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chat log
 "Turning and Off-Lathe Decoration" a Special Guest Chat with JACQUES VESERY Sculptor with host Steve Russell Wednesday, April 9, 2008 9:30 pm EDT |
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| SteveRussell | Hello everyone and welcome to tonight's Turning Chat. Our special guest tonight is Jacques Vesery. Welcome Jacques to the WoodCentral Chat room and thank you for joining us. |
| Lan_B | hi Jacques |
| Jeff_RICH_IN | good evening Jacques |
| Mike_S | Indeed, thank you |
| Ed_in_Leaside | hi Jacques |
| Jacques | bonsoir mes amis... comment ca va? |
| Mike_S | Yo no hablo |
| Lan_B | thanks for dropping by! |
| Ed_Karch | ca va bien merci |
| Ed_in_Leaside | tres bien |
| Dick_H | Evening Jacques |
| CaroleV | Oh yeah...let's do this in French! LOL |
| Mike_S | I barely speak English and we are speaking French |
| Dick_H | Jacques, are you enjoying Elvie's hollow form>? |
| Jacques | thanks for inviting me... I've been looking forward to this, even though Mac said I was nuts.... this is my first time doing this, so be gentle gang... and I promise no more francais |
| SteveRussell | We will be gentle... |
| Mike_S | Carole, be gentle with Jacques |
| CaroleV | Maybe :) |
| SteveRussell | Let's try to keep the questions to a couple at a time, so Jacques has a chance to a post a reply. |
| Jacques | Dick, you would bring that up as a first item::smile it will get done someday and Elvie is ok with that. |
| keithz | hi John |
| Dick_H | Could not resist. |
| Mike_S | Jacques, wonderful website |
| John_Lucas | Jacques I love the starfish looking pieces |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, you have one of the best websites I've seen! |
| Ellis | Hi Jacques. I'm so glad to have you here with us tonight. Your work is really unique and at the cutting edge of turning and decoration. |
| Lan_B | It is an informative website and easy to navigate |
| Jacques | if anyone still has not visited my website which is fairly new it is as simple as www.jacquesvesery.com |
| SteveRussell | Let's get started. Jacques can you give us an idea of how long you have been turning? |
| CaroleV | Jack, your pieces look almost translucent, ethereal...do they look that way in life or is the lighting a factor? |
| Jacques | Steve, I started turning as a kid but really got into it in 1991 when we moved to ME |
| SteveRussell | Did you begin carving first? |
| Jacques | Carole, lighting, or the way light plays on a piece, is very important to me... and yes they look like they do in the images, maybe even more so |
| SteveRussell | You pieces have incredible depth... |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, many of your pieces include carved feathers? What was your inspiration for these pieces? |
| CaroleV | Do you use special techniques with you dye or paints to achieve that? It fascinates me! |
| DavePeebles | Jack, the videos on the woodworking channel are really well done. I really enjoyed seeing your work space |
| Jacques | I always worked with wood but never really thought about carving... still don't. |
| Stephen_S | do your turnings inspire your carving? |
| Jacques | Thanks, the videos are nice... the only thing that is missing is my work. I tried to get them to put in some stills for those that don't know what I do. |
| Jacques | Neither... form inspires proportion |
| keithz | Jacques, what type of dye do you use to achieve the depth of color in your pieces? |
| Jacques | Carole, as for techinque (got a few days?), it is very hard to put into words. The basis is a layering of colors... usually a minimum of seven. |
| Mike_S | Jacques, I was wondering what woods do you like to work in best? |
| SteveRussell | What are your favorite woods to work with? |
| Jacques | Color is almost always heavy pigment acrylics that are very fluid |
| SteveRussell | Like airbrush colors? |
| Mac | like a wash? |
| Jacques | I work mostly in cherry. it is middle of the road, not too hard not too soft and it holds a good line |
| Mike_S | So you prefer finer grained hardwoods |
| Stephen_S | does the brittleness of cherry limit your designs? |
| Molly | I agree with those properties of cherry. I've found that has become my favorite domestic wood for carving/burning too. |
| Jacques | Most airbrush paints are a bit too thin for me ... chroma paints are great... and I use a lot of golden paints |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, what carving tools do you use the most? |
| Molly | I have to depend upon Mac to supply me though, and we know how miserly he can be |
| Jacques | No limit with cherry. It depends how you cut the blank though |
