Q: Do you take orders or make custom work?
A: It depends. The glazes that I work with are not like paints. They are unpredictable and temperamental. I like to plan for some spontaneity with my work so I prefer not to do too much custom work, or repeats of sold work. If you are willing to be a little bit flexible I'm happy to do custom work for you.
Q: Do you use a lathe to make your bowls?
A: I don't own a lathe. All of my wood pieces are rough cut with a chainsaw then refined with a hand held angle grinder. I finish my bowls by sanding them to a smooth polish and them finish them with either food safe wax or danish oil. The process is more dangerous and time consuming than working with a lathe, but I prefer the forms that are possible with this technique.
Q: Can I eat out of your functional pieces?
This bowl was carved from Pheasant wood. The grain looks even better in person.
A: All of my ceramic work is food safe, microwave and dishwasher safe.
With the wooden bowls I note what I use to finish the piece. Danish oil is non toxic, but not recommended for food. These days I usually finish my bowls with a food safe wax. It is non toxic. In general I wouldn't put wet foods in a wood bowl and definitely would never put one of these into a dishwasher. At home I prefer to use a ceramic bowl for food.
Q: Where do you get your wood from?
The piece of wood that this bowl was carved out of came from a tree that was pruned by maintenance workers at a local hotel.
A: I don't like to cut down trees so I'm always on the look out for trees that have been trimmed or cut down by maintenance and road workers. Most of the wood I get would have wound up in a land fill if I hadn't rescued it. Once in a while I will find a limb that has fallen during a storm.
The limb that this was carved from was cut off by farmers down the road. The tree that it came from was planted as a wind block and is still thriving.