Martin Saban-Smith has a background in graphic design and photography, so maybe it’s not surprising that the first part of his talk focused on different types of curves for bowls, and the proportion of the bowl. The rest of the demonstration covered enhancing pieces by using colour.
Martin started turning on 29th May 2014 and by 2015 he was already disappointed with the finishes available. In Summer 2015 he developed a finishing wax and the company, Hampshire Sheen was born.
Coloured Bowl
Curves
Martin passed around a piece of paper with some curves printed on it and asked us which we preferred. Most people usually like a curve which is related to the Fibonacci spiral found in nature such as sea shells.
The Golden Ratio
Martin mentioned the Rule of Thirds which is a simplified version of the Golden ratio. The golden ratio is approximately 1.618. This number can be used to calculate visually pleasing dimensions on a bowl, or other piece of turning.
Martin guided us through the process of measuring the dimension of the bowl, which was 295mm, then dividing by 1.618 repeatedly to get the size of foot required, which in our case was 113mm. Too small a foot can cause the piece to flip over.
Form or Figure?
Martin asked the interesting question of whether we prioritise pleasing form for figure, or whether we prioritise keeping an interesting feature over a pleasing form. Martin always prioritises form over figure as form will have appeal from a distance, whereas figure is only visible close up.
Colouring the piece
Martin explained that the dye emphasises any marks on the piece, whether you want it to such as with knots and marks in the wood, or not such as tool marks! This means that it is important to sand the piece well to at least 400 grit.
Martin applied a black dye base to the piece, then sanded back so that different features show when the coloured dyes are added. Martin applied yellow and red dyes, building up the colour to emphasise the grain in the wood. He did this using kitchen roll rather than a spray gun.
For information on how to use the colours and other products, the Hampshire Sheen Finishing Academy has a free course.
Inside of the Bowl
Again the dimensions of the bowl were calculated, and the possible dimensions drawn on the piece as can be seen in the image. Any of these will look right, so it’s down to what sort of bowl you’d like.
Lidded Pot
The final section of the day was a Japanese inspired lidded pot from ash with a padauk inserted lid.