| Mac | You're cut off, Molly! |
| CaroleV | I just can't believe it...they look so "light" ... not the impression of paint at all! |
| Molly | Rats, I was afraid of that....sigh :-) |
| CaroleV | If you would be nice to your sister, she would send you some cherry. ;) |
| Wally | Jacques, all of the pieces of yours that I've seen are quite small. Do you ever do larger pieces? |
| Jacques | Carole, when you look at a piece, what color do you see? |
| DavePeebles | Jack, do you have a piece for the auction this year? |
| Jacques | ...and that's wicked good cherry, right Mac? |
| CaroleV | On yours I see beach glass! LOL |
| Mac | the best |
| CaroleV | I see all sorts of colors in wood Jack, depending on how I hold it and what it represents to me |
| Jacques | Dave, are you kidding? Bonnie doesn't send me anything to work on 'til the night before the symposium |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, does your previous diving experience lend inspiration to your sea forms? |
| CaroleV | Your diving experience had to have influenced your use of colors |
| Jacques | My inspiration does come from my life and not always in ways I realize. I have always lived near the ocean... heck I lived under the ocean for a full year and a half in days |
| Mac | Are you planning on doing a piece for Richmond this year? |
| DavePeebles | Jack, do you have a pic of you in the torpedo tube on your site. That is a classic |
| SteveRussell | Your work is truly inspirational Jacques |
| CaroleV | Why did you ask me what colors I see, Jack? I know you were going somewhere with that. |
| Jacques | I don't have the tube pic on the site, but, for you Dave? Ccheck it tomorrow. :-) |
| DavePeebles | Cool!! |
| SteveRussell | Mostly acrylics and chroma paints |
| Ellis | What kind of carving tools are you using, Jacques? Grinders? Chisels? Knives? All of the above? |
| Stuart | Do you sketch out a design prior to starting new piece? |
| Jacques | Carole, if you look at a piece that is green you see green, but most people's minds are tricked into seeing a color, and there are dozens, the first always being black |
| DavePeebles | Do you still have the Half-Way lathe Jack? |
| CaroleV | But, black is the absence of color... |
| SteveRussell | Is that why you layer your colours Jacques? |
| Jacques | Carving tools... I use a woodburner mostly... not for the burn but the cut |
| Ellis | Ah, so you layer your colors and use transparency to create depth? |
| keithz | not in pigment Carole |
| CaroleV | To the eye |
| CaroleV | True Keith |
| CaroleV | I'm confused...as usual |
| Molly | Jacques, do you have a set up to keep the smoke away from you? |
| keithz | Black emphasizes the negative space...that means the positive space jumps to the front of your vision |
| Stephen_S | Depends on whether it is additive or subtractive colors Carol |
| Jacques | Color. Yes, there is depth, but transition as well...most pieces are actually different colors at each end |
| Stephen_S | Additive colors... include all colors and it is black |
| keithz | as in pigment Stephen |
| Stephen_S | Subtractive colors... include no colors and it is white |
| Jacques | Mac you jump in I will answer half the questions and you answer half. |
| keithz | as in light |
| Molly | I think Stephen S has more than the 64 count box |
| Stephen_S | reflective or refracted |
| Mac | this is your show tonite |
| Ellis | Some of your forms are only barely recognizable as turned objects. Where does turning end and sculpture begin? |
| Stephen_S | but I do color within the lines |
| Molly | Ooooo Ellis, the BIG question. You're so brave. :-) |
| CaroleV | Yes, I see they are now that I look. That must be what creates the beautiful light, ethereal effect. |
| Ellis | :-) |
| Jacques | Don't get caught up in the black/white/no color stuff... you can't change many colors much without either |
| Molly | Are you all looking at Jacques' work? what's the link? |
| CaroleV | Do you do you coloring under natural light? |
| CaroleV | http://www.jacquesvesery.com |
| Jacques | Turned or not turned, THAT is the Question! |
| Jacques | I work under very bright halogens but check the colors thru the whole process in evry spectrum I can. |
| Molly | Damn!....I mean %&*$#@#, I've not seen your feathered starfish before. That's a beaut! |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, how long does it take on average to complete one of your pieces from start to finish? |
| CaroleV | I love the Spirit Stones too |
| John_Lucas | Molly, that was the piece that I liked also |
| CaroleV | Steve! How can you ask that question??? LOL |
