Pyro bowl a WIP!

[gasmansteve]

Hi all
A few folk have asked me to do a quick WIP for one of my pyro bowls so here goes hope you like the end result, you might not

Had a Tulipwood blank about 10" square by 4" high thought it would fit the bill

This was the result after a stint on the lathe

Tries various designs and shapes to get the texture I wanted. The tip I used is top right and is a homemade nib made from Nichrome wire and bent to shape and filed to a knife edge. The knife edge has the advantage of helping you draw a straight line as it cuts into the wood.

Tried rectangles, quarter circles and criss cross lines with the pen

and ended up with this shape about 1" diameter and drawn round at random all over the bowl with criss cross lines.

Gradually covering the top

and underneath

then burning the centre ring with a spoon bit (a nib shaped like a spoon to give small dark indentations!)

I then made the lid/finial which I was not really happy with

and thought it looked a bit naff and the pyro was not needed and the finial just didn`t go so changed it to this

also took a bit off the height of the lid thought it was too high

The jury`s still out on this lid too but I think its getting something like. Just need to apply sealer and a finish, maybe a buff from one the kits to keep the colour contrast as earlier trials made the tulipwood/burn lines too dark

Cheers
Steve

 

[mark sanger]

Hi Steve

Interesting and exciting direction you are going in here.

I was fortunate enough to have some of my work critiqued by Rolly Monro a while ago and he gave me advice which has stuck with me and help me no end.

That advice was that all parts of a piece should relate back into the other parts in some way and visa versa.

This may be as little as the curve of one item being similar to the other even if not on the same plane/axis. Or the continuation of a theme into the related parts.

For me the pure tulip wood lid looks un-related to the rest. If there was a pure banned of tulip wood within the main form you may find that it would not look so out of place.

Like wise the pyro lid also for me looks out of place. I believe that this is due to the amount of pyrography within the lid being much less intense than the main body. Also you have shapes in the main body which are not carried through into the lid. therefore you have two items which are not relating into the lid and visa versa.

As you have shapes in the main body you could experiment with carrying this on into the lid, but how about totally changing the shapes. IE you have semi circle/curves on the body so why not try a total contrast of shapes of say squares/rectangles in the lid. No the shapes will not be relating but the theme will be.

May work, don't know. But the lid is such a small section that you could make loads and keep playing around to see what different type of effects you get.

Also why not experiment with a reflection of the main base but swap the perspectives. IE pyro the shapes and leave the rest pure/bit like a negative effect.

Just a few ideas, they may work or may not. For me also the second finial is better without the bead section. The geometric shape of the base form for my taste does not go with the classic bead /finial arrangement.

What may work is changing the bead to a solid cube and drilling a hole through it. that way you carry on the geometric theme into the finial but soften it with a circle.

Again don;t know may work, may not.


I like this direction you are going in.

I have included a few ideas here. It does not mean I am right, but it may get you thinking and experimenting.

Have fun

sorry I have waffled enough.

 

[gasmansteve]

I see exactly what you mean Mark thanks for that. Looking at the bowl critically I feel the lid wants to be somewhere else instead of on the bowl if that makes sense it's as if I wanted a lid, any lid just to finish it off and the bowl would carry it. Now I'm waffling :wink:
Cheers
Steve

 

[stevebuk]

not done any pyro stuff myself for ages, must get the machine out now, thanks for the inspiration.
love the WIP, personally i thought the bowl on its own was fabulous, but i feel you have enhanced it greatly and i hope to see more of the same when possible.
Hopefully my house revamp is coming to an end, 2 more weeks to go and then i may just get some time to myself to play, or on nights when Rich comes around.. :lol: :lol:

 

[gasmansteve]

Cheers for that Steve hope all goes well with the house.
Steve

 

[shedhead]

Steve
Thanks for the WIP. I do not think it will matter, but do you know the size of the Nichrome wire you use.
Dermot.

 

[gasmansteve]

Hi Dermot
Got me thinking now, I got a couple of different sizes a while back and it was the thicker of the two that I used for the knife edge, 24swg seems to ring a bell can`t remember what size that is in new money :lol:
Steve

 

[mike s]

thats amazing!!
i would love to try using pyrography in my turning but im not very good at it
i have a simple pen that is very similar to a soldering iron with screw on brass tips, nothing as fancy as your by the looks of it.
im not sure if its my lack of practice or if its just the pen but i cant seem to get an even line.
do you sell your work?

 

[gasmansteve]

Thanks for the comments Mike. Never sold any of my bowls cos I never thought they were good enough . Managed to get straight lines on my latest Pear bowl by using a steel ruler and upping the wire temp to counteract loosing the heat through the ruler as the wire touches it. I do like to experiment and try different stuff on my bowls and if it works then fine if it doesn`t its only a piece of wood after all
Cheers
Steve

 

[jumps]

I see exactly what you mean Mark thanks for that. Looking at the bowl critically I feel the lid wants to be somewhere else instead of on the bowl if that makes sense it's as if I wanted a lid, any lid just to finish it off and the bowl would carry it. Now I'm waffling :wink:
Cheers
Steve

not disagreeing with Mark's analysis, I find the lid out of place too - until you take it off! At this point the lid (plain) complements the grain, curve and colour of the bowl.

how about no pyro but a mirror of the geometry of the bowl itself on the upper surface, and a curved underside to mirror the now visible inner bowl when you remove it.

just a thought.

definitely a strong piece overall - and food for thought!

thanks for taking the time to put the post together (as well as the bowl!)

 

[gasmansteve]

Hi Jumps
I forgot about this post from last year :? . This bowl ended up having a completely different lid -

Not sure what you think of this one?
Steve

 

[del]

very nice steve =D> like it without the top better

a quick question

for any of you that do pyro what kind of heat machines are you using

cheers del

 

[gasmansteve]

Hi Del
Thanks for the comments,I use the `Davan` variable temp hot wire unit!
Steve

 

[rob12770]

Steve, That is Realy nice, once my turning gets any good i have to give that a go :shock:
( i like the latter lid, its different )

 

[myturn]

Tulipwood has a beautiful grain and colour and it seems a shame to hide it completely.

 

[gasmansteve]

Hi Mick
I am careful with which pieces I pyro on. Wouldn`t dream of burning onto a lovely grained piece. I was given a few very bland pieces of Tulipwood a while back.
Steve