Snow & Ice Hollow Form

Messages
687
Location
Harvey, Michigan
Maple hollow form, 6 3/4" diameter x 8 1/2" to top of finial x 1/8" thick. Finish is multiple layers of Kiwi white Scuff Coat and several coats of Minwax water based satin spray poly.

Snow & Ice.jpg

I turned this for an upcoming local juried Art Expo that is coming up at the end of this month and am open to all critiques, opinions and comments!

Thanks for looking! :wave:
 
Awesome, Steve. :clap: The combination of materials is brilliant and your execution is great. I'll bet it does well in the competition.

If I were to change anything, I'd consider changing the spire part of the finial into a single element instead of the two stepped elements that are there now. I think simplifying that line would make for better visual flow.

Snow & Ice Annotated Cropped.jpg
 
Thanks for all the kind words everyone!

I knew the finial would have problems because I wanted it to represent ice or an icicle. I have plenty of icicles around here to check and found that they are not a continuous smooth curve but consist of a series of ever decreasing steps. Plus, how do you turn an icicle that will be displayed up-side-down?

So, keeping it as simple as possible (I like simple) - this is the design I came up with. Maybe you can see the icicle when viewed from the natural angle.

Icicle.jpg

Still open to suggestions as the finial has not been glued in place!

Thanks! :wave:
 
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I saw a lot of icicles grown up in Canada, so I agree with you Steve, that they are not one continuous curve, but as you are displaying the piece right side up, I have to agree with Vaughn that it could be simplified somewhat.

Please bear in mind that this is a very small nit I'm picking:D

Over all, it is an outstanding piece :clap:

Cheers!
 
Snow & Ice with Modified Finial

Really appreciate all the comments!

Based one everyone's observations, I reworked the finial. The base of the finial was hollowed out to remove the high contrast area that I had pointed out to me. The transition curve between the base and finial was also reworked so that they flow into each other a little better.

Here is the new version - feel free to let me know if it is an improvement or not.

Snow & Ice v2.jpg

Thanks for looking! :wave:
 
Looks great, Steve. I almost edited my message last night to mention the fact that I suspected you were inspired by real icicles with the stepped finial spire. I see my suspicion was correct. ;) Your changes addressed the other two things I noticed, but didn't mention earlier.

If this piece doesn't win some honors, you've either got some VERY stiff competition, or the judges are blind. :D :thumb:
 
Love it!!

I have to say, I really enjoy this piece. You have a number of other pieces that I deem as your best work, but for some reason this one just makes me grin. I think it's of superior quality in all aspects. Can't wait to see what comes next!!

Hutch
 
Steve, you have posted pics of some incredible pieces but I think "Snow and Ice" is your ultimate work...so far.

It's just a very imaginative, well crafted piece that is simply stunning. I know that word (stunning) gets used a lot but in this case, it is the most appropriate one I could produce.

Oh yeah, being a born cynic I probably would have named it "Global What?" :D
 
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