Where Do Ideas Come From? Genesis of a turned articulated joint and some applications
(note: if you've been to this page before, reload it because I've probably added something since the last time you were here)
In any woodworking forum, the question is often asked "Where do you get ideas for a piece?" Responses range from silly to esoteric and almost everything in between. The Golden Ratio, Arts & Crafts, Form Follows Function, names get mentioned - Krenov, Nakashima, Ellsworth, terms get used - fair curve, chamfered edges, metaphor, associative, conscious and unconscious, problem solving, . . .
In a "text only" forum it can get pretty confusing since pictures and illustrations aren't allowed. In forums that allow both text and pictures it gets a little better, but you can't intersperse text and illustrations and navigation gets cumbersome. But the web has hypertext to get around many of those limititations.
So here's a set of pages on the genesis of an idea and some applications of that idea. This one involves turning, in part because turning lends itself to quickly working out an idea then doing varitions and refinements of it as well as applications for things you come up with.
This particular idea was a result of the observation "Turning Is Dynamic Yet The Results Are Static." That begged the question - "How can ACTUAL movement be incorporated in a turned piece?" That, in turn, prompted an "idea" - a ball and socket swivel joint.
1. Genesis of an idea and an initial use
2A. An easier way to make the sockets
3. Two turned lidded boxes with ball joint finial ideas
4. Another turned lidded box with ball joint finial idea
5. Idea for an Intearctive Ball Activated Articulated Elements Bowl
6, Hyper Ellipsoid with Articulated Counter Balanced Finial
7. More ideas for adding movement to a piece (from rec.crafts.woodturning)
more to come