General Category > General Discussion

critiques

<< < (9/10) > >>

bodrighywood:
Design is always going to be a matter of personal taste to some extent so easy to critique as long as it is made clear that it is personal opinion. Quality of workmanship however is a bit more specific and where a lot of the problems arise as we all make things that we are proud of initially but on reflection, or critique notice aren't as good as we thought. I do agree that first hand critique is far better than online which is based on a photograph.

Pete

The Bowler Hatted Turner:
Perhaps if an experimental piece or a piece still in construction was posted and the person that posted it said as much or mentioned how long thy had been turning or I only get to turn however often ,then those commenting will have a better idea of the standard to expect.
As a professional turner, ie one who earns all of his income from turning I should be expected to turn out good quality work. Which I like to think I do. However something else that has to be taken into consideration is where is your work sold and for how much. Certain parts of the country will attract a lower rate of pay than others but the production costs are still virtually the same, so the choice then may be to produce more  in a shorter time and sell them cheaper. In that situation a critique of a person's production woud be completely different to a critique of the same persons special or one off.

Paul Hannaby:

--- Quote from: Twisted Trees on June 27, 2019, 10:26:29 AM ---AWGB online auctions wouldn't work for two reasons.


* Woodturners homes are already full of turned items
* I along with many other turners are design thieves, we see it, touch it, then make our own version
I am not a professional turner, but I do like my workshop to be self funding. Most of what I sell is not artistic in any way, and I would have no desire to upload photo's of it here. I am giving my workshop a makeover at the moment, new extraction, new lathe, all new cabinets, 95% funded by crappy light pulls that take moments to make, use scraps, and sell by the truck load once you find the outlets.

--- End quote ---

Perhaps an understandable assumption if your main line is light pulls but the last online auction held by the AWGB was extremely successful and some pieces were sold for 4 figure sums. There is another online auction starting next week and we are hoping that will be equally successful given the provenance of the pieces for sale. Take a look at www.the-saleroom.com from Tuesday the 2nd of July.

For something like an online auction to work, there has to be a selection of lots which are going to appeal to serious buyers and collectors.

Bringing this back to the critique process, I have handled and inspected all of the pieces which will be in the auction and exhibition and probably subconsciously critiqued them. There are some I think are amazing and some I don't like but even the ones I don't like have merits on the artistic and craftsmanship levels so I can appreciate them for what they are even if I wouldn't choose to have them on my shelf! At some point, I think the person doing the critique has to try to put their own preferences to one side and to appraise the piece fairly and honestly.

I think even a light pull can be critiqued - it should satisfy the three F's (form, finish and function) and ideally should represent an acceptable quality of workmanship.

Twisted Trees:
Paul, point taken but the majority of the buyers will be "real people" not fellow woodturners, so while quality and design are key to the sale price, it is outside the scope of the critique we are talking about here. I can sell light pulls not because I make them better than anyone else, but because I got lucky and found a route to shift them in quantity. never spent a full day making them as I do get bored after a couple of hours but can in theory create a lot in a week.

On design, some of my best prices have been creating other peoples designs e.g. lamps, legs etc. which I personally dislike intensely but abranet is expensive so sometimes the customer is always right!

I am lucky enough to have another source of income to cover my beer bill, but would rather burn my work than undersell it as others need the prices and value at a reasonable level to cover the cost of living.

My personal favorite pieces are quite quirky, I like 'damaged' wood part turned, part natural, I like fruit bowls heavy enough not to tip over when fruit is put in it, and I love mallets to make and use. I get quite excited when someone wants a handle for a vice... ridiculously simple, but I know it will be used and that gives me a good feeling when I make it. Most of that I would not want to post photo's of, I will post some over the coming years, but they will probably not be my routine pieces and possibly not my best work as that is usually a commission and is almost never photographed.

If I want a critique, it is probably because I am unsure about the piece.

The Bowler Hatted Turner:
"I am lucky enough to have another source of income to cover my beer bill, but would rather burn my work than undersell it as others need the prices and value at a reasonable level to cover the cost of living." Good for you for thinking like that, well done, I wish more turners did the same.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page