Lucky Bowl of Ornamental Cherry

I got a request to make some things from someone who had to take down an ornamental cherry tree which was too close to the swimming pool. It really hurt as the tree had been planted with love and the blooms enjoyed for many seasons. My response was that I would need to look at the wood to see what could be done with it.

On inspection the tree was not very large. On taking some logs back to my shop I was pleasantly surprised by the lovely yellow color of the sap wood and the attractive orange of the heart wood. I reasoned that the best bowls would be natural edge as the tree had been cut in the spring and was full of sap. By turning the wood wet and to a thin diameter, it could quickly dry. This minimizes checking in my experience. One of the logs was near a fork in the tree and I decided to use it. It was risky but I felt I had nothing to lose. Below was what was hiding in that log.

This is a view of the bottom of the bowl revealing the heart shaped section of the heart wood.

Here we see the dramatic rim outline as the trunk divided into two limbs. It is not very large, measuring 12 inches by 5 inches at its greatest width and height.

Once again I learned not to prejudge a piece of wood. I was not very optimistic about salvaging much of interest from this small tree which had been cut at a time when the wood was full of sap and prone to checking. I took a risk with the crotch section which is especially prone to check. To my surprise out came a vessel that seems to be crossing the line from utility to art.