First NE Bowl critique requested

[Brian Brown]

I could get really hooked on this stuff. I hear everyone referring to it as falling into the vortex. The vortex appears to be spreading. My woodturning hobby vortex appears to be in cahoots with the porcelain encased vortex in my bathroom and they now appears to be sucking in all my time and disposable income . Where will it all end?

Here is my first NE bowl. I think it is finished. Please critique, especially the form. Don't hold back, your thoughts and comments are the only way I'll learn. As for the specs, poplar, about 4" tall' 5.5" wide at the widest, and finished with Watco Danish oil while the wood was still wet. Sanded 100 to 320. No real artistic vision here, it was originally intended as a practice piece only.

Thanks for the help.

Brian

[Tom Sherman]

That's a nice bowl Brian, great wood and form.

[Neal Addy]

That's your first NE???? Fantastic!

There's a lot of good stuff going on here. Your wall thickness is great, and you did a great job keeping the NE on. That's not an easy thing.

The wood is gorgeous and the finish is simply outstanding. Hard to believe it is only to 300 grit. Looks much finer than that. It looks as well done as your segmented piece (which I thought was perfect).

My only criticism (if I may?) would be the depth of the bowl and the foot. A bit shallower bowl would enhance the overall form. Also, did you use a recess to expansion chuck the piece? If so, a smaller tenon might serve you better. It would allow a smoother curve on the bottom while still giving the piece some lift.

Beautiful work! Keep 'em coming.

[Jonathon Spafford]

Wow that is lovely... never seen poplar quite that nice! Has a great ripple to it! The thickness or should I say thinness is perfect for this piece... adds a delicate look! The over all shape looks good! I might have made the foot smaller - maybe half the size it is now, but it still looks quite lovely! A smaller foot might have added to the delicate appearance and maybe instead of going straight down if you had it flare out just a bit! Looks so nice though and these forms are really hard to do and keep all the bark on! Great work!

[George Tokarev]

Sure is bullet-proof wood in drying, isn't it?

I like no feet and heavier bottoms. Let 'em flow.

By now you know to sand from the wood out on the edge to keep from dirtying the white wood, right? We all learn that the first time, and the second and ... the five hundredth. Other thing I don't do is sand until the piece is dry. Helps you get the bark and the wood back into the same plane. They often disagree in direction of shrink.

Save it. It's a "first."

[Mike Ramsey]

Great first hollow form! The foot seems a bit too wide & tall.

[Ken LaSota]

Brian great job the bowl is nice and thin and the bark looks great.I agree lose the foot or make it smaller otherwise Nice work.
Ken

[Mark Pruitt]

Excellent first NE! My first NE looked awful but I can't bring myself to toss it. Yours OTOH is unquestionably a keeper!

In critiquing it, I would suggest a considerably smaller foot. Otherwise it's great.

[Patrick Taylor]

Nice work, the sanding and finishing look strong. Technically speaking it looks good to me.

As for form and flow, I agree that the foot should go, or be smaller. I think that a foot looks good when it gently lifts, without anchoring. Maybe a bit shorter on the foot too. I also tend to not like feet on a bowl that has a lot of curve direction changes, like the S-curve that you have. For me, if it has that added complexity I try to keep the rest simple.

BTW, Great job keeping the bark on.

[Raymond Overman]

I like what you did with the mouth of the bowl. By flaring the lip it exposes more surface area of the bark edge which is great. It ain't easy either. Good job on holding it together. It also looks like a great finish. Overall it's a great first NE.

As for the bottom part of the bowl, I like the chaos of the natural edge to be the only interesting focal point. If it's got bark on it (at the rim or in an inclusion) that's what I want someone to see on the natural edge pieces. That's why I stay away from ogee styling on natural edge bowls because it adds another element that pulls away from the parts I want people to focus on.

The flare is great though. It pulls your eye right to the rim. Good job.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Brian that is a great looking NE. I agree that the foot is to long and to big. A smaller more delicate foot would really make it for shape.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wow Brian - beautiful bowl! Haven't seen poplar with that much curl!

Have to agree with others in that the foot should be smaller and more of a continuation of the existing curve instead of an abrupt change in direction.

Hey, I like this bowl! Great job on the finish!

[Joe Fisher]

Beautiful work, especially for a first! I would have a similar comment to the other posters: the base is too fat for the rest of the form. Make the foot smaller and make the transition from the sides more elegant, and you've got a definite winner.

For comparison, here's a similar form I did, and I had the same criticism about it...if I did this again it would be a little shorter with a smaller foot and base, if I made a foot at all.

It was about my 10th bowl, so you're doing really well

-Joe

[Dennis Peacock]

Yup....very pretty piece and a smaller foot would be a perfect touch to this piece. Very nicely done.

[Joseph Peacock]

That's one niiice bow Mr.Brownl!!!!