Whats wrong with this bowl?

[Kevin McPeek]

When turning this there was something I just didn't like about it. Now that it's nearly done, I'm still not sure I'm in love with it. I still have sanding and finishing to do but not sure how much I want to put into it.
Anyway, there is something off about it but I can't pick it out, so fellow turners tell me what I am missing. I know the pics are pretty bad but I didn't waste too much time setting up.
The bowl is Box Elder burl and about 10 1/4 x 4 1/2 and walls about 1/4".

So critique, bash, whatever I can take it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Kevin.....I only see two things wrong with it........it's got holes which would cause Andy to have to eat his ice cream extemely fast and it's not in my possession! :D

Seriously...I like the form, finish and the wood! Nicely done sir!

[Mike Peace]

I like it. Very nice bowl.

[George Guadiane]

It didn't come off of my lathe. You don't HAVE to love it, if you don't want to, but you should be able to be proud of it.:D

[Neal Addy]

I don't know what you're seeing. Looks like a great form to me. Nearly perfect half-sphere. They don't get much better.

[Keith Christopher]

Walls appear to be even thickness, the foot is well done, beautiful wood pattern, nice inclusions/voids.

I'd say it's a winna !

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Kevin, it's not segmented, but I won't hold that against you :) . Nice bowl.

[Mike Vickery]

Kevin,
You know I am one of the first to point out any problems I see. Based on the pictures I cant see anything wrong.
I can take a look at it in person on Saturday before the meeting and maybe I will see something in person.

[Gary Herrmann]

Grasping at straws as nothing jumps out at me. Do you personally think its a little too tall for its width? I assume you're talking about the basic shape or you'd have been more specific.

[Barbara Gill]

It really is a very nice bowl. I don't see any flat spots; the curve goes right through the bottom. The one thing that may be bothering you is the rim. Sometimes if you slant it down toward the inside slightly it gives a different look.

[Steve Trauthwein]

Kevin,

The only thing that bothers me about it is the shape of the bowl speaks of functionality while the natural defects would be more frquently found in a more ethereal piece.

Regards, Steve

[joe greiner]

Lokks like good proportions, and fine surface so far. The only thing that throws me is the single through void, and not-so-scattered distribution of smaller voids. I wouldn't cut any new voids, because it's not nice to fool Mother Nature. I'd suggest filling all the voids with contrasting color, such as a coffee grounds and epoxy "mortar." Then the distribution of the contrasting material would be more regular, just a mixture of large and small.

And, yeah, the other thing wrong with it is it's a couple thousand miles away.

Joe

[Ron Coleman]

The BIG problem I see with your bowl is it's bordering on a piece of art. Anything that won't hold water has to be pitched in the art pile to be disposed of at some gallery for an inflated price. :)

Ron

[Paul Heely]

I like the size and turning looks well done. I don't care for the nearly perfect half sphere. There is something about curves that don't change that does not appeal to me. I have a bowl like that at home that I do not like for the same reason. I do like the void though, even if it does make it look artsy.

[Jim Becker]

Kevin, I happen to like this basic bowl form, especially with "busy" figure like the burl you used. IMHO, this is an excellent piece. Finish it. And if you don't like it, PM me for my mailing address, and I'll surely find a prominent spot for it in my collection.

[Tom Keen]

Its a really really nice bowl. Good nice clean curves, great wood. The bottom treatment is well done. The finish is great.. very complimentary. The hole is cool, bet that made you nervous.

But, if you really want my thoughts.. and this is my taste and may not be yours.. The piece has a sense of "lightness", the wood tones, the hole, the clean lines. I think this lightness could be enhanced if it was a bit thinner, which may be impossible with the hole.. and I would like to see the bottom a little closer to the table surface. A little bit less bottom rim would let that nice outside curve flow a bit more..seem longer.

But as I said, just my opinion.. its a really nicely crafted piece.. Id be proud to have turned something as good.

Best,
Tom

[Patrick Taylor]

I tend to Agree with what Tom said about the thickness, since the holes do dictate "decorative" instead of "functional". I don't like feet, but that's my taste. The form is well done, and the wood has spectacular grain, but something about the "valleys" (those non-penetrating voids) remind me of uncooked dough, but not in an appetizing way. Maybe a higher gloss would help that? Also the lightness of the wood could possibly benefit from some kind of surface treatment (no idea what though...)

Bottom line: The bowl is technically (form and finish) excellent (I could maybe nitpick and ask if you see a flat spot in the curve near the top, but if it's even there it's very slight) and the finish is great. Also the wood is beautiful. But something about this wood doesn't seem to fit with this form in my eyes. Perhaps the wood would look better as a hollowform of some sort?

Anyhow, that's me thinking out loud, and therefore my $0.02. :)

Ooooh, another thing: I just realized I don't like it when voids and inclusions occur at the rim. Near is good, but my taste is not to have them at the rim (unless it's a giant hole).

[Nancy Laird]

You asked: Whats wrong with this bowl?

I answer: Nothing that I can see.

I like it, the form, the foot, the wood. Except for one thing: it's there and not here!!

Nancy (99 days)

[Kevin McPeek]

Thanks for all the replies!!

I agree with what a lot of you have pointed out.
I tend to do more utility pieces and apparently turned this without changing any technique. I was going to make it thinner but I started getting a lot of chatter and flex so I was afraid the hole near the rim was going to break through to the rim and I would lose a lot of stability (what was left of it).
Patrick, there is almost a flat near the top pf the bowl, but I think it is more pronounced in the photo than on the bowl. A lot of the small valleys actually do penetrate all the way though but aren't visible here. I don't do much fill, I have gone by the thought of, "if it's got holes it's art, if not it's utility." Sure I like to blur the lines and make piece that I think are both.

