A decorative bowl.

I haven't updated this blog for far too long! I have been so busy with my family and the day job that I just haven't had the chance to do much turning.

I have however been working on some bowls in the few spare moments I can manage! They are all very different and this first one is the most decorative one of the three, it is also the smallest at 8" wide. I wanted to create

a bowl that looks very luxurious and yet very old and worn, like it has been passed down through generations and has great importance to the owners, perhaps

a ceremonial object used very occasionally but for many, many years linking back to ancestors long since gone and destined for those yet to be born. This is an idea that very much

appeals to me but seems to feature little in our culture and 'throw away' society, I think that if we did have a greater appreciation of those ancestors gone before and the future generations to come, we might take greater care of our planet, looking forward beyond our own lifetime instead of just the short term.

The bowl is made from Basswood, it was turned,textured with a pyrography machine one 'dent' at a time, dyed dark purple, gilt cream rubbed on then mostly cleaned away to give it an old hammered metal appearance, gold leaf applied to the inside then parts rubbed away with a brass brush and gilt cream applied over these 'holes' to give a well worn look. There are several hours work tied up in this but I really have enjoyed making it!

Illness!

I've not been able to do any turning or have time to update my blog for a week and a half thanks to pesky illnesses!! Last Monday Dylan had to go to the hospital for an x-ray on his thumb as he had hurt it, thankfully it wasn't broken! By Tuesday he began vomiting violently, we found out the hospital has a serious Norovirus outbreak and sometime in the three hour wait to get his x-ray the poor lad got infected....

With the new baby in the house we had to keep Dylan away from her to stop him passing on the infection, this in essence meant keeping him away from my wife as much as possible too. So I became his primary carer.

The inevitable happened and by Friday, when the little lad had recovered, I got it too!! Now Dylan being twenty months old dealt with his illness remarkably well and remained active and playful throughout the whole thing. Me on the other hand being an adult, couldn't get out of bed until Monday, couldn't eat a thing and existed on a diet of Ribena!

The good news is we both feel better now and neither my wife or four week old Daisy came down with it! I also managed to get out to the shed for a while this morning and made one of my pointy ended organic forms and will post it here tomorrow!