| CaroleV | The question all turners hate! |
| Mike_S | I love the starfish but I also love the teapots |
| Ellis | Jacques' work has always appealed to me at a level beyond turning and woodworking. |
| Jacques | my wife Minda says the answer is always "countless hours" |
| Mike_S | It looks like countless hours |
| CaroleV | Me too Ellis. They look like if you went to hold one your hand, it would just slip through it like vapor |
| John_Lucas | I agree Ellis. The only time I'm concerned about the process is simply for my knowledge. I accept the pieces for what they are, not how they are made. | Stuart | Carole, I've never understood why turners hate that question unless someone is trying to put an hourly wage on an item. |
| Ellis | Do you find that you hit a groove after a certain amount of time in the shop? |
| Stephen_S | It is woodwork that moves |
| Jacques | Spirit stones... would you like them as much if they were turned round? turn when you need to turn.... |
| CaroleV | I hate it because I have no idea and can't answer it! |
| CaroleV | No...they would not have nearly the appeal if they were round |
| Ellis | Spoken like a true sculptor, Jacques. I think that is the essence of your work. |
| keithz | Jacques, I really like the piece in the Basic Black show. How did you accomplish the texture of the body of the piece? |
| Jacques | The groove... yes, at night the house is quiet and I can go on for hours, many nights 'til 2 or 3am |
| Molly | I agree Jacques, it's just one more tool in our arsenal |
| Mike_S | Jacques, do you work on multiple pieces at one time or do you get inspired by one idea and see it through to completion |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, I finf the early morning hours the best for fine detail work. There is something very Zen about the silence and that seems to encourage creativity. |
| CaroleV | Do you walk in your rock garden before you start work? |
| Jacques | We have all seen beautiful utility bowls throughout history and in contemporary times that are not turned, yet they are still appealing. The point is to use the lathe when you need to, not because you have to. |
| CaroleV | To me that would be a wonderful catalyst for creativity |
| Jacques | I am a morning person... but laundry seems to get done better then than work |
| CaroleV | That's not very inspiring! LOL |
| Ellis | Do you start with sketches? |
| Jacques | Catalysts are everywhere... my friends look at me very strangely when I am on my knees in the market parking lot looking at the texture close up |
| Stephen_S | Coiled pottery pots can look just like wheel thrown pots (vertical lathe) |
| Ellis | ...and do you have lots of paint experiments that you do prior to launching into a new project? |
| CaroleV | I guess there is...even in the folds of dirty laundry... |
| Mike_S | Linen folds..... |
| SteveRussell | Inspiration is where you find it! |
| SteveRussell | I find a lot at 37,000 feet... The textures of the clouds are amazing at times. |
| Jacques | Sketches... I don't like to sketch because I do sketches like finished work, so then to me the piece is already finished... I have been keeping a sketch book though, since memory is not what it used to be |
| Ellis | So you just dive into the piece and let it take shape as you work? |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, do you ever use a digital camera to capture inspirational items or textures to use for later reference? |
| Jacques | Clouds are great but so hard for me... painted, yes, as in the interior of one of my seaforms |
| CaroleV | Do you ever just throw a piece away because it's not what you wanted it to be? |
| Jacques | I have files and files of images... I never use them as a reference, though, just for inspiration... My goal is always to create the illusion of reality. |
| Mike_S | Have you ever considered incorporating the texture and colors of lichens into your work? Some of the bloom colors of lichens are extraordinary |
| Jacques | No, Carole, I give those to Mac... or my mother in law... whoever is closest. |
| CaroleV | LOL! |
| Ellis | There are amazing lichens on top of Cadillac Mountain. |
| Jacques | We have a great variety of lichens in ME. The best ones all seem to be at the tops of mountains. |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, do you use an airbrush for painting/colouring the interiors of your pieces? |
| Mac | I only have one Vesery piece and I won that many years ago in the club raffle. |
| Jacques | Steve, only once or twice, and recently at that... The new pieces on my site that do not have leaf on the interior are airbrushed. |
