I have turned now for 15 years but i now turn out a bowl, goblet or
similar mainly in spalted wood, I look at it and cannot part with it.
Each one is like a painting, the spalting is nature, the creation is
me. I did sell my turnings over the internet but I probaly broke
even. So I cannot part with my creations, they fill every shelf, Oh
**** where will my next one go. I really cannot part with them.!
Woodturning is peacefull until you get a dig in, then its xxxx, but
so rewarding, you sit down, pour a wee dram and say i turned that bit
of tree into piece of art. To turn a piece of waste log into a piece
of beauty I love. Woodturning is about inspiration, love of wood and
relaxation.
My thoughts as i so love wood
Col

On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:43:15 -0600, col wrote
(in message
):

I have turned now for 15 years but i now turn out a bowl, goblet or
similar mainly in spalted wood, I look at it and cannot part with it.
Each one is like a painting, the spalting is nature, the creation is
me. I did sell my turnings over the internet but I probaly broke
even. So I cannot part with my creations, they fill every shelf, Oh
**** where will my next one go. I really cannot part with them.!
Woodturning is peacefull until you get a dig in, then its xxxx, but
so rewarding, you sit down, pour a wee dram and say i turned that bit
of tree into piece of art. To turn a piece of waste log into a piece
of beauty I love. Woodturning is about inspiration, love of wood and
relaxation.
My thoughts as i so love wood
Col


I know what you are saying, or at least I believe I do. I have found that I
enjoy giving my stuff to friends and relatives. It is about as satisfying as
keeping what I've made, because I know where it is and who has it. Once in
awhile I will make something, with no particular goal in mind... and then
something will turn up - either a birthday of someone close, or maybe someone
close to me is involved in a fundraising event or charity, and voila - I have
something they can have. It is a little easier for me to part with something
I've made, under circumstances like that. Yeah, otherwise I have a lot of
round wooden stuff in the house, too.
tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.

On Feb 19, 10:43*pm, col wrote:
I have turned now for 15 years but i now turn out a bowl, goblet or
similar mainly in spalted wood, I look at it and cannot part with it.
Each one is like a painting, the spalting is nature, the creation is
me. I did sell my turnings over the internet but I probaly broke
even. So I cannot part with my creations, they fill every shelf, Oh
**** where will my next one go. I really cannot part with them.!
Woodturning is peacefull until you get a dig in, then its xxxx, *but
so rewarding, you sit down, pour a wee dram and say i turned that bit
of tree into piece of art. To turn a piece of waste log into a piece
of beauty I love. Woodturning is about inspiration, love of wood and
relaxation.
My thoughts as i so love wood
Col

Wood is female like a woman, cross its grain and it gets angry, go
with the grain and its smooth, no sanding needed.
Col

well, DON'T sell over the internet, that's for sure. Find a local venue
that will take one or two pieces, price them at what you would like to get
for them and wait - they may sell and you will be happy

"col" wrote in message
...
I have turned now for 15 years but i now turn out a bowl, goblet or
similar mainly in spalted wood, I look at it and cannot part with it.
Each one is like a painting, the spalting is nature, the creation is
me. I did sell my turnings over the internet but I probaly broke
even. So I cannot part with my creations, they fill every shelf, Oh
**** where will my next one go. I really cannot part with them.!
Woodturning is peacefull until you get a dig in, then its xxxx, but
so rewarding, you sit down, pour a wee dram and say i turned that bit
of tree into piece of art. To turn a piece of waste log into a piece
of beauty I love. Woodturning is about inspiration, love of wood and
relaxation.
My thoughts as i so love wood
Col

Bill Noble wrote:
well, DON'T sell over the internet, that's for sure. Find a local venue
that will take one or two pieces, price them at what you would like to
get for them and wait - they may sell and you will be happy

Why "DON'T sell over the internet?"

don't sell them over the internet because you will get commodity prices not
gallery prices - sell at a venue where people expect art and can handle and
examine the item - don't sell in a venue where your item is mixed in with
10,000 others of varying quality. A furniture store is good if you don't
have a gallery - or a lamp store, or somewhere that people go looking for
the "feel" of stuff that is like what you make, whatever your style.

