Finally Finished Christmas vases

[Brian Brown]

I posted these vases a few weeks ago as projects in progress. Well, they're finally finished. :) They are made from a variety of woods like curly maple, blood wood, zebrawood, walnut, and wenge. The dark top is a piece of walnut burl, and the light tops are spaulted aspen. The aspen is some we found in the hills around here earlier this year. The rotting was a bit beyond usable spaulting, and they were very soft and pithy. There is a lot of CA glue and Minwax wood hardener (I won't use wood hardener again). :( We also filled the blood wood vases worm holes with red coral.

These are collaboration between my wife and me. We both worked on all of them during every aspect. They are gifts for family and friends for Christmas and we hope that they like them. We welcome any comments and suggestions for improvement. There are definitely a few mistakes, and one had a spontaneous design change. Next time we won't be in such a hurry. :rolleyes:

I am curious which you like best and why. Also, which you like least, and why. There are numbers on each image, so rate them in order from favorite to least favorite.
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[Brian Brown]

Here's the rest...

[Dewey Torres]

oh oh my....

I chose #1 and #5

but really WOW doesn't touch it. Nice segments amazing pieces. All of them.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Wow! That is some really nice work (can I be one of the friends? lol)

1 and 5 I really like. I just like their color combination best. All the rest, except one would tie for third. The only one I like least is number 4. It's just to 'busy' for my taste.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Brian,

First....I like all of the wood combinations....the staved approach is great on all of them.

My favorites....1, 2, 4, 6.

While I like the color and wood combinations on all of them. The collars that swoop up.....for some reason don't trip my trigger.

The artistic sides of you and Tamara is showing through in your turnings! Very well done!

[Don Carter]

Brian:
Wow! What a bunch of lucky family and friends! And how great you guys are for making them. I like them all. Great work and and what special gifts.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.

All the best.

Don

[Derek Hansen]

Beautiful craftsmanship - I can tell a lot of care went into making these.

I like #3 the best, I think the walnut burl is a great compliment to the other woods. On the rest, in my opinion, the wild patterns of the spalting kind of clash with the even lines of the bottom portion.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Brian - beautiful work on all of these! Both you and your wife should be proud of what you have accomplished here.

As far as rating - (remember, you asked and I have to really dig to find anything to critique here) - I'll go against the grain a little and say that #4 is my favorite. I like the darker colors, the smooth collar area and the way the grain of the staved section helps move your eyes in the direction of the staves - meaning 'up'.

In pieces #3 & #5, I find the curly (and I like curly) to be slightly distracting. My eyes want to look from the bottom of the piece to the top - but the curly wants to take my eyes left to right. The staved area and curly wood seem to compete for attention......to me.

Seriously, I think you both did an excellent job on all of these and I have to believe who ever receives one as a gift will be thrilled! Thanks for posting!

[Nathan Hawkes]

Well, I don't dislike any of them. I really like spalted wood, and can appreciate how difficult it is to cut cleanly. CA is a wonderful wonderful thing.....

My favorite is #3, but I'm curious why you didn't put a collar on it. #2 is my next fave. The simple lines and of the bottom and the smoothly transitioning collar make it a winner. The coral inlay on #1 is a nice touch! Pipe organ coral is it? I'm trying to think of any other corals with a red skeleton... I have a turquoise inlaid piece that has its last coat of varnish drying as we speak. Nice job, and how great it is that you and your wife work together on the turnings! I can't think of a better way to make christmas presents together! I can't get my girlfriend interested much. Any tips??

[Dave Stoler]

There is no way I can pick a favorite..Everyone is beautiful.

[Jon Lanier]

I'll vote for #4, everything seems to be smoother in transition but I really like them all.

[Jeff Nicol]

Brian, They are all works of art! The combinations of woods are wonderful! The basic shape you chose is a very classic and time tested one. The Greeks and many of our distant ancestors used this shape for many of the jars and jugs that they made. They carried wines, grains, gems, etc. I like the fact that the collars have some upward motion and deliniation from the main body. The one with out the collar could have used a little eblelishment to set of the neck a bit maybe a small groove or bead. But like all of our "Critiques" we are all wishing that we were the ones who posted this group of Very Very nice vases!

Addmiration creates desire....... I better get out in the shop! But it is -11 with a little wind and I like the wood stove in the house right now!

Jeff

[Bill Blasic]

Myself, I like 5 & 7 the best. The shape of these two are just more pleasing to my eye. The others just don't have the same shape appeal. I'll say this though that is a great body of work, you and your wife should be proud.

[Mike Golka]

Brian, you and your wife did a fantastic job on these. Very well done indeed!! I like them all but the zebra wood blends too well with the dark strips for good contrast, IMHO but I certainly wouldn't hesitate to accept it as a gift:D.

[Scott Lux]

I agree with Bonnie that #4 is a bit busy for my taste. I like them all though. #2 and #6 make me crave a scoop of chocolate ripple in a sugar cone. :D

Excellent work on those. I'm very impressed. I especially like the fact it was a joint project. That makes it so much more special.

Lux

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful Brian. I like them all but 4 & 5 are my favorites.

[Bob Hallowell]

Stunning all of them!

