Over the weekend I HAD to get out of the house. It was such gorgeous weather and I knew I would be miserable sitting here. After a poll no one wanted to go anywhere but me so I struck out on my own and ended up at the flea market. In one of the booths I saw the prettiest little wooden bowls. The sign in front of them said that they were made by a local artisan and that is where my hunt began. The ones they had displayed were very small and were considered soap dishes, I knew I had to have one, but I wanted one that was larger to go on my table to hold the salt and pepper shakers and the napkins.
After a couple of days investigative work I found myself here:
Now, let me start by saying…I have been sent to the wood shed on many occasions but it wasn’t for anything good, that I can assure you of. But this wood shed…it was different. It wasn’t for some wrong doing, it was full of treasures. All of which I wanted to bring home. But, due to budget constraints I had to narrow it down. I ended up buying 4 bowls because I just couldn’t decide and because his prices are PHENOMENAL!
Who is he? Meet Ruel Manning:
Mr. Manning is such an interesting man. Here he is giving me a demonstration on what it takes to make a bowl. Me, I would have to be taking lots of muscle supplements. He also makes vases, bird houses, little decorative boxes, pepper-mills, etc. As we were talking I asked him what the hardest part of wood turning was and I was amazed by his answer. Mr. Manning said that the hardest part of wood turning is watching a piece that you had been working on crack or break and having to chunk it. He stated that a piece of you goes into every creation. You handle them with care and pour your soul into them and when they break or don’t turn out quiet right it is like you loose a little piece of yourself.
wood turned birdhouse
Now that is a man who loves his work! He even hand makes the majority of his tools and has been teaching his son and grandson the art of wood turning. Passing down this time-honored art, generation to generation. One day, I hope to have pieces from all of them.
And it shows in his pieces:
Above was the first piece I picked up. I fell in LOVE. I went looking for a piece to go in the center of my table and it was perfect. What I didn’t know was that it is made out of an exotic wood that is very expensive. In other words, that made this piece out of my budget. But, the African Mahogany makes some GORGEOUS platters!
So, this is the one that I chose for my table:
It holds everything I wanted it to hold and looks great! It is made out of a Box Elder tree that had a fungus. The fungus doesn’t affect the bowl in any way, but it does add some red streaks in the bowl/platter which I personally love. See, I like the rustic look. I like the natural flaws and prefer that the pieces that I chose do not look perfect. I want the natural beauty to show through.
This is my other favorite. It is made out of Maple.
And this one is made from a Bradford Pear Tree:
Aren’t they gorgeous?!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER.
” I was not compensated in any way shape or form for this post. I bought the bowls myself and Mr. Manning doesn’t even have a website that you can order off of. So, he won’t even see this post written all bout him and his bowls. I just loved them so much that I had to share. And, if you would like to see about purchasing one for yourself…you would have to e-mail me and I would have to go for another visit and then ship it to you. Of course that means that I would probably come home with another bowl and while I would like to say that I really shouldn’t…It wouldn’t hurt my feelings one bit.”