"sbnjhfty" wrote in message
...
Bill Noble wrote:
well, DON'T sell over the internet, that's for sure. Find a local venue
that will take one or two pieces, price them at what you would like to
get for them and wait - they may sell and you will be happy

Why "DON'T sell over the internet?"

I have never had a problem selling my stuff. I can't wait to open up
another piece of wood to see what kind of form is in it. They all have
their good and bad points, and I have never been able to pick a
favorite. Kind of like food for me. My daughter wrote on a Father's
Day card in first grade for Dad's favorite food, "he likes just about
everything."

robo hippy

On Feb 19, 9:21*pm, "Bill Noble" wrote:
don't sell them over the internet because you will get commodity prices not
gallery prices - sell at a venue where people expect art and can handle and
examine the item - don't sell in a venue where your item is mixed in with
10,000 others of varying quality. *A furniture store is good if you don't
have a gallery - or a lamp store, or somewhere that people go looking for
the "feel" of stuff that is like what you make, whatever your style.

"sbnjhfty" wrote in message

...



Bill Noble wrote:
well, DON'T sell over the internet, that's for sure. *Find a local venue
that will take one or two pieces, price them at what you would like to
get for them and wait - they may sell and you will be happy

Why "DON'T sell over the internet?"

On 02/19/2010 08:21 PM, Bill Noble wrote:
don't sell them over the internet because you will get commodity prices
not gallery prices - sell at a venue where people expect art and can
handle and examine the item - don't sell in a venue where your item is
mixed in with 10,000 others of varying quality. A furniture store is
good if you don't have a gallery - or a lamp store, or somewhere that
people go looking for the "feel" of stuff that is like what you make,
whatever your style.

I never thought much about the price differential on the internet, but I
don't see how internet vendors have time to keep up with the back end
stuff like photographing your work, uploading it, editing the web pages
to reflect the current status of pieces, etc. Who would have time to
turn? g

I sell through a local shop. Mostly to tourists in the summer, but
they're open all year so a few pieces go out in the winter, especially
around Christmas. Sometimes I sit back and wonder where my work is now.
Could be anywhere. Probably most is in the US somewhere, but some may
even be overseas. I get a certain satisfaction knowing that somehow.

I get a certain satisfaction going to the bank too...

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller - http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
In a recent survey, 7 out of 10 hard drives preferred Linux
Registered Linux User No: 307357, http://counter.li.org

On Feb 20, 6:14*pm, Kevin Miller wrote:
On 02/19/2010 08:21 PM, Bill Noble wrote:

don't sell them over the internet because you will get commodity prices
not gallery prices - sell at a venue where people expect art and can
handle and examine the item - don't sell in a venue where your item is
mixed in with 10,000 others of varying quality. *A furniture store is
good if you don't have a gallery - or a lamp store, or somewhere that
people go looking for the "feel" of stuff that is like what you make,
whatever your style.

I never thought much about the price differential on the internet, but I
don't see how internet vendors have time to keep up with the back end
stuff like photographing your work, uploading it, editing the web pages
to reflect the current status of pieces, etc. *Who would have time to
turn? g

I sell through a local shop. *Mostly to tourists in the summer, but
they're open all year so a few pieces go out in the winter, especially
around Christmas. *Sometimes I sit back and wonder where my work is now..
*Could be anywhere. *Probably most is in the US somewhere, but some may
even be overseas. *I get a certain satisfaction knowing that somehow.

I get a certain satisfaction going to the bank too...