[Mike Spanbauer]

#5 is my fav. I don't have one that ranks last though. Some serious work in these gifts for sure! No one on my christmas list has been that good ;)

Impressive work, I wish I had the bandwidth to produce gifts of this caliber for christmas. I'm certain the recipients will cherish them.

Thanks for sharing!

mike

[Cody Colston]

1, 4, 5, 2, 6, 7, 3

The form, colors and contrast in No. 1 are very pleasing to me. It was close between 1 & 4 for the best but the red color won out.

No. 3 just doesn't do much for me. I don't particularly care for the top...I like a collar...and it just appears sort of bland, even with the burl figure.

But, I'd love for all of my turning to be so bland! Those are all wonderful and I can't imagine doing that many at one time. The staved segments really work well within the design, too...and I'm not usually a fan of segmented pieces.

[Don Orr]

That is some outstanding work Brian ! If this is what you can do in a hurry, I can't imagine what incredible work you can do when you really take your time !:eek::D

[Brian Effinger]

I'm partial to #2 and #5 for no real reason other than I like the combinations a lot. But you should be proud of all 7, because they are all excellent. Great job! :)

[robert hainstock]

I too am drawn to No1, probably the color combo. They are all supoer and leave me wishing I was on the Brown's Christmas list. Great work both of you. :D:D:D:D:D
Bob

[Jim Kountz]

Wow, thats all I can say!!

[mike fuson]

Very nice, staves take a while to put together.Guess that why I don't do them much.

[Mark Hix]

#1 the most and #3 the least. I like them all. Number 1 just catches my attention the most. Number three needs a collar. It looks less finished than the others. I might not have thought that if I had seen it by itself.

[charlie knighton]

the craftmanship is excellent on all pieces, to do segmented pieces you must be a right brain person,

to me there is too much contrast in the different woods, sort of like madrus shirt with pinstripe suit

that said, the craftmanship is excellant

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Brian, I'm not going to first read al the other replies, I have looked at the 7 pieces, and I do like the well done fits and finishes, in general I don't like the combinations of the main woods being so different, that's my feeling of these seven, I do like the first one the best, the dominant red in the body and the red in the fillings with a red collar does make for less of a clash between the main body woods, #4 is for me the least appealing one, the stripes and the spalted woods natural lines just don't go for me, and yes this is all personal likes/dislikes, this is as brutal a critique as I can give, thanks for showing as they are good pieces, just not what I do like best :) :)

[Richard Madison]

Brian,
#4 is technically the best because of the grain and joint alignment between the two areas of zebra. #7 is by far the prettiest because of the subtle but beautiful blend of colors. The others, all very attractive, seem a bit too clashy (?) and contrasty in their colors to suit my taste.

Nice work and interesting question. I hope you will tally up the replies and post a summary, together with your own thoughts.

Now I'm going to read what everyone else wrote.

Edit: OK I would have liked #1 equally w/ #7 if the white stripe had been a bit more subtle and less contrasty w/ the red.

[Maylon Harvey]

#3 is my favorite. Love the burly walnut and curly maple together. Doesn't seem to be as "busy" as the rest, but all of them are surely beautifull.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Wow! Just wow! Those are truly awesome. One of these days I want to be able to do work like that. Man alive every time I think I am getting better... ;) Simple amazing! I love the color contrast and the spalting on the upper sides of the pieces. Truly lovely work!

Going to post a how-to? Pretty please!

Joshua

[Brian Brown]

Well,

It appears that the results are in. I really like seeing all the differing points of view, and reading why each one feels a particular way. My feelings are that on the basis of form alone, the vases are best to worst as numbered 1-7. As far as wood combinations, the order goes 1,2,3,7,4,5,6. #4 is a little busy, but I still like it. The zebrawood "popped" a bit more than we expected. When we tried out various wood combinations, we used mineral spirits to get a feel of the finished look, but because the wood was not finish sanded, we didn't see the full effect. This one was designed for my SIL, and the colors are to match the decor of her home.

As for the collar on the walnut burl top, yes it probably needed a seperate collar, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to cut away anymore of the beautiful burl. As a finished piece, a collar would have made it better. I agree with Richard on #1. It would have been better if the maple horizontal strip were thinner; 1/2 or less.

As for a tutorial, just read Malcolms book on segmented turning. When I designed these, they came out so close in size to the stave example in his book, that I actually changed my dimensions slightly to match his. No point in re-inventing the wheel, especially for a first try.

Blood wood is one of my favorite woods, and I have enough staves left to make 4 more bloodwood vases and 1 curly maple. Maybe I'll try something different on the tops next time.

[Keith Burns]

Brian, I'm a little late but wanted to add my two cents. They all look teriffic and because they all look great I honestly find it difficult to pick a favorite. They all stand on their own. Congrats !

[Rick Prosser]

Great stuff!

Each time I go back to pick a favorite, I pick a different one. I would take them all.

[Brad Hammond]

just beautiful colors beautiful execution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the spalted wood is gorgeous!!

[alex carey]

Best to worst

4- It blends quite well.
3- Love the shape
5-great shape and great color but too much segmented wood to solid wood ratio.
2
1
7
6- The solid wood doesnt mesh with the brown as far as size goes. It is too wide.

Having critiqued these I will still say they are all amazing. The people that receive these are very lucky.

Alex