Textured Live Edge Branch Bowl

Western Hemlock

Handmade, one-of-a-kind
excellent display piece or functional bowl
finished w/ food-grade Tung & citrus oil

made by Zach LaPerriere
Sitka, Alaska 2018
bowl measures 8 X 2 1/2

“Pare down to the essence, but don't remove the poetry.”  —Leonard Koren, NYC aesthetics expert and essayist

When I was 22, working on a wilderness trailcrew with all handtools, I proclaimed that I would never own a chainsaw.  We would cut three foot diameter red cedar rounds, sometimes all day long.

I have since eaten those words, and own about a dozen chainsaws, including one mint condition 1983 Sithl 076AV Super that is 7 horse power.

Among the many things I love about chainsaws is the texture left behind from a sharp cut.  I have left chainsaw edges on the rim of a good number of bowls and they pretty much always sell fast, because the combination of chainsawed texture and finely sanded wood is a lovely combination and transition.  But this bowl is different.

I did something on this bowl that I've never seen before.  When I layed out the bowl on this piece of wood I admired the texture on the underside of the block of wood I'd prepped months earlier.  So I left that edge on the base of the bowl as an experiment, and by golly, it looked great!

Even better, the bowl sits just fine on the base, despite having some live-edge run down the side into the base.

You'll also notice that I positioned things to explore a branch knot near the edge of the tree.  You'll see that right below the natural void, viewed from the side view photo.

This tree grew in a cove about a mile from my shop for three centuries before a Northeasterly storm blew it over two years ago.  Much of the tree went in the woodshed, but this section from about 60 feet up looked far too interesting to heat our old cabin.

For me: the making of a bowl is the best way I can share with you what's happening in Alaska's old growth trees.  In an age when too many things move too fast, I think we can all benefit from thinking about the steady, patient growth of trees.

This bowl is largely intended for display, but I could see a few small Japanese glass balls or something special in the bowl too. 

Because this bowl is made from a single piece of wood and finished with 100% natural food-grade oil, it will last for generations with minimal care.

H45-2