Bleached white ash bowl

Re: Bleached white ash bowl

Fred in NC

>Well, all I can say is that I like the way the curve flows. Very different indeed, but also has kind of a classical look to it. The bleached color goes very well with it.

Re: Bleached white ash bowl

David Hammond

>I'd say the deviation worked Mike. I've got a peice like this one in Ssassafrass, and I think I like yours a little better. My rim and s-curve isn't as pronounced, and I left a foot on mine - I do know that such a shape, with that double curve, was very difficult for me to get even halfway right. The bleaching is a really nice effect on that ash.

I'd keep it.

David Hammond

My Dad & Me, Inc.

Re: Bleached white ash bowl

John Lucas

>Mike

I like the shape. I think that shape is more conducive to lack of figure in the wood.

Re: Bleached white ash bowl

George Van

>Very nice job of handling those curves Mike. I like it, it reminds me of a porcelain spittoon.

Re: Bleached white ash bowl

Randy in Langley

>I think it is beautiful Mike. I can only imagine how it feels to the hand.

Can I probe you for some photographic advice? Do you do your own photography of your pieces? What do you do for a backdrop? Do you edit your photos afterwards? Your pieces are spectacular and the way they are photographed enhances them even more.

Re: Bleached white ash bowl

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Randy, thanks for the compliment. My photos are shot in my basement, in a little "booth" that sits on my tablesaw, easily assembled in 5 minutes. A picture of an earlier version is below. It has matured since then in the following manner - it is about twice as tall, and instead of pointing the light source up at the cieling, I point it at the front left side, which now is angled to reflect light back down toward the front of the work. I use a lot of aluminum foil, matte side facing the work, to redirect light towards dark spots. Usually I use blue tape to temporarily attach the foil, and then hold other pieces by hand while I snap the photo. My camera is mounted on a tripod and is an Olympus Csomething ultra zoom with a 10x optical zoom. I prefer it in aperature priority mode and save my files in TIFF format. They are then edited using "The Gimp" which is a open source, free version of Photoshop.

John Lucas and Jamie Donaldson are the two main sources of help that got me this far. Jamie's photo tents/booths have helped many woodturners improve their photos, mine included. John has provided invaluable advice on camera techniques and eliminating hotspots.

There was much trial and error involved in the setup, but now that I have been able to reliably produce decent results taking photos really takes no time at all.

Hope this answers your questions.

This really is different for you.

Pete Lamberty

>Very nice form and choice of wood. As I look at it I keep feeling that I would want the rim to be smaller than the widest part of the bottom. Does this make sense?

Different! I like it!

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>Mike,

You know, there are times that the "rules" for form should be followed, and times they should be pushed to the limit. This is an example of the latter. I really like the results.

Every time I think about "design rules", I hearken back to my early drafting classes in high school. I remember our discussion on "Falling Water", the innovative house built by Frank Lloyd Wright. My teacher was telling the class that from a standpoint of construction and "usability", it was a bit of a failure. The roof leaked constantly, and the rooms were designed to contain specific types of furniture (not much room for customization). But from the standpoint of design, it was an absolute masterpiece!

John Lucas had a great point about the lack of figure and the shape. All I'll add is that the bleaching lends itself nicely to the shape as well.

See ya around,

Dominic

Porcelain Spittoon?

Jay Kilpatrick in TX

>Nah...I'd leave this one to the "Little People" and fill it with gold.

Re: Porcelain Spittoon?

George Van

>Sorry, it's just that I've had a lot more Copenhagen than gold through the years.

Oh that Copenhagen...

Jay Kilpatrick in TX

>it makes me feel so GOOD! but not anymore. I had that problem too until this past Jauary (the 9th if I recall correctly). I had chewed for 14 years; and on that day my little boy showed me the light! He and I were working outside stacking wood, and I leaned over and spit. Well to my suprise I saw him doing the same thing everytime I did. Well it was cute for a one time deal, but I didn't want him to be the "spittin' image" of his Daddy, so I quit and never looked back! Let me tell you its been rough. I'm suffered through my sister and niece being diagnosed with precancerous cells (breast), my Mother hospitalized for gastrointestinal problems, and the prolonged sickness and passing of my father. Each time I'd go into a store that "fresh Cope" would call out to me. But I refused and still will. Sooooo...if your a former user; GOOD. If not; work on it. It ain't easy, but that SHIT ain't good for you.

Peace,

~Jay

(chuckle) BTW...the leperachaun thing was my own metaphor, not a slight to the spittoon one. It just happened to be a good springboard.

Re: Bleached white ash bowl

RevDoug

>Looks like this piece of Ash had some figure to it. I still like the final effect of the bleaching. The shape is a better version of the piece I shared a few weeks ago of Hazelnut. Your transition from curve to curve is much better than mine ended up being. Thanks for sharing again. Just wish I had your time. Guess its been 3 weeks or better since I touched the lathe. Maybe Friday and Saturday.

Re: Bleached white ash bowl

Randy in Langley

>Thanks Mike.

Very helpful. I suspect that you load your images to your own web site then link from there to here? I'm not sure what the image size limit is in WC but I know that in some other forums it is 20 Kb and I find it hard to post a good quality pic of only 20 KB.

I think I may have to start my own web site soon and build myself a "Booth".

Thanks again.

Pic size on WC is 40Kb

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Randy, the photo editor I use, The Gimp (www.gimp.org) gives you the file size before you save if you choose the preview option on the save file menu. As you move the slider to change the image quality the file size changes.

I post my work on up to 3 different websites and WC is the one that has the smallest file size limit, so I compose the photo for the largest size I will need , generally about 100K, and save that version. One of the websites that offers very detailed critiques prefers larger photos so I size that picture pretty large. I then scale the shot down for WC, my photos here are usually about 550 pix wide. When I save it I check to make sure the file size is under the 40Kb limit, and usually wind up at 39Kb or so. Sometimes I have to alter the picture's dimensions even smaller to go under 40Kb and retain acceptable image quality.

I then upload the photos to the various locations. Previously I kept the photos on my own website and linked to them but now I use my webspace for other things. Plus, when I make changes, the photos don't disappear from those websites, as some of them offer albums to store your own work. www.woodturner.org, the AAW site, is one example of such a site.