Sunday, April 4, 2010

feedback please on a new series of work

late last year i had a local wood turner make 10 wooden turned objects for me. i was not sure what i would do with them, they could be bases or lids. really just some wood components for me to play with and try and put some glass with to make a limited series or range of work.



these two are my first prototypes. i was sitting in my studio the other week looking at all my canes cups. i really like the look of the pattern at the bottom of the cup when all the canes meet at one point. see example in the image here. this design would highlight and showcase the cane in the glass component and if the glass was the lid then at the top you would clearly see the point where all the pattern or lines converge.



i can't just use the cups as they are usually tapered too much so i made these clear glass forms just to try out a few options. i would remake the clear glass with different cane patterns. i also need to make each glass unit to fit each wooden component.



so right now there are a few questions. what is it? i think of them like small keep-sake boxes . what do you think?

do they work better with the glass on the bottom, or on top? or as a pair with one each?

functionally they would be ok to hold kind of precious stuff like jewellery.

if the glass goes on the top then you need to place the objects in the middle to be able to place the glass on easily without crushing the object at the edges. does this matter?



here is an image of a cup i made that happens to fit and almost look like the final object.
what do you think? is the pattern too much? should there be more clear in the pattern?

if the glass is on the top then should it have a flat top or slightly curved or raised? the clear sample has a pointed raised top. it could even be more like a bell jar.



i am planning to have these resolved for the group show in july this year, so i need to start making the canes and components in the next few weeks to give myself enough time.

any feedback from anyone is welcome, in fact greatly appreciated.

thanks.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

chris, i love the clear one with the wood as a base. i would store something small and precious/fragile in there and use it like a display case. i don't know if that's what other people would use it for! the caned glass is beautiful in there, but i reckon i'd use it more if the glass was clear.
xxdebbie

Marcia said...

My favourites are clear glass on top with wood on the base. They immediately reminded me of terrariums, or something you'd see in a dusty old museum or curio shop filled with something strange. Like a taxidermied 2 headed lizard.

Or maybe they should be a series with little miniatured vingettes inside the glass. I like the idea of there being something really interesting/strange going on inside, where the viewer needs to get up very close to see what's going on.

Not sure about a precious storage box. It seems kind of predictable, even though I obviously haven't seen anything like it before. Good luck!

n_cholewa said...

I like Marcia's idea of something interesting or strange inside.
The outside glass could have some cane, but more clear glass and the strange thing inside could have compilmenting cane in it.

Anonymous said...

I think they would make really nice terrariums for small plants or one of those small trees you trim once a month (the name escapes me right now).

I think they are very nice all the same. Do you have a shop you might sell things in on line?

rah! said...

I'll talk to you in person :)

mary said...

glass canisters with wood tops!! love it I'll take 4 - same size!! (less cane so I can see what's inside).
If you make a small round plate to put inside...you can display/store/serve your cakes,cupcakes,cookies inside...what can be more inviting than a single solitary stack of cookies under glass...move over Martha Stewart!!
hugs, mary

Anonymous said...

hi chawawa..
i agree, i love the clear ones they are simple and beautiful. I like the idea of showing off the bottom of the cane work which we naturally dont do but i agree is one of the most beautiful parts... but like everyone else i like seeing inside xx netty

andi said...

erm, the wood on top version could be workable for me if the glass bottom was a whole lot taller, wider and generally bigger, or maybe if the wooden lid wasn't obscuring the contents part so heavily.
The glass on top version at this scale reminds me of a cheese case. Bad babs wants one to put brie in.
Maybe just a few delicate canes spiderwebbing up in three or four places (or just on one side to act as a backdrop to whatever is inside)
I don't know what I'd put inside though and I've been thinking for a few days.
Hope there is something useful there :)

Maggie said...

I was also reminded of a cheese case, or butter dish by the glass on top version. It would look great on the dinner table!