Carved and turned, feedback wanted

[Tony Trigg]

After some feedback on this.
I like the juxtaposition of the turned bowl and heavily carved areas. There's more sanding to do on the top side certainly.

Options:
Sand the underside to match the top, I quite like the difference between the two but it looks unfinished.
As far as the edges go, do I taper them out, round them over or square them off for a real juxtaposition of carved against straight.

Either way the outside lip of the tenon has to go, either turned off or carved.

Thoughts please.

 

[Kirk Amidon]

If I got a vote, it would be to sand the bottom with a crisp delineation between carved and turned. Fully setting off the dichotomy and tension between the two.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

I like the idea quite well. For me, the carving looks undefined or perhaps unresolved is the right word. I'd look at undercutting some of the "roots" to help differentiate them, creating shadow lines, perhaps adding a certain number of sharp crevices using a veiner or V gouge to create a contrast with the general very rounded, organic flow. For my eye (and I'm no artist!) having all the features terminating in a very similar rounded curve makes the carving not as lively as it could be with more variation in the shapes. I'm seeing a weathered root mass, where I'd expect the very rounded shapes on top and sharper features underneath where they've not been weathered down.
Hope this is helpful-- I'm just a beginning student at carving, My mentor it relentless in pressing the idea of finding opportunities to create shadows to bring carvings to life. I've seen him demonstrate so often how just a couple cuts dramatically improve the appearance of a feature that I'm coming to be a believer.

 

[hughie]

I do something similar with voids, holes etc. I have found that you need a crisp delineation, as Kirk mentioned also Roger made the point of being undefined or unresolved, bascially what I try to do is have the refined and the rustic well-defined and yet completely opposite, so the contrast is maximised.
Something like this, perhaps

 

[Brian Nowak-Thompson]

For my eye (and I'm no artist!) having all the features terminating in a very similar rounded curve makes the carving not as lively as it could be with more variation in the shapes.

I agree. I can’t decide if the square shape of the base is part of what Roger is identifying. Maybe letting some of the roots define the base shape would alleviate the sameness issue. I really like the overall concept of the piece.

 

[Dean Center]

Also, the thickness of the bowl wall, emphasized by the rim treatment, is relatively the same as the thickness of the curving parts of the square.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

I agree. I can’t decide if the square shape of the base is part of what Roger is identifying. Maybe letting some of the roots define the base shape would alleviate the sameness issue. I really like the overall concept of the piece.

It wasn't, but your point is good. One of my favorite Audubon prints has a wren who is snagging a bug that is just outside the rectangular "frame" of the picture. It's a detail that surprises and delights me every time I look at it.

 

[Russ Braun]

It looks like a great start, just a few more carving details to complete. I love the adding details to the carving idea; I think softening the “squareness” of the piece might help; make it look less like it came from a square board. I would definitely finish both sides and lose the Chuck recess. I’m looking forward to seeing the progress and end result Tony! .

 

[Tony Trigg]

A bit more refining, took the outside of the chuck recess off, and MORE sanding.....
When I'm not sure I leave the piece alone and live with it for a while, I've been doing that and I'm still not convinced........