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Thread: Southwestern Style Olla

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Harvey, Michigan
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    Talking Southwestern Style Olla

    This piece is my interpretation of a classic Southwestern Olla, which is a large jar used for storing water or grain. This also is the last of my 5 piece primitive series in which I focused strictly on form.

    Maple, 14 ½” high x 12 ½” diameter x ¼” thick. Sealed with Shellac, this has multiple coats of gloss wipe-on poly which was cut back to a matte finish using #0000 steel wool. Given a few coats of Renaissance wax, it was hand buffed to a warm glow.

    Southwestern Olla v1.JPG Southwestern Olla v2.JPG Southwestern Olla v3.JPG Southwestern Olla v4.JPG
    Southwestern Olla v5.JPG Southwestern Olla v6.JPG Southwestern Olla v7.JPG Southwestern Olla v8.JPG

    For those of you who noticed , this is the hollow form that was on the lathe in my ‘Tis the Season 2012’ thread.

    As always, your comments, opinions and critiques are welcomed!

    Thanks for looking!
    Steve

    “You never know what you got til it's gone!”
    Please don’t let that happen!
    Become a financial Contributor today!

  2. A nice piece........I like large! Are those cracks that have been filled? If so what did you fill them with? Pics 2,3,4 are what I am referring to......almost looks like pith or the way ambrosia tracks are left behind. Unusual, the way it follows the grain.......I guess it is part of the grain now that I have given it a second look. Very nice wall thickness....and the large opening.....shows it is a truly utilitarian type of vessel.

    Again, your skills shine brightly, Steve!
    Remember, in a moments time, everything can change!

    Vision - not just seeing what is, but seeing what can be!




  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Vadnais Heights, MN
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    Beautiful work, Steve. The form is excellent as usual. This is the type of work I just love to see. Great job!
    Doug Swanson

    Where are John Keeton and Steve Schlumpf anyway?

  4. #4
    I really need to do more hollowforms. I am inspired. Steve, what is the wood? Really looks like some Myrtle.

    robo hippy

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Texas Hill Country, USA
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    1,967
    The form does justice to the title of your series. Excellent shape. Not doing a lot of solid wood hollow forms, it looks to me that this is an end-grain turning and that the pith is probably centered in the bottom. Is this correct and if so, I assume you have some plan on dealing with any issues from that or you would not have put so much time into this piece of wood? So enlighten us less knowledgeable, please!

  6. #6
    That's a beauty. And impressively thin for so large a vessel. Especially like the view in the second and third pics where you can really see how the figure flows around to form. I had never heard of an olla but I "googled" it and this form is spot on.
    David DeCristoforo

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Sandia Park, NM
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    1,068
    Great piece Steve, the maple has some nice subtle graining. I drive by an enormous one of these every day to and from work
    When you approach the lathe you have "the plan", after your first catch you have "the intent".- P. Harbeck

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Bangor, PA
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    1,853
    You're the Daddy of the SW hollow forms, Steve. This one is a beauty and doubly difficult because the opening is large and everyone will feel the inside to make sure it is also perfect, which I am sure it is.
    faust

  9. #9
    You're like a nail gun, Steve, just driving them home one right after the other!! Beautiful work, great form, and a very nice piece of wood. Kinda hate to see the series come to a close......

  10. #10
    Steve, this is beautiful work as usual. It has been a while since I was here but I am thrilled the legacy continues. Let me wish all here a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
    Success is the sum of Failure and Learning

  11. #11
    Just beautiful Steve! What else can I say.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Palm Springs, CA
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    1,085
    Steve,

    This is a very impressive piece on multiple levels. The overall size, beautiful SW form, and wood character, work great IMHO. I can't help but notice that in pics 3-5, it almost looks like the grain is smiling back in a devilish sort of way ! Maybe just me, but we all see things from such different perspectives, and this is what I find fasciniating about turning. My favorite pic is the last one as it shows the piece and the subtle aspects from an incredible perspective .
    Last edited by Dick Mahany; 12-08-2012 at 9:27 PM.
    Dick Mahany.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    McMinnville, Tennessee
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    I love it , what's not to like!

    Sid
    Sid Matheny
    McMinnville, TN

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Dexter, MO
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    199
    very nice Steve, all the correct lines. Great job.
    If at first you don't succeed, Skydiving is probably not for you

    Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass,
    But rather learning to dance in the rain

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Harvey, Michigan
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    20,801
    Thanks for all the kind words everyone - I do appreciate it!

    For those wondering, the vase has no cracks in it, so nothing was filled. The dark lines running around the piece are natural and just a line of
    darker colored wood! Adds a lot of interest to the piece! I have turned a few pieces of Upper Peninsula Maple that also had color lines running through it. No idea if the colors were caused by climate, minerals, stress within the tree or what - but I sure like what it adds to the turning!
    Steve

    “You never know what you got til it's gone!”
    Please don’t let that happen!
    Become a financial Contributor today!

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