Tour of the Gallery

The centerpiece of my gallery: a 24" American Beech bowl turned from a tree 105 years old.

Here's a sample of the writing that accompanies each piece in the gallery - this write up is of the large bowl on the granite table.

“Doc”

Bowl #87

(American Beech)

Price: 2,000.00 ~ SOLD!

Before you gasp at the price tag of this behemoth consider that this piece has been in production for more than a century. Oh, I don’t mean to deceive you, my greatgrandfather did not begin this piece and leave it for David and me to finish; it was our Heavenly Father Who set it to growing back in 1899 and we were just fortunate enough to have been given the privilege to fell it 105 years later and turn this massive creation. This bowl stands as David’s greatest piece to date, carved from one solid block of “American Beech.” It gets its name from the surgeon who gave us the rights to it and helped us retrieve it from his property where it was doomed to make way for development. Thanks, Doc Hill, for your interest and support in our business!

“Behold now Behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.” Job 40:15,16

To the left, just inside the door.

This shot includes bowls of cherry, sassafrass, poplar and beech.

These are the bowls on the left end wall of the dividing wall, on the left half of the gallery.

Orange Crush - Turning to the right past this bowl takes you around the left hand side of my gallery, back towards the American Beech centerpiece.

“Orange Crush”

Bowl #33

(American Beech)

Price: 275.00

Our children probably don’t remember this soft drink that was popular in the '70s. Its tart orange flavor and strong carbonated bite bring back fond memories. We used to collect empty bottles to trade in for a penny’s worth of refund. After a long day’s scavenging, we would be rewarded with enough coins for a cool soft drink. This piece, with its translucent orange rim, takes me back to those days, and that little country store we frequented.

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” I Corinthians 13:11-12a

Above is another sample of what is inside each of the glass frames in the gallery.

These pieces hang on the left end wall in the gallery.

“Ocean Pier”

Bowl #30 (Left) - NFS (Right center) - Bob & Connie Wardlaw

Bowl #31 (Left center) - NFS Bowl #32 (Right) - NFS

(Lightered Pine)

The wood for these pieces came to us in a very interesting way. While vacationing in Navarre Beach, Florida at Bob and Connie Wardlaw’s condo, we discovered a large beam lying on the beach. The surf had driven it from the water the night before. It was approximately thirteen inches square and about four feet long with a large yellow ‘x’ painted on the end. It appeared to be a piece from an old pier perhaps broken up during a storm. We wiled away the better part of our day attempting unsuccessfully to perch all seven members of our family atop the standing timber. As you can see from the photograph, the boys and I managed to stay on just long enough for Leah to capture the memory before we lost control and plunged to the sand. After our frivolous escapades, we decided to take the log home as a souvenir. The wood was too heavy for the boys and me to carry so we moved it end over end until we reached our van, and then rolled it into the back for its six-hour trip home.

For months we used this block as an outside bench beside our barbeque grill, but then had the idea of better preserving it by cutting it up and making bowls from it. In the end we managed only four pieces, since the wood proved to be rock hard. The pinesap had completely turned it to “fat lightered”. When we cut it with our chisels it dulled them almost immediately and filled the shop with the smell of turpentine. Even though these pieces proved nearly impossible to form we felt it was worth the effort because of the history behind them. To our knowledge, this was the first time God sent us His blessing through the ocean currents.

“What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!” Matthew 8:27b

Amid the two battle flags of the War Between the States hang three Spalted Beech bowls, on the right end of the gallery, opposite the large poplar bowl above.

“Gettysburg”

(American Beech)

Bowl #21 (Left) Price: 225.00

Bowl #22 (Center) Price: 750.00

Bowl #23 (Right) Price: 250.00

The ebony black and cinnamon brown spalting lines found in these beautiful Beech pieces are often referred to as battle lines since they are created when two fungi meet and fight for their existence. It seemed only appropriate to name this grouping Gettysburg. No other fight is so vividly impregnated in our minds, even though it’s been nearly 140 years since Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9, 1865, ending the Confederate’s bid to gain the right to secede from the Union. Just as the War Between the States left many lives devastated, the war that raged in this once pure white wood has created a scarred landscape, riddled with the casualties of battle. Wood turners often go to great lengths submerging their bowl blanks in all forms of homemade brews to encourage this spalting to occur. Since it takes months and sometimes years to form these battlefields, the end result is highly favored and sought after. It’s remarkable how God uses even the smallest seemingly insignificant activities of fungi to enhance His creation.

“Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Luke 12:27

Vases and Hollow Forms :: These pieces are also on the left half of the gallery, as you pass the large poplar bowl back towards the American Beech centerpiece.

These pieces are a sampling of some of my "other" work: vases, hollow forms, thin pieces turned green, natural edge, and a few others. Please email me with any questions, and thanks for taking a look!

