The Look What I Can Do Trap

Charlie, Really cool read. If Arch isn't jealous I am.

And Malcolm Tibbetts? Well, buddy, you're looking at a lot more than "Look what I can do" since he has such a talent at creating awesome visual impact beyond just the technical craftsman. Arch might call him an "artist". I certainly would. Just go to the thumbnails and look at Tolerance; and Just Imagine; or in another direction Mobius Sonata; and we can go on.

It could be his "lWICD" is in visualizing, conceiving, and implementing - but he doesn't seem to SSSNAPPPP. He's a highly respected member of the WoW family on the internet that Owen Lowe graciously put me onto. Lots of great postings and info including how-dids with the pictures. Seeing some of these works is like watching Tiger play golf and then going downstairs to play 18 holes. Sorta keeps things in perspective.

TomNie

---snip---

We're going to have to start calling you Arch Jr.

"charlie b" wrote: His pieces are crisp, clean and apparently simple (clip) There's no place to hide - a

This is a real insight, that I cannot recall seeing discussed before. I'd like to add another thought. The complexity of a piece may be a way of covering mistakes--it may also be a way of distracting the viewer from seeing that it is a poor design. A simple pen drawing can often say more than a complexly done oil painting. None of Vivaldi's compositions is as beautiful to me as "Amazing Grace." Less is more.

If you have enough space 'downstairs' for an 18 hole golf course, we don't want to hear you whining that you don't have enough workshop space.

Much of the adornment on furniture is there precisely to cover joints - ill fitting or otherwise - and to cover for wood movement. Same thing on a larger scale with houses and molding.

there is another MAJOR trap specifically for turners - "Thin is Good"

- so if I can turn a transparent 1/6 inch walled 18 inch diameter vessel that is great. WRONG - it turns out that I can do that, and that I did it, but the result is only of interest to other turners

-the form is too light, the transparency is not helpful to the shape, and it is therefore not a success - the same form with a bit more mass would have been better. So, thin is a sign that you have mastered a particular technical skill, it is not a sign of a good design.

my 2 cents

bill

SNIP----------------

Bill

to contact me, do not reply to this message, instead correct this address and use it

will iam_ b_ No ble at msn daught com

It's something that comes up in discussions of design over in rec.woodworking, tucked away between long threads on Which Table Saw To Buy and How Do You ...

James Krenov and George Nakashima are the poster boys for this approach to design. Sam Maloof's "you just want to run your hand over every inch of this thing" rocking chairs is of the same No Place To Hide school

but it can also be used to minimize or eliminate the visual distraction of a pin knot , sap pocket or some other flaw in the wood.

Or worse yet, take a promising design and vear off into Look What I Can Do.

I think oriental brush painting, sumie for example, illustrates this nicely. Most of what the viewer sees isn't provided by the artist, but merely implied. Most of what you see isn't there - but in here (tapping his temple). Haiku does the same thing - but with words.

Amen. ================================

and Lobby Dosser responded

Chinese furniture makers seemed to have gotten around those issues - without all the molding and froo-froo that appears in "western" furniture. BUT - that requires some tricky to make joints that don't lend themselves to The Industrial Revolution approach to things.

Again - it ain't necessary. The Japanese temple builders found ways to do things without molding and trim. If they include decorative elements they do so for decroative purposes only - not to hide anything.

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Tom Nie wrote:

snip

To clarify - Mr. Tibbetts'is the antithesis of Look What I Can Do. He does what he does because that's what it takes to convey what's in his head

- and apparently - in his heart. His ability to be able to see his vision with enough clarity to allow it to become a reality, with all the things that must be done to do so, is astounding. And with all of that, it doesn't seem to be an ego driven thing - not a Look At What I Can Do thing, but rather a This Is What I See and Now You Can Too.

There are people who can transcend normal human experiences. Some, musicians for example, can take anyone with them for the ride Yo Yo Ma does it all the time. Mr. Tibbett does it with wood - and ideas. Just Imagine.

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and Bill N added

I think this one falls under The Because I Can.Trap - when technique over rides everything else. Turning thin walls serves a purpose - to minimize the amount of wood expansion and contraction. Beyond some functional minimum, thinner can work against the piece.

You're a master of the understatement

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Tom Nie wrote:

snip

To clarify - Mr. Tibbetts'is the antithesis of Look What I Can Do. He does what he does because that's what it takes to convey what's in his head

- and apparently - in his heart. His ability to be able to see his vision with enough clarity to allow it to become a reality, with all the things that must be done to do so, is astounding. And with all of that, it doesn't seem to be an ego driven thing - not a Look At What I Can Do thing, but rather a This Is What I See and Now You Can Too.

There are people who can transcend normal human experiences. Some, musicians for example, can take anyone with them for the ride Yo Yo Ma does it all the time. Mr. Tibbett does it with wood - and ideas. Just Imagine.

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Now what about "textures" and spirals, natural edges and perfect balls?

charlie b

Bill, To affirm from personal observation. My first bowl in turning school - 1/8" and perfectly symetrical. So proud of how evenly finished, etc. etc. Another bowl, bulky and with some surface uneveness, done in a simple demo. I have to explain what's so great about bowl one and listen to unsolicited raves on bowl two.

TomNie

"William B Noble (don't reply to this address)" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Highly figured wood offers a similar trap. The figure needs to be appropriate for the design of the piece. How you orient the grain, where you position natural features such as knots or bark inclusions, etc., can be the difference between 'ho hum' and 'wow!' I have seen way too many basically ugly pieces turned from gorgeous wood. The guy who can turn a gorgeous piece from plain wood has really done something, in my opinion. I like pretty wood as much as anyone, but it doesn't make up for poor design or poor execution.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co

But the artist *is* providing it. And 'it' is the empty spaces.