"Magnolia Blossom" bowl

[Wolf Kiessling]

I wasn't gonna post anything more for a while but I have been working on this thing for so long now, I believe it is finally finished, I decided to do one more posting.

I started working on this thing, I think, sometime last summer. This is the first piece of magnolia I ever turned. It's first incarnation was a natural edge bowl with 3/8" thick walls that I thought was butt-ugly. I didn't like the color of the wood nor the spalting pattern. I got this "brilliant" idea to transform it into a realistic magnolia blossom and paint it. This is shown in pictures 1, 2 and 3. In any event, I placed it in the gallery where it sat for four or five months. The gallery owner told me her customers really didn't like this piece because they thought it was plastic. She informed them that it was, in fact, wood but nobody seemed to pay attention. I thought this was kind of strange because I had left the bottom unfinished so the natural wood would be visible.

Since it appeared that the bowl was not going to sell, I brought it home again. I stripped the paint off, using a commercial paint stripper, and then spent many hours hand sanding it to remove all remaining vestiges of paint. I finished the inside with several coats of cherry colored Watco danish oil and a top coat of Velvit Quick Dry oil. The outside is finished with Woodburst rosewood colored stain and then several coats of the cherry colored Watco.

The bowl is 8 1/4" wide by 6 1/2" high. The walls are anywhere between 1/8" and 1/16" thick with spots of 1/32" especially where the petals are curled. This is a very light and fragile piece weighing about four ounces. (I'm estimating because I don't have an ounce/gram scale any more)

I am not going to put it back in the gallery for a while. I think I will hang onto it and maybe enter it in a couple of shows that we will be going to later in the year. I know that this type of work is not everyone's cup of tea but feel free to criticise, good or bad. Please point out any problems that you perceive as I am so inured to this piece that I can not longer spot any problems. There should not be any doubt now that this is a piece of wood.

[Tyler Howell]

Wolf,

It's as pretty as its name. Nicely done.;)

[Chris Padilla]

Wolf,

I think that you did such a fantastic (?) job with the sanding and detail that I can see why folks thought it was plastic! Heck, in pic3 it almost looks like a ceramic bowl to me!

My BMW has redwood burl trim in various spots. It is so smooth, polished, and highly-lacquered that it, too, looks like plastic or is fake.

I think your refinishing job looks much, much better and it is back to looking like wood again. Did you use a pigment or a dye for the reddish/mahogany-ish for the refinish? A dye tends to be more transparent and would show off the grain better.

[Joe Tonich]

I wasn't gonna post anything more for a while but I have been working on this thing for so long now, I believe it is finally finished, I decided to do one more posting.


Wolf,

Why aren't you gonna post? I, for one, enjoy seeing pic's of your carvings and turnings. :) You turn out great looking works of art.



I am not going to put it back in the gallery for a while. I think I will hang onto it and maybe enter it in a couple of shows that we will be going to later in the year. I know that this type of work is not everyone's cup of tea but feel free to criticise, good or bad. Please point out any problems that you perceive as I am so inured to this piece that I can not longer spot any problems.

The only problem I can see with it is that there are no pic's of it in MY house. :D Keep posting!


There should not be any doubt now that this is a piece of wood.

Must have missed something here. :confused: I've never even thought that any of your post's weren't made from wood.
Joe

[Dick Parr]

Wolf, you keep outdoing yourself. That is one nice looking bowl and the carving isn’t so bad either. :p

[Wolf Kiessling]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. What, no criticism???????

Joe,

I gotta quit posting because I think I have been doing too much of it. I feel that I'm getting to be a pest on this forum.

The people that thought the bowl was plastic were the customers in the gallery where I display/sell some of my stuff.

Chris,

The coloration on the outside of the bowl, other than the cherry colored danish oil, is a product called Woodburst stain. It is a pigmented, tung oil based product. We now have a Woodcraft in Oklahoma City (since last Oct) and I found the product there. It is not in their catalog. This stuff comes in a wide variety of "wood" colors and they also make something called Sunburst stain. This is a large variety of bright colors such as yellow, blue, green, red etc. I really like this product, it is the only time I have ever used it, and plan to buy all of their colors. I only bought the rosewood colored stain to try it out.

I wish I had a BMW, even if it didn't have smooth, polished and highly lacquered wood trim. Would beat the heck out of my Saturn and Chevy conversion van. :p

[Chris Padilla]

...I gotta quit posting because I think I have been doing too much of it. I feel that I'm getting to be a pest on this forum.
...
...I wish I had a BMW, even if it didn't have smooth, polished and highly lacquered wood trim. Would beat the heck out of my Saturn and Chevy conversion van. :p
Wolf, according to your profile, you post an average of 1.43 times per day. On the other hand, I post an average of 7.37 times per day! Now who is the pest?? :D

Yeah, the BMW is fun...no doubt. It is a wonderful vacation vehicle but all the money I pour monthly into that sure could have gone into more tools and into a not-so-fun-but-nice-car! :D :D

[Jim Becker]

That's an outstanding piece, Wolf! One of these days I need to get the patience to do some carving like that.

[Tony Falotico]

I gotta quit posting because I think I have been doing too much of it. I feel that I'm getting to be a pest on this forum.

No offense Wolf, but you are DEAD WRONG here. You are not "getting to be a pest on this forum", and we love to see your talent displayed here. Keep them Pic's coming!

[Steve Beadle]

No offense Wolf, but you are DEAD WRONG here. You are not "getting to be a pest on this forum", and we love to see your talent displayed here. Keep them Pic's coming!
I second that notion! Your craftsmanship gives me inspiration!

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Wolf,

Here is some criticism: I didn't like the paint either!

That said ;) The finished bowl is great!

I have used the Sunburst colors on wood jigsaw puzzles then topped with poly. It really lets the grain come through and the colors are really bright.

[John Miliunas]

Wolf, "pest"???!!! My boss is a pest. A few of my clients are pests. These damn Asian Beetles are REAL pests! You sir, are NOT a pest! Everyone here loves seeing your work, with the care, skill and intimacy you put into it. Tell you what: If I start thinking you're a pest, I'll leave. Problem solved! Keep up the great work and, as the others have said, the final rendition is awesome! I think Chris P. said he thought the painted one looked like it was ceramic; I agree. Now THAT takes some phenomenal finishing! Still, I like the wood look best. Oh, and don't you dare go nowhere! :cool:

[John Shuk]

Wolf,
First I make a point of looking at you posts because I like what you do. Second I want to thank you for posting the Magnolia. I was fortunate to come across some and have a few good size blanks down cellar. Mine has some interesting figure as it is from a huge branch close in to the trunk from a pretty old tree. It is unique to come across here where I live in NY but it was used as a landscape tree at a very old Inn. I had a hell of a time Id'ing the wood. The variety I have is called a Cucumber tree. Thanks again for posting.

[Wolf Kiessling]

Some of you folks really know how to make a guy feel good. Thank you for that.

I've been posting either a turning or carving about once a week and I thought I was getting to be a PITA. I was actually getting embarassed. You may have turned a demon loose, if you have, you have no one to blame but yourselves :D :p :)