wide rim platter/sculpture

[mark sanger]

Hi Mark
Many thanks for the reasoned reply.

The dislike of the black base started from the base that a wood sculpture that we bought recently was mounted on - and it looked such a cop out; "can't think of any way of mounting this - oh, yes a big block of cheap wood and we'll just paint it black - the punter won't know any better!". I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from.

That's the explanation and it's now in mind like the cheap opt out that all too many nice pictures in the smaller art galleries are framed in.

Your black bases have worked well when they are shaped and extended almost as part of the piece, but rectangular black against a light coloured curved form does in my eye hard anchor it to the ground. It excessively exaggerates the contrasts of form and colour, whereas to appreciate the form as a shape in its own right, it should effectively float.

Hey, what do I know - I'm a mucky engineer who has difficulty enough expressing what he thinks let alone manage to be artistic.

Rob

Rob

You are right as am I. as individuals that are subjected to different stimulus, likes, tastes etc we come to like what we do through our past and present contact with items.

It's a bit like me not liking pasta very much due to an experience earlier on. But it does not mean others will not like pasta.

The reason I used a black base on this one ( it is scorched not painted) as paint would eventually degrade outside. Is that if at time trying to compliment an item/sculpture etc what can happen is that the two pieces come together and you can lose some of the impact of the item trying to be displayed.

Also by my scorching this black I was wanting to make the contrast between the two very obvious.

As I say it is certainly something I will look at in the future but I am fairly happy with this one.

 

[skeetoids]

Hi Mark,

Have you given any thought to making the entire piece out of one bit of wood?

A big 4ft length, with your sculpture at the top, perhaps seperated by a small simple bead and then a sort of trumpet style base leadind up from the bottom. In my mind the wide base tapering in up to the little bead would act as a visual guide leading right up to the sculpture.

I'm not usually one for giving advice but I think you've created a piece that everyone is very fond of. It must be humbling to know that many of us are already inspired to consider alterations to what is already a beautiful piece.

I too like it very much with the black base but my idea above may give it a more unified feeling. Worth thinking about, but maybe the trumpet style base would work on a smaller one.

Glad to see your posting some work again, i've missed your input. Have a word with George while your at it, 'tis about time he gave us another thought provoking piece too :lol:

Oops! Just realised I've posted this against the wrong piece :shock:

Any chance a mod can move it please?

 

[mark sanger]

Hi Mark,

Have you given any thought to making the entire piece out of one bit of wood?

A big 4ft length, with your sculpture at the top, perhaps seperated by a small simple bead and then a sort of trumpet style base leadind up from the bottom. In my mind the wide base tapering in up to the little bead would act as a visual guide leading right up to the sculpture.

I'm not usually one for giving advice but I think you've created a piece that everyone is very fond of. It must be humbling to know that many of us are already inspired to consider alterations to what is already a beautiful piece.

I too like it very much with the black base but my idea above may give it a more unified feeling. Worth thinking about, but maybe the trumpet style base would work on a smaller one.

Glad to see your posting some work again, i've missed your input. Have a word with George while your at it, 'tis about time he gave us another thought provoking piece too :lol:

Oops! Just realised I've posted this against the wrong piece :shock:

Any chance a mod can move it please?

Hi Lee

I thought something was up but guessed it was about the sculpture.

I am limited with lathe capacity, only have 1m between centre but may at a later stage buy an extension bed. Also due to the size and the offset nature of the turning there are large forces which while the lathe may cope the wood at the fixing point is the week spot. If I have a 20kg piece of wood come off the lathe it could hurt a little For larger pieces I will probably do them entirely using a lancelot cutter for safety reasons.

Funny you should say about the base and the trumpet form. I have been looking at chain saw artists to see what they do and present their work. Most of there work seems to morph out of the log which is nice. However I have to say I like a more contemporary feel to a piece as this is more the market I am aiming at.

But y it does not mean I can not do both.

I have so much on at the moment and more ideas than I have time to be able to make them. At the moment I have over 80 unfinished pieces in my workshop. So I need to get some of them done and out to outlets.

I am very pleased that people like my work and always welcome suggestions as often I may have missed it.

 

[George Foweraker]

Hi Mark.
I think if the base was a little wider and not quite as deep And if the cut out was turned to about two o clock and the ball was black it would be perfect.But what do i know :wink:

Regards George

 

[George Foweraker]

Paint it yellow and call it sunflower :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Richard Findley]

Well, I like it. My first thought was of angel wings when I saw the rim with cut out. The decoration reminds me of a feathery texture.

