Fairfield Farm Bowls

I am a green woodturner twice over who turns classic and natural-edge bowls from sugar maple, black cherry, yellow birch and other hardwoods on our ninety-acre Fairfield farm. At the other extreme, I also turn bowls from local "junk wood" such as sumac and buckthorn, because they, too, reveal special properties when turned on a fast lathe with sharp chisels.

I avoid purchasing wood from fragile tropical forests as the Vermont landscape provides nearly all the resources a woodturner can imagine. I manage my woods for wildlife habitat, firewood, timber harvest, and sugar bush, but seldom cut healthy living trees for bowl turning. Instead, I explore and cut storm-damaged, downed, and culled wood, having learned that odd-shaped, rough, and gnarly exteriors often conceal colorful, swirling, and figured interiors.

All of my bowls are also turned green, so they continue to move around and re-shape themselves as they dry. At the same time, they are meant for use--for serving food, holding jewelry, & displaying objects--so all are sealed with a food-safe beeswax/mineral oil finish.