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	Tour of the Gallery
	My Dad and Me \| Profile \| Gallery I \| Gallery II \| Gallery III \| Gallery IV - Sold Artwork \| 105 Years of American Beech \| Tour of the Gallery \| Shop Shots \| Cost Explained \| Our Bowl Numbering System \| Care and Warranty \| Guest Book \| Contact Information \| Workbench \| Journal \| Photos

Tour of the gallery my family and I added beside my shop: My gallery is a room beside my shop, 12' wide and 32' long. You enter the gallery in the middle of the 32' wall and the room opens into a small foyer, which is pictured directly below. The room is then divided into two halves, and each side of the gallery has a dividing wall down the middle. Thus, you enter directly into the foyer, and can immediately turn to your left or right to circle the gallery. Each display includes a glass frame where the story behind the piece is written, along with the bowl number, name and price. Often, when the story behind the piece affords it, the bowls are accompanied with some kind of paraphernalia. Thanks for taking a look! Follow the link from the bottom right of my Home Page to a Yahoo map, letting you know where my shop and gallery are located, northwest of Atlanta, Georgia, in Powder Springs - stop by anytime, I'd love to show you around my shop and take you through my gallery.
The centerpiece of my gallery: a 24" American Beech bowl turned from a tree 105 years old. Here's a sample of the writing that accompanies each piece in the gallery - this write up is of the large bowl on the granite table. “Doc” Bowl #87 (American Beech) Price: 2,000.00 ~ SOLD! Before you gasp at the price tag of this behemoth consider that this piece has been in production for more than a century. Oh, I don’t mean to deceive you, my greatgrandfather did not begin this piece and leave it for David and me to finish; it was our Heavenly Father Who set it to growing back in 1899 and we were just fortunate enough to have been given the privilege to fell it 105 years later and turn this massive creation. This bowl stands as David’s greatest piece to date, carved from one solid block of “American Beech.” It gets its name from the surgeon who gave us the rights to it and helped us retrieve it from his property where it was doomed to make way for development. Thanks, Doc Hill, for your interest and support in our business! “Behold now Behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.” Job 40:15,16
To the left, just inside the door. This shot includes bowls of cherry, sassafrass, poplar and beech.
These are the bowls on the left end wall of the dividing wall, on the left half of the gallery.
Orange Crush - Turning to the right past this bowl takes you around the left hand side of my gallery, back towards the American Beech centerpiece. “Orange Crush” Bowl #33 (American Beech) Price: 275.00 Our children probably don’t remember this soft drink that was popular in the '70s. Its tart orange flavor and strong carbonated bite bring back fond memories. We used to collect empty bottles to trade in for a penny’s worth of refund. After a long day’s scavenging, we would be rewarded with enough coins for a cool soft drink. This piece, with its translucent orange rim, takes me back to those days, and that little country store we frequented. “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” I Corinthians 13:11-12a Above is another sample of what is inside each of the glass frames in the gallery.
These pieces hang on the left end wall in the gallery. “Ocean Pier” Bowl #30 (Left) - NFS (Right center) - Bob & Connie Wardlaw Bowl #31 (Left center) - NFS Bowl #32 (Right) - NFS (Lightered Pine) The wood for these pieces came to us in a very interesting way. While vacationing in Navarre Beach, Florida at Bob and Connie Wardlaw’s condo, we discovered a large beam lying on the beach. The surf had driven it from the water the night before. It was approximately thirteen inches square and about four feet long with a large yellow ‘x’ painted on the end. It appeared to be a piece from an old pier perhaps broken up during a storm. We wiled away the better part of our day attempting unsuccessfully to perch all seven members of our family atop the standing timber. As you can see from the photograph, the boys and I managed to stay on just long enough for Leah to capture the memory before we lost control and plunged to the sand. After our frivolous escapades, we decided to take the log home as a souvenir. The wood was too heavy for the boys and me to carry so we moved it end over end until we reached our van, and then rolled it into the back for its six-hour trip home. For months we used this block as an outside bench beside our barbeque grill, but then had the idea of better preserving it by cutting it up and making bowls from it. In the end we managed only four pieces, since the wood proved to be rock hard. The pinesap had completely turned it to “fat lightered”. When we cut it with our chisels it dulled them almost immediately and filled the shop with the smell of turpentine. Even though these pieces proved nearly impossible to form we felt it was worth the effort because of the history behind them. To our knowledge, this was the first time God sent us His blessing through the ocean currents. “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!” Matthew 8:27b
Amid the two battle flags of the War Between the States hang three Spalted Beech bowls, on the right end of the gallery, opposite the large poplar bowl above. “Gettysburg” (American Beech) Bowl #21 (Left) Price: 225.00 Bowl #22 (Center) Price: 750.00 Bowl #23 (Right) Price: 250.00 The ebony black and cinnamon brown spalting lines found in these beautiful Beech pieces are often referred to as battle lines since they are created when two fungi meet and fight for their existence. It seemed only appropriate to name this grouping Gettysburg. No other fight is so vividly impregnated in our minds, even though it’s been nearly 140 years since Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9, 1865, ending the Confederate’s bid to gain the right to secede from the Union. Just as the War Between the States left many lives devastated, the war that raged in this once pure white wood has created a scarred landscape, riddled with the casualties of battle. Wood turners often go to great lengths submerging their bowl blanks in all forms of homemade brews to encourage this spalting to occur. Since it takes months and sometimes years to form these battlefields, the end result is highly favored and sought after. It’s remarkable how God uses even the smallest seemingly insignificant activities of fungi to enhance His creation. “Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Luke 12:27
Vases and Hollow Forms :: These pieces are also on the left half of the gallery, as you pass the large poplar bowl back towards the American Beech centerpiece. These pieces are a sampling of some of my "other" work: vases, hollow forms, thin pieces turned green, natural edge, and a few others. Please email me with any questions, and thanks for taking a look!