Life's a Beech

[Kathy Marshall]

I finally had a chance to sneak in some shop time. It's been over a week since I've turned anything, so I just needed a quick little turning fix.
I started looking for a blank to turn, just wanted something on the smaller side so I could put a gouge to wood and get it turned, sanded and finished in a couple hours. What I found was what I think is the 2nd half of a beech spindle blank that I got from Baxter Smith last year in San Jose.

I went with a small hollow form with some branding and gesso. It's 4 3/4" x 3 1/2" and finished with antique oil.
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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[JoAnn Duggan]

Very nice work Kathy. I love the contrast.

JoAnn Duggan

[Mike Golka]

Nice work, I like the shape.

[jwjerry w kowalski]

Nice Kathy, the wood looks quite nice by itself, but your pyro and branding really set it off, maybe I would like the band not quite so wide to accent the nice curves of your form. I always enjoy seeing your work.

[Greg Just]

Very nice Kathy. Love the contrast. Did you do anything to seal the gesso before applying the AO?

[David Reed]

Just another perfectly executed form. You certainly have mastered the branding with black gesso look, and it does look superb.

[Roger Chandler]

That is a nice piece of work Kathy! You seem to have that "branding" down to a science!

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

Nice Kathy, the wood looks quite nice by itself, but your pyro and branding really set it off, maybe I would like the band not quite so wide to accent the nice curves of your form. I always enjoy seeing your work.

I agree, the band could have been narrower, but it didn't seem so wide when I was cutting the grooves.

Very nice Kathy. Love the contrast. Did you do anything to seal the gesso before applying the AO?

No need to seal the gesso, it dries hard so the AO doesn't have any affect on it but to give it a little shine.

[Rich Aldrich]

Nice work. Is beech hard to work with? I heard it cracks very easily.

[Baxter Smith]

Kathy, I am amazed that any of that beech has been able to survive almost a year in the desert! Although I like the branding and the ghesso, something seems a bit off in proportion (or perhaps its just out of the norm for me on this one). Neck too tall, band too wide, placement of band too high, proportions in heights of various elements... I am not sure which. For some reason it just doesn't have the same gracefulness to me that your others do.