Crafting wooden bowls with a lathe is a truly gratifying experience, allowing me to create functional and artistic pieces with a smooth finish and high-quality, food-grade properties. For projects, I carefully select hardwoods like maple, cherry, sycamore, tulip, and others, appreciating their durability and non-toxic nature, which makes them safe for food contact.

Securing green wood blank on the lathe, I start shaping the outer profile using a roughing gouge. As I progress, I switch to smaller gouges and scrapers, meticulously refining the bowl's shape and thickness.   I then dry the wood for 8 months or more. 

The bowls then return to the lathe to achieve their final shape.  I pay close attention to the details, rounding and smooth edges and meticulously sanding the interior. The end result is not just a functional wooden bowl; it becomes a cherished heirloom, showcasing both my woodworking skills and passion for creating beautiful, usable art pieces.

Ensuring the creations food-grade quality is of utmost importance, I use food-safe oils like mineral oil, walnut oil, or beeswax. This ensures the final product is safe to use with food items.

Texturing wood bowls on a lathe adds a unique and captivating touch to the finished piece, elevating its visual appeal and making it stand out among traditional smooth bowls. The process of texturing allows for creativity and personal expression to shine through the woodwork.

The beauty of texturing lies in its versatility, allowing me to experiment with different patterns and styles to match the overall design theme. Whether it's a modern, geometric pattern or a more rustic, nature-inspired texture, the process of texturing on the lathe brings out the artisan in me, resulting in a one-of-a-kind wooden bowl that is as visually captivating as it is functional.

Fractal wood burning, also known as Lichtenberg wood burning, is a fascinating and mesmerizing technique that adds a striking and ethereal touch to wood bowls. By using high-voltage electricity, intricate fractal patterns are burned onto the surface of the wood, creating captivating and organic designs that resemble lightning bolts or branching tree patterns.

Using a high-voltage transformer, I carefully apply electricity to the surface of the wood bowl. The electricity follows the path of least resistance, creating intricate and unpredictable patterns as it travels through the wood's natural grain. The result is a mesmerizing web of lightning-like burns that seem to dance across the bowl's surface, giving it a unique and otherworldly appearance.

Fractal wood burning is an art that requires both skill and intuition. No two bowls will ever look the same, making each piece a true work of art with its own character and personality. The combination of traditional woodworking and the mesmerizing effects of electricity come together to produce an awe-inspiring and visually captivating wooden bowl that is sure to be a conversation piece and a cherished item for years to come. 

Ambrosia spalted maple is a unique and sought-after wood known for its stunning and natural artistic patterns caused by the ambrosia beetle infestation. These intricate black streaks and grayish-blue hues create a mesmerizing effect, making each piece of wood truly one-of-a-kind. When used in wood turned lathe bowls, the inherent beauty of the ambrosia spalted maple shines through, adding depth and character to the finished bowl.

Crafting bowls with ambrosia spalted maple on a lathe is a gratifying process. The wood's natural beauty guides the design, as woodturners carefully shape and form the bowl, accentuating the captivating patterns. Additionally, the process of turning the wood allows the artisans to discover and unleash the hidden surprises within the grain, resulting in breathtaking and unique pieces.

The combination of ambrosia spalted maple and woodturning creates bowls that are not only functional but also artistic masterpieces, showcasing the harmony between nature and craftsmanship. Each bowl becomes a conversation starter, a centerpiece worthy of admiration, and a testament to the beauty that can be found in the natural world when the  artistry of nature and skill come together.