BOWLS
Oyster Platter,,,
Blue Mussel shell ,,,
Teak Long Tray

Teak Fruit Tray
This Teak tray has a beautiful rich grain with a light figure (crotch grain) on one end which runs out toward the other, well worth the effort to finish. The tools dulled very fast and the resharpening made the time to do this tray a lot longer to finish than the maple tray.
I wanted to have a tool textured finish in the hollow. The tactile and visual effect is in wonderful contrast to the high polish.
This tray is 30"x6 3/4"x1" with a hand rubbed wax finish. The wood takes on a mood with the changing of the light in the room.
I wanted to have a tool textured finish in the hollow. The tactile and visual effect is in wonderful contrast to the high polish.
This tray is 30"x6 3/4"x1" with a hand rubbed wax finish. The wood takes on a mood with the changing of the light in the room.
Maple Long Tray

Maple Fruit Tray
Oh the features of this Maple!
This tray is a new design that I hope to repeat, though the wood will never be the same, the design is a good one I feel.
This tray is a new design that I hope to repeat, though the wood will never be the same, the design is a good one I feel.
25 5/8 x 5 5/8 x 1 1/8 Maple

Maple Fruit Tray
This is a nice piece of wood and the grain has some very nice flash, though difficult to carve, was well worth the effort. For this design, I used a compilation of machine and carving, to get this long sleek low profile tray. I wanted to create a tray that would be subtle in it's stance yet dramatic in its figure, subdued in it's profile height, yet sharp and deliberate in detail. Simple elegance, was the aim.
This Cherry wood bowl features beautiful grain

I was given this Cherry tree as a gift with the words
"I know you can do something beautiful with this".
I created this bowl from a part of that tree, with this in mind.
The wood colours are wonderful. The hues, spalting and contrasts between the heartwood and sapwood I worked to feature these elements.
"I know you can do something beautiful with this".
I created this bowl from a part of that tree, with this in mind.
The wood colours are wonderful. The hues, spalting and contrasts between the heartwood and sapwood I worked to feature these elements.
The end was the begining

I chose where to split the first piece by the colour of the end grain and the pattern I could see.
This is always a hopeful start, I wasn't disappointed.
This is always a hopeful start, I wasn't disappointed.
Large Blue Mussel Bowl

This bowl is in Broad Leaf Maple 26'' Long
Cherry Trough Bowl

The sweep of the sides I decided to leave heavy and pronounced, then concaved the sides and beveled the bottom edge to give the bowl a sence of floating.
Twisted

The twist I think adds to the movement and flow of the lines and form an exercise in working "with the wood".
Bruises, = patina and caracture

There is a bruise in the fibers on each side that I found after the drying and the sanding process. This doesn't bother me as I am curious as to what caused it. It, like the darker heart wood, will darken as the patina develops. The sap wood will be a rich yellow as it ages.
Tall end view

This is a small cherry trough. The twist comes as a result of the natural twist of the tree.
Maple Valentine

The angle of the bowl was mostly determined by figure and grain and the perimeter of the log. Then the consideration is how to define and celebrate the figure, yet still end up with a functional bowl.
GO FIGURE

Flash! This bowl, carved from the crotch of a large Red Maple, had this dramatic figure I decided to run from end to end through the bowl.
Flash heavy

The bottom of the bowl shows the area closest to the outside of the flitch or tree. The challenge is to captivate the most flash as possible and not carve it away as the hollowing of the bowl shell is created. With this piece of maple it was relatively easy as there was an abundance of figure.
Carved bowls
Balance

This shallow Boxwood Elder bowl perches with one end tucked under in a stance, the other end reaches way out and curls down to just touch lightly with the rounded edge. The sides flare in an attempt to maintain the balance.
This wood has wonderful streaks of the red, typical of the elder, delicately embedded. A gorgeous discovery in this very finely textured wood.
This wood has wonderful streaks of the red, typical of the elder, delicately embedded. A gorgeous discovery in this very finely textured wood.
Bevel Bowl

This Birch bowl is a design that is intended to create the look and feel of a marriage between Bronze and wood. The painted textured ring represents the patinaed bronze of other times. The wood is rich with hue. The ovaling of this bowl developed naturally as the wood seasoned because the bowl was carved "GREEN".
SWEPT

The simple sweep of the Alder trunk gives me the first lines of the form. The long flowing line of the tree reaching for the sky.
The tension of the edge of the bowl. The contraction balanced by expansion like the action of reaching, stretching.
The tension of the edge of the bowl. The contraction balanced by expansion like the action of reaching, stretching.
Alder fruit bowl

A simple alder bowl with simple lines was the aim!
The smooth warm texture of Alder well finished between the knots.
The end grain tool tracks left for the tactile surprise
under the ends of the bowl which form the handles.
The smooth warm texture of Alder well finished between the knots.
The end grain tool tracks left for the tactile surprise
under the ends of the bowl which form the handles.
The Comma Bowl

Yellow Cedar fruit bowl
With this Yellow cedar burl bowl, I went all out on the finish because the grain was so fine. It just shone like gold. The light burling was just enough to give a sweet accent.
With this Yellow cedar burl bowl, I went all out on the finish because the grain was so fine. It just shone like gold. The light burling was just enough to give a sweet accent.
Harmony

This bowl carved from Birch changed the whole idea I had about carving bowls. I challenged myself to see what would happen if I just went for it and carved a big bowl with this new tool I had just received from Lee Valley Tools, the Lancelot carving disc. Up to this point I had carved a few bowls by hand. Meaning NO power tools. This was my first power augmentation to the Hand carving. The Yin and Yang symbol sweep down into this bowl from each end. The birch of this carving was flawless and a total pleasure to carve.
Suspention

Carved from one piece of Boxwood Elder this was a successful challenge of every thing I knew of wood shrinkage and warping through the long slow drying period.
Further exploration of lifting a bowl and survival of the drying process. Bowls shrink and warp in the drying process from green wood to a seasoned bowl, a process that can take more then three months. I go through a little mental gymnastics such as "Will the carving of the rough shape leave me enough room to refine the form I have in my head? Did I leave enough room for the crowning of the end grain? Will the base hold together? Does the shape allow for the tension created in the drying to prevent checking? Did I carve it too thick or too thin in the rough form? Did I leave enough or too much wood in those critical areas of warp-age?"