Hollow Form

[Arlan Ten Kley]

I found my way back to the lathe recently after being pre-occupied...(read work!). This piece is from as small log I salvaged, blown down by a past hurricane, probably Ivan. It is from a wooded swampy area, but I do not know the identity of the wood. As I gain experience with the local wood, I'll get better at identifying this "FOG", (found on ground) wood!

Turned with the pith, including a couple different insect infestations, spalting, cracks and bark inclusions. The photo was taken outside, overcast day....therefore flat with no highlights. The satin finish is MinWax WOP, sanded to 1500 then waxed and hand rubbed.

5 inches high, 5.5 inches wide

Comments, critiques and observations always welcome.

[Jim Becker]

Arlan, that's a very nice piece.

One observation would be that I'd prefer it to not have what appears to be a "defined" foot. You can do that by keeping the curve continuous to the base with a slight undercut to give a stable surface for the turning to sit on.

[Richard Madison]

Arlan,
Ditto what Jim said. Very pretty and looks like bald cypress to me. BC grows in the kind of area that you described.

Been trying a small diameter and shallow (1/8 to 3/16" tall) foot (Wimberley Foot) on some pieces with fairly large bottoms. The foot is not visible from usual viewing angles, and helps the piece "float" above the surface a bit. Jury is still out, but does not work with small bottoms. As Jim said, better to do a smooth curve to the base.

Edit: Good pictures too. And/but if that is a white background, might try adjusting the white balance if possible.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great piece Arlan. Well done.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Arlan - very very nice work! Love the form on this - great proportions! Good looking wood also - hope you can find some more of it!

[Tom Sherman]

Arlan, I like this piece a lot you've done this FOG wood justice.

[Scott Hubl]

Nice form, it has that "dirty wood" look and feel, I like it.

[Dale Gregory]

Small foot makes it appear a bit unstable, but I love the overall shape, coloring, grain of the wood. Great job!

Dale

[Keith Burns]

Very nice Arlan ! I like the form and the small foot.

[Burt Alcantara]

Arlan,
I like the form, color, and foot.

[TYLER WOOD]

I'll agree with a few others and say I like the foot on it. It does have the look of it's going to topple at any second, but the form also makes you raise you eyes up. It flows really well. I like!!!

[Richard Madison]

Arlan,
Does it have actually have a "defined" foot, or just a smooth curve to the base? Hard to tell for sure from the pictures.

Nothing wrong with the diameter at the base. It's an art piece. If it was a water jug, that would be different.

[Don Eddard]

Nice job on a very unique and attractive piece of wood.

[Arlan Ten Kley]

Thanks all for taking the time to view and make your comments. I really appreciate the insight of your feedback. Sorry for the delay, I've been away from the computer the last couple days.

Because of the confusing lighting of the photo, the foot area is heavily shadowed, causing the "mystery" foot! Acually, the curve of the profile continues uninterrupted to the base, which is just a simple 3/4" hollowed flat for the bottom. I like the looks of the clean lines this preserves. It actually is more stable than it appears!

Richard, I do know that this is not cypress, and that it is some type of deciduous hardwood from the form of the tree. We do have cypress in some areas too...just not this swamp! I also agree that I need to investigate the white balance in the photos I've taken as this was a flat white background under overcast skies. Thank you for pointing that out!

I have another piece in work that further explores this form. It is in Holly, just slightly smaller and with a little more pronounced neck. The lack of prominent grain pattern and the clean white color is actually quite striking and really showcases the form. It is now dry and unfinished, awaiting my decision to either explore a surface treatment or continue and finish as is. I'm presently leaning toward the latter.

[Brian McInturff]

Great looking piece Arlan. Can't wait to see more of the FOG wood.