Wood turning is one of those enjoyable crafts that is like Christmas day each time you turn on the lathe. What I mean is you often never know what you are getting until the project is done. You know how you ask someone to buy you a shirt for Christmas, while you know it will be a shirt, you don't really know how it will look until you open the gift up. Turning is often like that. You know you are for turning a bowl. What you don't know is how beautiful the wood grain will be and perhaps how you will change the design to better expose that grain once you really get into the project. It's a surprise each time that never gets old.
These small cups above are not just lovely to own, they are functional. You can drink from them or use them as serving dishes for nuts etc. Most woods are food safe and have the ability to resist and often kills bacteria something plastic or glass can't do. Did you ever wonder why people were no killed with food poison back in the old day when all they had were wooden plates, bowls, cups and spoons, forks or knives??? There are great on camps or BBQ. A little tricky to make but not out of reach for someone who has had a few lessons. Interested???
Again, these are beautiful pieces. They will grace any part of your home, but like most of my work I like to bring beauty and function together. They can be used to display home items, serve foods like chips or dips, nuts, sweets or used to eat out of. The dishes and bowls at the top are burr elm, a rare wood to get these days. The cereal bowl is ash, a great wood to use for eating dishes. The nice, small bowl at the bottom with the spoon, is made of spalted beech. It gives a beautiful black line throughout. This is caused by allowing the wood to weather for a while until the early signs of decay start. The spore makes the lines. Good for dry foods. The last bowl is African Tulip wood. It is a hard wood. Related to rose wood. It has lovely reddish line in the grain.
Ring boxes. These are small boxes to keep your special rings or jewellery in. Both have friction lids. The bottom one is made of hard maple which is a light cream colour with a dark walnut trim to contrast. It was made as a presentation box to set of a silver engraved ring for a young man's sweetheart. Even wood is romantic.