Another tall skinny thing.

[David DeCristoforo]

These are addicting! I'm thinking "goblet" but end up with something that makes me think of flowers. I'm giving this one to my wife. It's a small piece of maple burl with some interesting colors. Inside is dyed a dark red. The stem is walnut, dyed black and then sanded back and dyed with red to pick up some of the color of the inside. This is about as delicate as I can get at my current level of ability. It's 9" tall and 4.5 at the widest.

flower_1.jpg

flower_2.jpg

flower_3.jpg

[Steve Schlumpf]

Now we're talking! Beautiful form! Great looking wood and I really like your use of color on certain areas as opposed to the entire thing!

Your wife is going to love this! Very impressive work David! Thanks for sharing!

[gary Zimmel]

That is one cool looking "tall skinny thing" David!
Brownie points galore for this one I bet. Love the form and what you did with the dyes.
Very nice indeed....

[David E Keller]

That's great. Lot's of neat little details. My favorite part of it is the way you turned down the top of the pedestal... I think that's partly why is has a floral quality. Your wife's a lucky lady(bet she doesn't hear that often!)

[John Hart]

Holy Smokes....That is pure beauty there David. The stem has great balance and compliments the piece over all. The Flower (And I agree it's a flower, not a goblet) has great form all by itself. The raindrop at the bottom of the stem is GREAT.

Nicely done.

[Roger Chandler]

David,

That is a truly exquisite form! I love the color, and the stem is just a masterpiece! You did a wonderful expression of style, color and form all in one distinctive turning.

This is a fine example of the use of dyes...........

I think there is another artist in our midst.........when do we hear about your first show?

[Steve LaFara]

Bee-u-ti-full!!!!!!!! As I'm new to the turning thing, I'm curious how the two pieces are attached? Did you glue together and turn as one piece or do the two separatly and then glue together? I have to try this!!! Since I am limited to a 3.5" swing, these are the types of items that I can try to hone my skills until I can afford a bigger lathe.

Thanks for sharing!

[David DeCristoforo]

"...how the two pieces are attached...glue together and turn as one piece or do the two separately..."

Turned separately. I have a cone shaped live center and a collet chuck. I turn a small tenon on the bottom of the "vase" section before it's parted off. A corresponding hole is drilled in the top of the stem and then the cone center is brought into play with the other end of the stem held in the collet chuck by means of another tenon. I learned the hard way that you gotta drill that hole in the top of the stem before you turn it!!! And I also learned the hard way that you really do need to make that hole the correct size!

I'm finding that these delicate turnings are almost more interesting than making larger pieces although both have their challenges. Working with such thin walls and spindles requires patience and a light touch, neither of which have been what you would call "DD's strong points". So the process, for me, involves learning much more than technique.

Another thing I like about these smaller pieces is that it's a lot easier to find "dry, ready to turn" pieces of wood! I have a shop full of fine bits of wood but very little of it would make good "turning stock". And, while I am "learning patience", it's nice to not have to wait forever for wood to dry before you can turn another piece!

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

David,
A couple months ago you were putting up the tent in your back yard and talking about getting back into turning. Now you're producing work that rivals the best. I think John Keeton has been a good influence on your artistic side. Watching you two dream up ever more delicate and imaginative tall stemmed burl creations is going to be a lot of fun.
faust

[William Hutchinson]

Very lovely piece, the turning and stem are exquisite. Your wife will treasure this-well till she get another one that will surely be even better. Your talents are quickly developing and each of your works shows a refined level of skills.

Now that your dancing amongst the artists, you're gonna have to start naming your creations; "tall skinny thing" makes me think of a skewers.

[Dee Gallo]

David, I've been lurking and reading posts trying to find out what this turning thing is all about. This is the kind of piece that sucks people into the vortex, I think! I'm mesmerized.

Absolutely gorgeous piece, thank you for posting such inspirational work.

cheers, dee

[Tom Sherman]

Very nice DD, your forms are coming along at an accelerated rate and looking great to boot.

[David DeCristoforo]

"..."tall skinny thing" makes me think of a skewers...."

Hey... Wolverine... that gives me an idea... just think... built in turning tools right at your fingertips! For now, let's just call it "Flower#1" because I want to do more exploring with these. K?

[Curt Fuller]

Man Mr. D! What ever happened to the learning curve, apprenticeship, and all those kinds of things. I have to say that this has it all, design, turning skills, and you even made that dye thing look good. Very, very nice!

[Steve Mawson]

From the looks of this piece I believe you talent is doing quite well. I can only hope to progress to your level. I guess the first thing would be to try one of these "tall skinny things". Very nice piece.