Sometimes it just feels good to make one. Christmas is a time for messes in the shop. Most everyone is too busy to think about having things made or fixed and that leaves me with time to do what I do every Holliday season. Make gifts. ...and messes. Today it's a bowl for Ettie, my wife.

I know a lot about working with wood. I'll just come out and say it plainly, I mean, I've been doing it a while. As a craftsman, however, the knowledge tends to be fairly unscientific so there are a lot of things that feel right and, not surprisingly, a lot of those things wind up being wrong. The hope is that in time intuition will grow keener and I will err less and less. So, on the things that I will live with (like this bowl for Ettie) I like to take my chances and hopefully learn a little something. If it breaks into pieces then I will apologize and make her a new one.

The wood is wet. As it dries it will shrink around the growth rings a lot. It is anyone's guess as to what shape this circular bowl will ultimately take after the rapid drying process it will undergo in the next few weeks. What can I say?.. I am excited to see what happens.

....it's been over a month. Happily, there are no cracks. It has been a successful experiment. Make it like you think it ought to be and let the wood do the rest.