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Musing about combining art/craft.

In addition to turning wood another manual hobby that I enjoy is bending and welding small objects of 'art' using rebar. Mostly representations of religious, electronic, chemical, math etc. symbols that workers in various disciplines seem to like. I mount these objects on turned wooden bases, posts or wall plates. Both hobbies and their works are equals to me and herein lies my dilemma. For me, a good woodturning ought to be more than a canvas or frame or armature. As always Just MHO & YMMV, but I'm asking for your opinions & help. I'm not trolling for your derision. :)

Mountings are necessary, but I don't like it that people view mine as mere supports. In my view, that devalues my wood turnings, even if the piece is about rebar symbols. It's not even clear to me, so It's probably hard for you to understand my distinction. I'm not talking about making a legitimate extra or needed buck off the hobby or business, but otherwise I wonder if some (not all) of the project kits sold for us to turn a handle or a holder as a strained addition to some gizmo doesn't reduce our turnings to unimportant adjuncts. To each his own of course, but I'd rather use ebony for a candlestick that stands on its own merit than turn it to hold a back scratcher. I feel the same way about turning pink ivory for a pizza cutter and not just because the wood is costly.

Please suggest some ideas for making my turned wood mountings more than mere backgrounds to my rebar 'art' or if you think it matters. I'm not suggesting that either are masterpieces. :)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Arch
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I can see the conundrum, as most people would concentrate on the metal or "other" object rather than the wood 'base'.

My father turned a few keliedoscopes from kits for all the grandchildren last Christmas. The children weren't concerned with the wood, but rather the cool color-shifting patterns that could be seen when looking through the peephole, which seems natural considering their age. I was more interested in the wood he used, which he did a superb job at. Although, the whole thing was/is quite nice, and me and my daughter still use it on occassion.

I suppose some of it is based on the age/maturity of the person using the object. Also, some would seem like it's based on what functionality the piece has. Like a pizza cutter, for example, is a 'practical' tool, and people will soon forget the nice wood handle on it, no matter what kind of wood was used or how well crafted it was.

I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but I figure that's just natural human reaction. It would be disappointing to see this kind of thing happening, especially if you spent more time/money/resources on the wood part. I haven't seen/felt much of it, because most of my turnings are based solely out of wood. Other parts used would include salt/pepper shakers, cork bottle tops, hinges for boxes, etc... where there is very little amount of 'other' parts being used.

Reply to
Brent

"Arch" wrote: (clip) For me, a good woodturning ought to be (clip) Please suggest some ideas for making my turned wood mountings more than mere backgrounds to my rebar 'art' (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Each part is what you make it, Arch. If you are thinking of the wood as just a stand while you are making it, it will come out just a stand. If you invest as much esthetic guidance into the wood parts, they will have their own beauty. This thinking may be part of the problem. The wood and metal should be seen and felt as a whole. If you make the metal object first, and then look for a way to turn the "holder," you will inevitably relegate the turning to second rate status.

Some antique tools, made of both wood and metal, are gorgeous, because of the way the materials are blended, and because of the obvious respect the maker had for both.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Could they be mounted inside a bowl rather than a plate, set back below the rim? Unless you look down in the bowl it's just a bowl. Adds a surprise factor - or an exclusivity factor (I own it and know what's inside. You probably will never see anything but a wooden bowl. If the metal is dark maybe contrasting maple - with some chatoyancy inside and out - the latter being nature's version of a hologram as a visually semi-dynamic background. Shadows could add another layer to the depth of the piece.

charlie b

Reply to
charlieb

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