...Kevin
--
Kevin Miller -http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
In a recent survey, 7 out of 10 hard drives preferred Linux
Registered Linux User No: 307357,http://counter.li.org

You all talk about money, selling, making a buck, but please
woodturning is about pleasure. OK to some of us it is about making a
buck. Yes a few its their living. For me its about relaxation, my
main chat was how dow i give my many hours of work away. Yes it has to
be charity. But something i so love i cannot give away or sell. Why
does everybody come up and say money, its not about money , its about
life and loving its what you do.
Col

" Kevin Miller -http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
In a recent survey, 7 out of 10 hard drives preferred Linux
Registered Linux User No: 307357,http://counter.li.org

You all talk about money, selling, making a buck, but please
woodturning is about pleasure. OK to some of us it is about making a
buck. Yes a few its their living. For me its about relaxation, my
main chat was how dow i give my many hours of work away. Yes it has to
be charity. But something i so love i cannot give away or sell. Why
does everybody come up and say money, its not about money , its about
life and loving its what you do.
Col

because, after you have made enough items, you have to stop, or throw some
away, or sell them. and if you sell them others get to appreciate them.
for many, what is given away is treated by the recipient as worth what they
paid for it - I've seen this personally - so if someone pays $500 for
something they treat it better (usually) than if you gave it to them. There
are, of course, exceptions

On 02/21/2010 01:02 PM, col wrote:

You all talk about money, selling, making a buck, but please
woodturning is about pleasure. OK to some of us it is about making a
buck. Yes a few its their living. For me its about relaxation, my
main chat was how dow i give my many hours of work away. Yes it has to
be charity. But something i so love i cannot give away or sell. Why
does everybody come up and say money, its not about money , its about
life and loving its what you do.
Col

Well, you labeled the subject of you thread "To sell or keep" so you
kind of opened up the discussion to selling. I sell my turnings. At
least most of them. That doesn't in the least diminish the pleasure I
get from turning them. If you'd rather give them away than sell them by
all means do so.

There are many avenues for charity if that's one's inclination. It's
not hard to find places that appreciate donations. For instance here,
the public radio station has a fall and spring on-air auction of locally
donated items for a fund raiser. A local food bank has an annual fund
raising auction. The local soup kitchen has a fund raiser lunch with an
'empty bowl' theme where they solicit bowls (wood,pottery or otherwise).
Various church or para-church organizations have annual fund raisers.
I'm sure other venues wouldn't be hard to find, and I think it's
wonderful to be able to support one's preferred charities with a well
crafted vessel. I'd encourage any turner to do so at whatever level
they're comfortable with.

But there's nothing wrong with selling one's work, nothing less noble
about it. Indeed, it's a great boon in life to be able to make a living
(at least in part) doing what you brings you pleasure. It's enriching
to me to know that what I make with my own hands is contributing to the
well being of my family.

I take pride in the finished piece, and I also enjoy knowing that
somewhere, someone is looking at one of my pieces on their shelf and
smiling. Whether it was a piece I gave away, donated to charity, or
sold, the memory of the piece and the satisfaction of creating it remains.

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller - http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
In a recent survey, 7 out of 10 hard drives preferred Linux
Registered Linux User No: 307357, http://counter.li.org

Glad to see Arch is back with more interesting insights but I have to
disagree with one of them. Is keeping one's bowls really bad? Do
hoarders really need psychological help?

After finally starting to make bowls that worked better on a table
than in a fire pit, I started telling people when I died my house
would be like one of those cat houses where the owner had hundreds of
cats. But instead of cats my house will have thousands of bowls and
would smell much better. While this means the more bowls I give away
the longer I live, I still do not think it will hurt to have a few
hundred bowls lying around as long as the number does not get too
large.

Anyway it is cold out today and it is too hard to work with a foggy
face shield out in the unheated garage so am passing time reading
these posts. It is good to see this group getting lively again.

TWW wrote:

Anyway it is cold out today and it is too hard to work with a foggy
face shield out in the unheated garage so am passing time reading
these posts. It is good to see this group getting lively again.

I can sympathize, although my garage isn't too bad this winter. It's
been pretty mild here. the face shield though, I remember seeing an
article in the AAW journal a few years back where a guy wore a catchers
mask instead of a face shield. They had a photo of him looking like he
was worked over by loan shark goons. It was actually a nice sized hunk
of wood that flew off the lathe at high speed which was his inspiration
to wearing the face cage, IIRC.

You could always try one of those on a cooler day...

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller
Juneau, Alaska
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
In a recent poll, seven out of ten hard drives preferred Linux.