Spalted Storm Bowl

- written by Zach LaPerriere

“Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better.”  —Einstein

My job is to help you see deeper.  As a forest artist, I custom-shape each vessel to show the story of an ancient wild Alaskan tree.

This vessel came from a tree that washed down a wild Alaskan river in a monsoon.  After rescuing the tree from the ocean, I deliberately left cut rounds of wood in the forest near my studio for many months.  Through careful monitoring, I selected rounds at the right moment when fungal activity had revealed the most amazing colors, but before the wood became compromised with rot.

The result is a natural process halted in time—one that otherwise would be invisible.  While most makers fill spalted wood art with epoxy to make the wood easier to work with: I don’t.  It took me several years to develop the skills to cut this wood cleanly without the use of epoxy, but I worked my tail off because I want to give you a natural product.  I exclusively use natural, 100% food-grade finishes.

An amazing thing about spalted wood: these natural colors run through the wood naturally and have been proven to be the most stable colors on earth—far outlasting other organic and synthetic dyes.  Spalted wood dyes can be found in European churches that are still bright after a thousand years!

Photographs cannot do justice to the natural interplay of contrasting colors and depth in this wood—and of course each bowl is shaped to feel perfectly balanced in your hands.

This vessel is designed for display on the mantel or table.  It is fine for light use in holding special objects.  Because it is crafted from a single piece of wood, it will last for generations with basic care.