The red ball is the only thing I'm not 100% on but it's growing on me. I think the choice of the red with mottled black works quite well, certainly better than bright red or black.

The base looks good to me. I can see where some of the others are coming from but at the end of the day it is only the base. You are not making the statement with the base, it is purely there to hold up the sculpture. You could say it has very much a supporting role!!!

Cheers

Richard

 

[Bodrighy]

Personally I think a black base, especially if it is matt not shiny, sort of disappears and so the main feature, the sculpture stands out more. Natural wood would become part of the sculpture and possibly detract. I find the red ball intrusive somehow but that is purely a personal thing. Again I think I'd prefer it matt instead of gloss. If ever I get to make something like this I can experiment and see which is best for myself :lol:

Pete

 

[CHJ]

......Oops! Just realised I've posted this against the wrong piece :shock:

Any chance a mod can move it please?

modedit:I would have done if I had seen it sooner Lee, (and knew how ) but I think it's now better left alone just to prove we are all, well most of us anyway, human :lol:

 

[mark sanger]

Hi all

Thank you for your input.

Richard

Thank you. The red I wanted as a focal point. Due to the small size of the picture compared to the actual item in the flesh is that the red over powers the black. In the flesh the black is much more prominent and ties in the scorching to the centre of the sculpture.

This is very much taste based and the sphere could be done away with, the colour changed, gold leafed, carved etc etc.

I like the angle wings idea.

Pete

the base on the sculpture is satin acrylic. I have to agree with you I prefer matt and have to source some matt spray. Chestnut I do not know why do not produce a matt spray but I know B& Q do one so I will get it from there.

As you say and I am of the same opinion if the base was left wood it would for me conflict with the sculpture.

These are quite fun as you can alter and come up with loads of ideas to change the design. It also means that from a selling point of view a vertical form takes up much less space that a horizontal form.

Thank you all again.

 

[tekno.mage]

Another quick thought about bases for garden sculptures, Mark. How about using a short section from the top of an old oak gate post (the farm type which are around 4 - 6 inches square and made of oak heartwood.) This would be square-ish in secyion but rough & pre-weathered and potentially with some interesting cracking and weathering to the slightly curved top. As the bottom part of the post eventually rots through and the remaining part is then too short to reuse, they are often discarded or used for firewood. They do look really good after judicious application of a wire brush to remove any dirt, lichen, moss etc followed up by the gas torch treatment.

Regarding a finish for bases for garden use, how about the external grade of Osmo oil (which has a built in UV protector)? I've used this very successfully over scorched oak in the past and once the oil has hardened (which takes around 24 hours for each coat) it "fixes" the black scorch marks just as well as spray on laquer and leaves a nice matt finish (unless you burnish it up!) with no black residue coming off on the fingers if it's handled.

tekno.mage

 

[Terry Smart]

Chestnut I do not know why do not produce a matt spray

...because it's hard enough getting shops to take our full range as it is - our Ebonising Lacquer is a satin finish and I can imagine our stockists saying, understandably, that there is very little difference between them so why double-stock.


What do others think? Is there a need for a Matt Black Lacquer? Especially if you've used our Ebonising Lacquer...

 

[mark sanger]

Chestnut I do not know why do not produce a matt spray

...because it's hard enough getting shops to take our full range as it is - our Ebonising Lacquer is a satin finish and I can imagine our stockists saying, understandably, that there is very little difference between them so why double-stock.


What do others think? Is there a need for a Matt Black Lacquer? Especially if you've used our Ebonising Lacquer...

Hi Terry

I was thinking more of a matt lacquer to go over the top and protect. A total matt finish is needed at times and the satin for me is too much at times.

But I appreciate that I am a minority and I fully understand the difficulty you have getting it all stocked.

 

[Bodrighy]

Mark, a lot of stores that stock floor finishes stock matt lacquer, bioth in aerosol and liquid form. Latter is cheaper if you have a gun. Most seem to be acrylic as well.

Pete

 

[mark sanger]

Mark, a lot of stores that stock floor finishes stock matt lacquer, bioth in aerosol and liquid form. Latter is cheaper if you have a gun. Most seem to be acrylic as well.

Pete

Thanks Pete

I know B & Q do one but my nearest store is in Poole and hour away.

Thanks for the advise.