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nomenclature

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definitions will vary according to maker.
below are the definitions used in the florida state fair woodturning competition.
these guidelines group similar objects for judging.
Interesting,. Nomenclature is a wretched problem. People use the same term to refer differing things. I spent over 40 years as an archaeologist, working as a pottery specialist. I have handled thousands of vessels and literally millions of potsherds (pieces of broken vessels). I did perhaps 10,000 measured drawings. Even within a given project, where we were dealing with a specific corpus of pottery, there was no real agreement as to how to define a "bowl" vs "pot" vs "jar" vs "plate" etc. Some forms were obvious, but others --- I made my definitions as explicit as I could, so colleagues would know what I meant by the terms I used.

Some usages in woodturning I find utterly confounding. One example --- I have seen some segmented vessels described as a bowl, when the mouth opening is a small fraction of its maximum diameter, with height comparable to maximum diameter. It would be a challenge to eat soup from such a 'bowl'.
 

odie

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definitions will vary according to maker.
below are the definitions used in the florida state fair woodturning competition.
these guidelines group similar objects for judging.

View attachment 38463
If you need a definition, Al's post showing Florida's state fair definitions is a good one to give a mental concept. Classifications are necessary in this case, in order to compete for awards.

In my particular case, and since I use quite a few bowl blanks that are kiln dried, or otherwise mostly dry when I receive them, and they tend to be much wider than they are tall, I tend to fudge the definitions between "platter" and "bowl". There are a couple of reasons for my thoughts on this. In my POV, there is a difference between the general bowl shape, and a general platter shape, and those theoretical differences could result in a "grey area" that overlaps. To break it down by the simplistic definition of "substantially wider than height", doesn't take the concept to a level that would be more appropriate. Another reason I define these two shapes differently, is I'm concerned about how someone might do a computer search for "trigger words" that might show my bowls in that search......although some of my bowls may not fit the standardized definition according to Florida state fair. I feel it's much more common for buyers to search for the word "bowl", than they would for a "platter".

My point here, is an individual may have a little more leeway in defining one's own work than those definitions maintained for competitive purposes......

-----odie-----
 
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My question was sparked by one of the pieces shown by David Ellsworth in the recent zoomcast(?) generously shared by John Kelsey. It is a 54" high hollow form (at least that is what Mr. Ellsworth called it, and he should know) open at the bottom as well as the top. It was turned in spindle form, then the thin shell was parted from its core. Under the competition guidelines above it might qualify as a spindle, although spindles are usually thought of as solid forms (but what about a hollow barley twist?). A vessel may be defined as a container, a watercraft bigger than a rowboat or a tube, so I guess that piece is a vessel under the last definition. It seems that the concept of "vessel" as used by turners is a container of many meanings.
 

hockenbery

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OK which category would a 3" high x 5" diameter lidded container fall into?
that is any easy one
”greater than 4” dimension”

this does point out the difficulty in pigeonholing woodturnings.

a hollow form with a finial top can be entered as a lidded container or a hollowform
the entrant can choose.

when I have judged the competition I was allowed to move a piece to a different category if I felt it belonged there.
 
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For me a bowl is a semi circular piece that will sit flat out of which I can eat soup or cereal. A hollow form is an enclosed rounded very thin piece with a hole that you cannot get your finger in. And a vessel is something else that will hold or capture anything else.:D
Please notice I said for me, you can call your own or someone else's anything you want to, I'm not qualifying every body else's work.
 
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" A hollow form is an enclosed rounded very thin piece with a hole that you cannot get your finger in. And a vessel is something else that will hold or capture anything else"

So the Ellsworth piece described in post #9 is not a hollow form, but maybe a vessel? What if it were only half round? Would it still hold something besides interest?

I think perhaps there is a problem with describing art pieces in functional terms, and little profit in assigning a category to something like Terry Martin's Hokucyclops whatchamacallit

Still, we have only words to describe the pieces that draw us in and accurate language will help us to think clearly about what we are trying to do. "Others not listed" (from the competition guidelines) is not very descriptive, but perhaps that is the best we can do.
 
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When I have my doubts, I refer to things as vessels (Catch all). I like the listed nomenclature from the state fair!
 
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A hollow form is an enclosed rounded very thin piece with a hole that you cannot get your finger in. And a vessel is something else that will hold or capture anything else.:D
By your definitions where would a 10” round globe with 3/8” wall and 1-1/4” hole be categorized? It would not be a HF unless your fingers are huge.
 

hockenbery

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Just out of curiosity, why is it important (other than satisfying the criteria for an exposition or competition). For me, thinking about it interferes with the challenge and fun of turning. I just turn whatever I feel like.
It’s not
as the maker you can call it anything you like.
when people get something as a gift or through purchase they like to know what to call it.
 
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It is kinda like why do we call tall buildings "skyscrapers" ? They certainly do not scrape the sky. So if we want to call all round hollow objects a bowl it does not mean it has to hold anything. Come to think of it not many of my turnings are used to hold anything. My Sister says they are too beautiful to use.
 
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:):):) It could be but according to webster’s the lid is optional.

1: a rigid typically rectangular container with or without a cover

a cigar box

such as
a: an open cargo container of a vehicle
b: COFFIN
The big question is whoever came up with the screwy idea of calling a round lidded container a box o_O
 
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Didn’t mean to start a whole other direction. I tend to call my bowls, bowls, and anything that has a very narrow opening that I needed to use my hollowing tools for a hollow vessel. Mostly I don’t call then anything but something I won’t do again if I don’t like it or something I will do again and make better the next time if I do like it.
 
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Many trades and crafts have had to clean up their nomenclature so that everyone is on the same page in describing a process, a product and definitions.
Depending on the region you live or grew up in you usually use terms and nomenclature used in your region, this can vary by culture and predominant heritage in the region.
Basic products like carbonated soft drinks are called different things in different regions of the country. (Soda, Pop, Cola, Etc.)
 
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