Lathe-turned bowl?
Sculpture? Both?
…trying to decide what to be.
Turned and sculpted maple burl, roots up
An amorphous mass sat in my “wood pantry” for nearly 15 years trying to decide what it wanted to be in its afterlife. It had been a full-round burl at ground level, with the tree roots extending downward from it.
Chief among questions were “Which way is up?” and “Should I be a lathe-turned bowl or a sculpture?” Finally I decided to invert it – from the way it had grown to roots up, trunk down, instead. And the piece clearly wanted to be both sculpture and vessel form.
During its transformation, the piece reminded my wife, Gaye, of splashing water. Upon completion, I envisioned a still life created at the moment a pebble drops into a calm pool. Together, we agreed that Splash Dance described both visions.
