Using the Way a Tree Grows in My Work
Using the way a tree grows enables me to get the most out of the wood I have. Some wood is reliable and reasonably predictable in its behaviour but some wood is “wild” and very unpredictable. Some wood turners prefer to just stick to the predictable. The wild wood can make a bowl warp – something I prefer to celebrate when it happens. It is exactly what I would mean by “using the way a tree grows in my work”. Or in other words “letting the wood have the last say”.
The normal way for a tree to grow is evenly around the pith. This ash tree shows the way it grows very clearly. Each line is a year’s growth. This wood should be stable. It will shrink as it dries but should do it evenly and so not distort. It is therefore a good choice for this vase which has a glass insert to enable it to hold water and be used for ordinary cut flowers as well as dried flowers.
The yew on the other hand looks anything but reliable. This trunk/branch was growing right next to another. (Typical behavior in yew. Sometimes they even weld themselves to each other so you think it is one trunk until you investigate further.) This means that all the growth had to happen on one side. As you can see the pith is almost at one edge and there is almost no sapwood on that side, so no growth. Fascinating trees, yew. I loved the shape of this and took advantage of it to make a leaf-shaped bowl showing off the wonderful shape and growth pattern.
