, call them and order over the phone. If I can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me. Take care and best wishes to you and yours!

P.S. Be sure to check out my websites educational library, there are 21 articles currently (more added regularly) covering a wide variety of topics of interest to woodturners. The direct link to the library is:

http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/woodturning-education-articles.html

[Mike Ramsey]

Great first HF! You picked a pretty hard wood for your first HF & I'm
not surprised that it wasn't easy ;) . I turned a huge piece of mesquite
into a large vase last year & I'm still vibrating from turning the end grain!!

[Skip Spaulding]

Very nice piece, I think you have inspired me to try one.

[Shannon Grizzell]

I turned a huge piece of mesquite
into a large vase last year & I'm still vibrating from turning the end grain!!

:D

Mike, isn't that the truth! My little Jet Mini was going crazy. To be as hard as it is, Mesquite turns pretty nicely, but hollowing is definitely a bear. My second try, which I'll post later is green Ash. It seems to be easier to work the end grain.

Richard, I think I will take your suggestion and try turning another, with a little variation in the foot and maybe the neck. I'll post the results when it's done.

Steven, thanks for the recommendations and the links!

[Richard Madison]

Shannon,
Looking forward to seeing them side by side and reading YOUR critique.

[Tom Sherman]

Shannon this is a very nice hollow form great job and great wood.

[chris brott]

that's absolutely beautiful! i'm gonna have to try doing a HF sometime. thanks for the inspiration!