| CaroleV | I have tried several times to do a Lady Slipper...the last time I tried, I thought to myself...only Vesery could pull this off! |
| Molly | What's a lady slipper look like Carole? |
| Ellis | How would you advise someone about getting into this kind of sculpted work? Does it begin with the creation of form, as with clay? Or does it begin with techniques, like turning, painting, carving.....? |
| CaroleV | Google them...they are a beautiful wild flower, rare |
| Molly | will do |
| Mike_S | Some are made from glass, Molly but princesses wear them |
| Jacques | Suggestion on the lady slipper... next time try the texture of the flower on something it does not belong on.... a turning maybe? |
| Molly | Good question Ellis. Jacques, you have such an amazing ability to achieve multiple layers of depth with your carving. Your surfaces are a wonder to study. |
| Jacques | Form is so important to me... it is the root of any object we create |
| Ellis | So it begins with an image of a form in your mind. |
| Jacques | Techinque is important but, without learning to see good design elements, what use is techinque? |
| CaroleV | Hmmm...never got to the texture part...was just trying to carve and hollow one...the texture would be another challenge |
| Ellis | Do you use ball mills and die grinders some of the time, for the more macro work? |
| Jacques | Yes, which can be very hard when you think about the seaforms, which are turned in most cases. |
| Ellis | ...and do you use a pneumatic handpiece or a flex-shaft for burr work? |
| Jacques | Burrs are usually the starting point for any of the textures... creating what I call the form within the form, i.e., a feather form mimics the vessel form at the point where it is located |
| Jacques | Ellis, I use a flex shaft and micro motor. |
| CaroleV | Did you say you used the burner to do the feathers? |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, have you ever worked with materials other than wood? For example, alabaster, or metals? |
| Mike_S | Does Minda have a collection of your work, Jacques? |
| Jacques | As for getting into a sculptural realm, so to speak... don't force it but experiment as much as you can. |
| CaroleV | I just managed to get a vise so I will be experimenting more now |
| Ellis | ...and think of yourself as a sculptor, with the lathe as just part of your arsenal of tools to get you to the end result...? |
| DavePeebles | Jack, who do you think have been your greatest influences in your work |
| Jacques | Collections, yes, we have a family rule which we try to stick to... it started with keeping one piece per year for the family (Minda's collection) but we have expanded that to include both of the boys, so they each get one piece per year as well. |
| CaroleV | Do they get to pick the piece? |
| Mac | adopt me? |
| Molly | lol |
| SteveRussell | Me too... |
| CaroleV | and me |
| keithz | I asked before, but what technique do you use to create the texture such as used on the body of the piece in the Basic Black show? |
| Jacques | When I say I am a woodturner, most folks have no idea what that is; when I say I am a sculptor they leave it at that or ask what medium. |
| SteveRussell | I find that to be the case as well... |
| Mac | when I say that...they just chuckle |
| Jacques | Carole, I wish they could pick the piece, but that is not always possible |
| Mike_S | Do you do pieces for their birthdays? |
| Molly | we all do Mac |
| Mike_S | Molly...... |
| Jacques | Feather texture is mostly done with the burner but there are several steps in layers. |
| SteveRussell | Jacques, do you use some type of basecoat (white, or other colour) before you apply the colours? |
| Ellis | How long did you experiment with these media and techniques before they all came together for you, Jacques? |
| Jacques | Base coats... because the surface is usually burned in various stages of brown, each piece starts with a base coat of India ink scrubed in with a tooth brush. |
| SteveRussell | Interesting... |
| CaroleV | You mean those Sea forms all started as black? |
| Jacques | The first big mistake was the charmer... yes, a mistake is how the the coloring all started. |
| SteveRussell | Your pieces are truly amazing Jacques and you are an inspiration to all of us. |
| Mike_S | Serendipitous and fortuitous mistake I would say. |
| Jacques | Carole, yes, black, even the lightest ones... if you go back and look again you will see it, but again it is that illusion |
| DavePeebles | Jack, thanks for stopping by tonight. It was really interesting. Please feel free to stop by the turning forum anytime you like. :) |
| Ellis | I'm just amazed that you can pull it off with opaque media like acrylics. |
