Being a "no dye in the wool" Krenovian, I believed that It's The Wood
Stupid and K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid - odd how "stupid" seems to
the underlying commonality) should be my guiding principles. To date,
I've
done little to adhere to the latter and am getting better at the former
-but I keep trying.

So when David Marks and others "patina" an otherwise really nice
piece, and/or gild it - I cringe a little. Poly, wth few exceptions
dictated by the use of the piece, to me, borders on an abomination.
Wood, with all it's wonderous grains and colors, should stand on
its own - no paint or poly, no tints or dyes, no piercing, no texturing,
no charring, no carving, no sand blasting, no gold leaf - as close to
the raw wood the better.

Then I saw a photo of a piece by Binh Pho - on the cover of
Woodturning, a British woodturning magazine. I'd thought
Tom Plamann was the Anti-Krenov (and I mean that in the
most complimentary way), but I was wrong. Binh Pho is
so far at the opposite end of the spectrum from James
Krenov that the two are side by side.

My woodworking world has been shaken - to its core, or
rather its pith.

Krenovians - look her - if you dare

http://www.angelfire.com/il2/binhpho...neurashima.jpg

and then explore his other works at

http://www.wondersofwood.net/

No matter what type of woodworking you do, you really
should see this man's creations -in wood, an acrylic
and gold leaf and... What's even more amazing is the
man's history - he was a sophomore in college in
Saigon when the Viet Nam War ended.

Inspirational is a word tossed about all to casually.
Not in this case - Binh Pho's work is truly
inspirational.

charlie b

In article ,
charlie b wrote:

Inspirational is a word tossed about all to casually.
Not in this case - Binh Pho's work is truly
inspirational.

I had the privilege to see Binh Pho's work at a turning show last summer
- The walls of his vessels are on the order of 1/16" thick and the
airbrush artistry is outstanding. I understand through the turning
grapevine that he's also extremely generous with his time and knowledge
of turning.
--
Owen Lowe
The Fly-by-Night Copper Company
__________

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
Corporate States of America and to the
Republicans for which it stands, one nation,
under debt, easily divisible, with liberty
and justice for oil."
- Wiley Miller, Non Sequitur, 1/24/05

charlie b

This Spring 2006 issue of American Woodturner has his "NOLA, Jass Me Once
More" vase on page one. It's a piece he donated to the AAW Disaster Relief
Fund. It sold for $6,000 which it seems was second only to Frank Sudol's
"Spirit of New Orleans" at $6,601 (which is on the cover and page 6).

Charlie, I agree with you on the natural approach but the more I see the
work out there that departs radically from "wood" the more I soften on the
position. Arch did a muse on this, I think.

I think it's awesome art regardless of its medium. It stirs my soul and
challenges my craftsman imagination as I wonder on how they achieved it. I
would proudly display any of these on my mantle were I only well off enough
to be able to buy such beauty. At least, I have pictures and instant
galleries and websites like World of Woodturners where sometimes the artist
will even explain how he accomplished something.

For one thing, "art" based on a craft like woodturning or woodworking
involves much more than just design, i.e. pop art's simple, minimalistic
products. That need for skill brings a "WOW' factor to the piece. Truly cool
combination of physical dexterity, engineering, and design inspiration
resulting in something that simply looks really neat.

TomNie

charlie b

This Spring 2006 issue of American Woodturner has his "NOLA, Jass Me Once
More" vase on page one. It's a piece he donated to the AAW Disaster Relief
Fund. It sold for $6,000 which it seems was second only to Frank Sudol's
"Spirit of New Orleans" at $6,601 (which is on the cover and page 6).

Charlie, I agree with you on the natural approach but the more I see the
work out there that departs radically from "wood" the more I soften on the
position. Arch did a muse on this, I think.

I think it's awesome art regardless of its medium. It stirs my soul and
challenges my craftsman imagination as I wonder on how they achieved it. I
would proudly display any of these on my mantle were I only well off enough
to be able to buy such beauty. At least, I have pictures and instant
galleries and websites like World of Woodturners where sometimes the artist
will even explain how he accomplished something.

For one thing, "art" based on a craft like woodturning or woodworking
involves much more than just design, i.e. pop art's simple, minimalistic
products. That need for skill brings a "WOW' factor to the piece. Truly cool
combination of physical dexterity, engineering, and design inspiration
resulting in something that simply looks really neat.

TomNie

"Tom Nie" pondered and illumed us with this gem...

charlie b

This Spring 2006 issue of American Woodturner has his "NOLA, Jass Me Once
More" vase on page one. It's a piece he donated to the AAW Disaster Relief
Fund. It sold for $6,000 which it seems was second only to Frank Sudol's
"Spirit of New Orleans" at $6,601 (which is on the cover and page 6).

Charlie, I agree with you on the natural approach but the more I see the
work out there that departs radically from "wood" the more I soften on the
position. Arch did a muse on this, I think.

I think it's awesome art regardless of its medium. It stirs my soul and
challenges my craftsman imagination as I wonder on how they achieved it. I
would proudly display any of these on my mantle were I only well off
enough
to be able to buy such beauty. At least, I have pictures and instant
galleries and websites like World of Woodturners where sometimes the
artist
will even explain how he accomplished something.

For one thing, "art" based on a craft like woodturning or woodworking
involves much more than just design, i.e. pop art's simple, minimalistic
products. That need for skill brings a "WOW' factor to the piece. Truly
cool
combination of physical dexterity, engineering, and design inspiration
resulting in something that simply looks really neat.


You bring up an interesting and valid point Tom.

When I see a lot to things in the world, I have a fairly good idea of how it
is made and how much work, machining, materials costs, etc goes into making
it. This might be a considered a very rough estimate of how much it would
take me to duplicate it. My wife is the same in some areas that she is good
at.

Then there are those items that you have no idea how they made. You have no
idea of how many hours they spent at it. And at times, you don't even know
the material they use. Or if you could buy it and where a source may exist
for it.

There is a definite WOW factor there. They got one by this old curmudgeon.

You gotta give them points for that.