Thanks again for seeing what I couldn't pick out. I guess my conflict is the bowls form doesn't fit the woods look. While technically the bowl is okay, it just doesn't feel right to me. I'll go ahead and finish it and put it in the sell pile. Somebody might feel it's just right for them, which is something I found with selling pens, there's a lot of different tastes out there.

[TYLER WOOD]

All I have to say is if the bowl does not FEEL righ, quit fondeling the wood!!!;)

I like it and would be proud to display it or turn it. I do feel the form does not match the wood as some others have said. The form does say utilitarian object. But the holes and the figure in the wood say artistic. If you usually turn utilitarian pieces, you will get a slight uneasy feeling when the artsy side of turning comes out of you. I am the oposite, I have the artsy side of turning in me. So when a utilitarian piece comes off my lathe I feel like I failed because it just doesn't look and feel right to me. Some times we just need to step back and realize we can turn something that others see as perfect, but we feel uneasy about because it doesn't meet our expectations. Maybe nothing is wrong with the piece, it just desn't meet your expectations!

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Sometimes when you are trying so hard to get everything perfect and then you run into natural defects it seems like you have to do more to eliminate those defects for the work to look good. That simply isn't the case in your bowl. It is good the way it is, but I can relate to your feeling. Just don't make the mistakes I've made and ruin the work trying to make it better when you don't need to. Great Job Kevin!:)

[Jason Christenson]

I like it.

[Ed Scolforo]

I'll echo what some others have said: The bowl shape says utilitatian and the wood itself, including the voids says it should be more of an artsy form. Technically, its very well done.
Ed

[Bob Hallowell]

Kevin all I know is I like it and if I made it I would of been proud of it.

Bob

[Jason Clark2]

The only thing I can see wrong with it is that it doesn't have my signature on the bottom. :D It's got a nice shape, a good flowing curve, I love the detail on the foot but think that the foot may be a little small for the piece, making it a bit unstable, but as others have pointed out it's probably not a utility piece anyway.

BTW, where'd you get the wood? :cool:

Jason

[Patrick Taylor]

I don't do much fill, I have gone by the thought of, "if it's got holes it's art, if not it's utility."
I'll go ahead and finish it and put it in the sell pile. Somebody might feel it's just right for them, which is something I found with selling pens, there's a lot of different tastes out there.

RE the holes: me too!
RE selling it: Absolutely! It should sell well.


Maybe nothing is wrong with the piece, it just desn't meet your expectations!

Well put!


Just don't make the mistakes I've made and ruin the work trying to make it better when you don't need to.

Also a very good point Chris.

[Frank Kobilsek]

Kevin and all,

The bowl looks very nice. A good test for flat spots on the outside of a bowl is to 'roll' the edge of a plastic straight edge, like a credit card, membership card whatever from top to bottom. You'll see flatspots and sharper than desired radius changes.

Save this piece. Maybe a week, a year, or later what is buggin you about it will be answered.

My Dad has taken up turning with a vengence the last few weeks. He is asking me to grade each piece. But what it really comes down to is 'Did you enjoy making it?' Sometimes the results are not as important as the process. If I threw away every bowl it would still be good for me to turn. Don't make turning a job, for 98% of us it will always be our hobby, a place to go to get away from the thing in life that make us old.

Frank

[Jon Lanier]

Problems? Well, you haven't wrapped it up and sent it to me as a gift yet. :D

[Paul Engle]

Looking good to me Kevin ..... or are ya just fishin....:cool: :D , really ... well done indeed....

[Bill Wyko]

I know, you hit your head and went blind:eek: It looks like a beautiful work of art to those of us that can see straight. Nice job.:D

[Matt Haus]

I think it's cool. I know what you mean about the curves. Perhaps a sharper taper towards the bottom but if you left it, It would be great too. A bowl without holes is made for ice cream but a bowl with holes is ART!

[Curt Fuller]

It won't hold much soup!* Other than that, I'd say it's just about perfect.










*You know what they say, if it won't hold soup it must be art!

[Richard Madison]

Yeah, that's it. It's just too "round".

[Jim Underwood]

I can't quite put my finger on what exactly is not quite right either, but let me take a stab at it, in hopes you won't be offended. And perhaps I'll learn something by putting it into words.

My gut feeling is "bland".

My brain tells me it's figured wood, so it can't be "bland".

But my feeling won't shut up, so I figure it must be because the wood is so light, and the figure is also light. There's not enough variation, and no real centers of interest, or contrast here. It's too much all the same.

It's almost like you needed a change in direction, like in a hollow form, or an ogee bowl, or some beads, or a lip, or some dark contrast whether by texture burning or charring, or filling of the voids with some different color... something to set off that fine figure in the wood. It reminds me of a fine set of cabinets with no crown molding. It needs that final detail to "pop".

As others say, it's technically good. You have a fair curve, a nice even thickness, pretty wood, and good proportions.

Speaking of proportions, what size is it?

Oh, I see, it's 10-1/4 x 4-1/4

So if we apply the Golden Mean, then if we go by the 10-1/4 size, the ht should be around 6-5/16. (If I did the math right.) If we go by the 4-1/4 size the diameter should be around 7-5/16.

I've never turned anything that fit in that Golden Mean myself... so I don't know if it makes a visual difference anyway.

There's my two and a half cents. Hope it helps.

[Kevin McPeek]

Funny you should mention the Golden Mean. Thinking my proportions might be off I went through the math and found that they don't fall anywhere near the "correct" ratio. Having said that I also think a bowl made to the ratio would look very bad. A hollow form would work but not a bowl (IMHO). If anything I think this bowl may be a little tall for it's diameter.

I agree that it is missing something, hence this thread.

[Tom Sherman]

Kevan I don't see anything wrong with your bowl at all. Looks like a winner to me.