Arch wrote:

..... and agreed upon category ....

Good luck mate.


To qualify as a turned wood bowl, I think the object should have at
least a hint of its wooden ancestry.

There's some evil ideology creeping in here

After all, a turned wood bowl by any other name is still a bowl, but I
think it's time for interlopers to have their own name.

Is it important for the objects we make to be categorised? The idea
certainly has its merits: for competitions, for communication, for
marketing, to name a few. But will it not stifle creativity if we can
only make things that fit in a well defined category? Getting back to
Arch's books, presumably you bought them to garner inspiration and get
new ideas for that absolutely awesome bowl you always wanted to make? So
why not challenge your narrow view of what it is to be 'bowl'?

We all have our personal opinions and what it is that attracts us to
turned wood. My pet dislike is painted turnings, since for me
woodturning is largely about the material and its inherent beauty. I see
no point in working with what is not always the easiest of materials to
work with, then covering it with paint. Surely there are other more
appropriate materials to use? But that is my personal preference and
viewpoint, and if someone else wants to take that route it is fine by
me. If I ever buy a woodturning book and find pictures of painted pieces
in there will I be disappointed? Well, maybe, but on the other hand it
might inspire me to do something with that grotty looking lump of
blue-stained red maple thats been getting closer to the firewood pile
for the past year or so.

--
Derek Andrews, woodturner

http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com
Wedding Favors ~ Artisan Crafted Gifts ~ One-of-a-Kind Woodturning