The Gold Within...

[Curt Fuller]

I admire Cindy's work, and I am a LOOOOOOONG way from that level of artistry!

I beg to differ Mr. Keeton. Not to take anything away from Ms Drozda's beautiful work, I think you've taken the concept to a higher level. That is absolutely beautiful!

[Scott Hackler]

John, while I give credit to Drozda for the initial concept..... the student has surpassed the "master". Your piece is so much more polished (literally!) and refined. It just has a great visual appeal.

My only super small critique might be that I would prefer a super duper thin and delicate inner-finial, maybe in a non-traditional shape. That would have given more of a shell protecting its contents... But I digress. This is a great form and you did a wonderful job on it.

[philip labre]

A fantastic piece, John!!! A gorgeous work of art.

[Jeff Moffett]

Beautiful piece, John! Thanks for the inspiration!

[Don Alexander]

the inspiration piece PALES in comparison to the piece it inspired ................. in more ways than 1

John;
i have yet to see anyones work that you have to take a back seat to ....... just saying

[John Keeton]

You folks are just way too kind! Thanks, again!

Scott, I did give some thought to a "non-traditional" finial, but decided on this style for a couple of reasons. First, this was Cindy's idea, and so I felt it deserved a Drozda style finial. The finial shape also picks up on the curvature of the bottom of the egg (thus the more "swelled" bulb), and I felt that was important. The neck on this finial is barely .06" - just under 1/16". I have done thinner, but not by much!!! The bulb, while it looks larger, is about 1/2" in diameter.

Cathy, I think my main difficulty in "listening to Ms. Keeton" is that she is so consistently correct on matters!! So irritating to be constantly reminded that I am not the master of the universe! A court order might be helpful - could I get one that would order her to be wrong more often?? It would do more for my fragile ego!

[Donny Lawson]

John, I wish I had half of your tallent. I've watched your work for a long time now and it has inspired me tremendously. Each time I'm blown away by what and how it is created.,and this piece is no exception. I know you live in KY and one of these days I would love to visit and learn from you since I'm not too far away. Thanks for sharing.
Donny

[Scott Hackler]

John, I missed the dimensions in your first post and didn't realize it was only 6"x3"! Wow! That dude is a lot smaller than I thought. From the pictures I would have guessed twice that size. So .....with a bulb of 1/2 that changes my perspective on the entire piece and cements the fragility of it.....in my mind. Greak work. Are you bringing this to St. Paul?

[Roger Chandler]

John, Are you bringing this to St. Paul?

I would venture to guess that if John does indeed take this to St. Paul with him, that Ms. Drozda herself will probably give him some congratulations for taking her idea to the next level...........

That would be quite a compliment!

[Scott Hackler]

.... Ms. Drozda herself will probably give him some congratulations for taking her idea to the next level...........

That would be quite a compliment!

I wouldn't 100% count on that..... I get the impression that she is a little possesive of her "designs".

[Tim Thiebaut]

I wouldn't 100% count on that..... I get the impression that she is a little possesive of her "designs".

It would be interesting to hear what her opinion of it would be...but I tend to agree with you Scott.

[David DeCristoforo]

"I get the impression that she is a little possesive of her "designs"."

I would think we all tend to be "a little possessive" (ck. yer spelling...) of our work. Ms Drozda is probably one of the most imitated turners out there. As far as I can tell, she has been very willing to share her techniques through demonstrations and DVD sales. I did come across one discussion (I don't recall where) in which a turner claimed a "signature style" that Ms Drozda contested on the basis that the signature style was a blatant imitation of her own. But this, to my way of thinking, is totally fair and justified.

When we see something that strikes out fancy and we decide to emulate it or adopt an idea from it, we are on pretty "safe" ground as long as we are willing to at least give a nod to the source. But when we claim that idea as our own and even in some cases profit from it, we enter another realm entirely. Personally I am not all that fond of Ms Drozda's style. But I do recognize her work easily and totally admire her awesome technique. I think she is completely entitled to feel protective of her work and designs.

[Roger Chandler]

I think when an artist brings a form to a point that it is highly recognized as a style they either created or perfected, then the credit is certainly deserved and should be acknowledged by others who emulate their style. Jk certainly did acknowledge Ms. Drozda in his turning and properly so in my opinion.

I agree with DD that it is appropriate for an artist to call someone on blatant plagerism, however, there are pictures in all our heads that are somewhere back in our memory, that at times come to the forefront when working at the lathe, and they develop as we turn............to some of those characteristics we owe the credit to the pictures we have seen that somehow get stored even without our knowing exactly where that image came from...............not all design can we claim as exclusive to ourselves, even if we are the most noted for it.

Just my thinking..........even artists are influenced by others work they have seen, and whether they always recognize it or not, they have been influenced at least to some degree.

[Eric Gourieux]

Beautiful!
When you dye the wood, do you apply the first color (black in this case) and then wipe off immediately? I'm working on dying some curly hard maple and would like to get a similar effect.

[Toney Robertson]

Per your usual, excellent execution and I agree with the others that say that yours is an advancement to the original.