With all the books and magazines and web sites filled with photos of all manner of things turned we all have access to plenty of inspiration. And the web makes it so easy to start a collection of photos of pieces we like. At some point the folder of favorites starts filling up and it may be time to do a little culling. In the process you may begin to see a pattern, a preference for a particular shape, elegant finials, maybe spiral or pierced piece or the works of a particular turner or two or three (there are so many amazing wood turners out there).
At some point you have a go at doing a version of one of the pieces in your Inspirations collection. The results usually are fair to middlin'
- though sometimes, when the stars and planets align just right - a nice piece, or a nice piece of a piece. If the results are close - but Not Quite you may either try again - or move on to something else.
BUT - if you take the time to try and figure out WHAT ain't quite right with the piece, you could go back and compare it with the original, or its inspriation. Then the fun can start 'cause when you begin to study a piece you start seeing things you hadn't really noticed - the curves which make up the profile - how they blend one into another. You might print an image - or take it into a CAD program - and start measuring things - then figuring out height to width ratios - the proportions of the piece. Somewhere along that path you start consciously seeing things, relationships that work - or don't work - and begin to see, and understand WHY.
Cindy Drozda is a master of elegant curves and near perfect proportions (she also is very very good with turning tools). If you study one of her pieces you'll start seeing why her work - works.
Have a look - but be aware. Once you start looking - it can be hard to stop (which isn't a bad thing at all)