| Jacques | I call the mistake my great depifony |
| Mike_S | I would say you are correct |
| Molly | I need a depifony |
| Mike_S | It has certainly resulted in beautiful work for us all to admire |
| Ed_Karch | Merci, Jacques |
| Jacques | See your doctor for a RX, Molly. |
| Ellis | :-) |
| Mac | ever do a purple one Jack? |
| CaroleV | I can see the black in the details but it is hard for me to grasp that Watery Skies started as all black! LOL |
| Mike_Hunter | What is a depifony |
| Jacques | A depihony is when you do that v* smack on the head |
| CaroleV | Oh...I have those! |
| Mike_Hunter | I understand |
| CaroleV | Only mine are "duh!s" |
| Mike_Hunter | Is that like oh @@#$ |
| Jacques | duhpiphonies are good too |
| Molly | lol |
| CaroleV | LOL |
| Mike_S | I am very familiar with duhpiphonies |
| Ellis | Anything that gets you there. |
| Molly | Yes, Mike, but then you look again, and say, "ooooo, wait a minute....." |
| Jacques | No, it's %$#@#&, that looks good! |
| Mike_S | Usually I say "Oh no!" |
| SteveRussell | Well it looks like we've come to the end of our scheduled chat. Thanks so much Jacques for being our guest tonight and for sharing a little of your passion for form, colours, textures, sculpture and turning. Please feel free to stick around for our open chat everyone. |
| Mike_S | Thank you very much Jacques, it was wonderful to have insight into your creative thought process |
| CaroleV | My turning is like the Road Less Traveled...I never know where I am going until I get there |
| Jacques | You are all quite welcome... my pleasure, a bientot. |
| DavePeebles | Thanks Jack |
| CaroleV | Thanks, Jack... |
| Molly | Whew, got though the formal part mostly well behaved, now I can let my hair down.. |
| Ellis | And that has made all the difference, Carole. |
| DavePeebles | Indeed Molly :) |
| Ellis | Oh oh |
| CaroleV | Sometimes Ellis...you don't see the dead ends! |
| Mac | Did better than I expected you to do Molly |
| Ellis | There are no dead ends, Carole. |
| Molly | thank you Mac |
| CaroleV | Mac, I thought you were going to go type for Jack? |
| Mac | yw |
| SteveRussell | It's like a maze Carole. If you get a dead end, back up and go another way... :-) |
| Mac | didnt ask me to |
| Ellis | Do you have a backlog of orders, Jacques? |
| Jacques | Back log... yes, I am scheduling exhibits in 2011. |
| Ellis | But you only sell at exhibits, right? People don't commission pieces? |
| CaroleV | Fraid you would dumpster dive at his house... |
| CaroleV | Done that too Steve! |
| Mac | a garbage bag would starve tro death over there |
| Molly | That's a good busy Jacques |
| CaroleV | LOL |
| Jacques | I do not do commission work... just make what I want... the problem is I can't make them fast enough. |
| Molly | That just raises your prices |
| DavePeebles | That is not a problem Jack :) |
| CaroleV | Good for you Jack...I hate doing what someone else wants me to do! |
| Jacques | I tried that... again and again |
| Ellis | Do you need the gallery venue, or can you sell privately? |
| Jacques | I can do with or without either but a good gallery is worth it's weight. |
| CaroleV | Have you had any bad gallery experiences? |
| Jacques | Oh yeah... the last one stemmed around being badgered into doing a commission... never again. |
| Mac | I think I'll open a small gallery here. Want to put some pieces in Jack? |
| CaroleV | LOL |
| Jacques | I will bag groceries before I do that again... broke my own rule because of gallery pressures |
| CaroleV | You were miserable the whole time you worked on the commission piece, right? :) |
| Jacques | I would, Mac, but your wife would not let you sell them... and with so many woodstoves in your place....hmmm, I would be nervous |
| Mac | Is that a no? |
| Jacques | You don't know the half of it... ask me in person sometime... just not in front of the buyer. |
| Jacques | , gang.. I need to get in a few more miles on the bike before going back to work... Jean Francois and I will be riding in the countryside every day before I teach...I'm in training... also been training my wine drinking elbow.... it's tough but someone has to do it |
| Ellis | Jacques, I have to call it a night, too. I really appreciate your taking the time to join us here tonight. |
| Mike_S | Enjoyed this immensely, have a good night everyone. Thanks again Jacques |
| DavePeebles | LOL thanks Jack |
| CaroleV | Nite Jack and thanks for a great chat! | Molly | thanks a bunch Jacques |
| Mac | say Nite to Minda for us.... |
| Ellis | See you all later.... |
| SteveRussell | Thanks Jacques! |
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