"From The Earth" - Manzanita Root Burl Bowl (BW217)

Searching for the most intriguing burls to be found is a rewarding part of woodturning for me. So I'm excited to offer this gorgeous, earthy Manzanita Root Burl bowl, the first I've turned. I'm just delighted with the deep, rich reddish color of this craggy product of the California mountains. Manzanita is a small shrub or tree with twisting branches, found from British Columbia to Mexico. Its wood invariably cracks and splits as it dries, which gives this piece its rugged, tortured look. There is little area in the bowl that doesn't have cracks, voids, bark inclusions, or holes, making this a challenging piece to turn without it "blowing up". But the elegance of its rugged beauty was well worth the effort.  "From The Earth" is an art bowl that would be a stunning focal piece in a display setting.  Finely sanded, finished and polished.     Height:  43/4 inches Diameter: 111/4 inches     Price:   $480 Shipping: $15 to U.S. destinations. Contact me for international rates.

Bradford Pear has become a favored ornamental tree in many New England locations, as it puts on quite a display in spring. Especially when lined up in rows along a lane, they look like so many buckets of popcorn when loaded with showy white flowers. Below the rim of this bowl is a detail pyrography band in a mottled pattern, burned into the creamy white wood. Picture ruby red apples stacked in this bowl. Maybe more appropriately, some luscious pears fresh from the tree. Finished in a silky semi-gloss, buffed with fine waxes. Diameter: 10 inches    Height:   4 inches Price: $135 Shipping: $15 to U.S. destinations. Contact me for international rates.

One of the fascinating things about wood, and burls in particular, is that no two pieces are identical; some burls are symmetrical, round, and solid. Others are oddly shaped, have voids and cracks, or are laced with deep streaks of bark ... those are the ones I find most interesting. This large Black Cherry burl, aged in a hay barn in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts for years, has the bark inclusions, striking grain and birdseyes, and rich Cherry color. And a partial natural rim where there had been a void.  After being turned on the lathe, it was sanded and finished to a lustrous, durable semi-gloss.  Diameter: 131/4 inches    Height:   51/4 inches     Price: $400 Shipping: $15 to U.S. destinations. Contact me for international rates.

A natural bark rim frames this oval Black Cherry bowl, and puts it in a class of highly popular wood vessels. Those who appreciate a connection with the natural world are immediately drawn to a piece such as this, since it speaks of the direct relationship of utensil to tree. A ring of cream-colored sapwood under the bark borders the familiar Cherry heartwood color. Finished in a polished semi-gloss. Diameter: 10 x 8 inches    Height:  5 inches     Price:  $135 Shipping: $15 to U.S. destinations. Contact me for international rates.

The body of this delightful bowl is turned from a Briar Root burl; the rim is made of Claro Walnut and Aspen segments glued into contrasting rings. Briar Root burl is the underground root ball of the Mediterranean White Heath shrub, and is the prized wood that smoking pipes are made of. These burls are typically cracked and craggy, with embedded gravel, which makes turning them a challenge. But the wonderful color and subtle birdseye figure is worth the effort. This handsome wood bowl is 71/4 inches in diameter, 33/4 inches tall. It was hand rubbed with multiple coats of tung oil varnish, then buffed and polished with hard wax to a very smooth semi-gloss finish, which you'll appreciate handling.      Price: $280 Shipping: $12 to U.S. destinations. Contact me for international rates.

Gimlet Burl is from a Eucalyptus species that grows in the goldfields area of Western Australia. It is a hard, dense wood that polishes up nicely. This bowl features the reddish brown gimlet, with its attractive pattern of resin pockets, highlighted by a segmented rim of Slippery Elm with a maroon inlay ring.  Finished in tung oil varnish, buffed and polished with carnauba wax to a soft, smooth satin lustre, the bowl is 10 inches in diameter, 3 inches high. The third thumbnail below shows a coffee mug for size comparison.     Price: $275 Shipping: $12 to U.S. destinations. Contact me for international rates.

Here's a beauty of a bowl ... North American Black Ash Burl, with a complementary hardwood 12-segment rim. Thin and lightweight, this fine burl features hundreds of birdseyes. Also, approximately one quarter of it is an area of very showy curly figure that shimmers as you move it in the light (the upper right area of the bowl in the photo at left; see the closeup too), a 3-d effect known as "chatoyance".  Truly a very pretty bowl. Urethane oil is the hand rubbed finish, buffed and polished with carnauba wax to a soft, glass-smooth semi-gloss lustre. The diameter is 12 inches, height is 31/2 inches.      Price: $225 Shipping: $15 to U.S. destinations. Contact me for international rates.

This large Black Cherry burl grew in a mixed stand of Black Cherry and White Pine in the cool Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts. When a laid-back carpenter and furniture maker built his rustic cabin in that forest grove, he took down a number of burl-bearing trees. Some of the burls went to furniture, others were stacked to dry, this being one of them. It has wonderful Cherry burl features... birdseyes, resin traces, bark inclusions, and a wave of grain lines on one side of the bowl. Finished in a durable semi-gloss, buffed with fine waxes, it is nicely shaped for a centerpiece display. Diameter: 133/4 inches    Height:   33/4 inches Price: $320 Shipping: $15 to U.S. destinations. Contact me for international rates.

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