I’ve always had an interest in working with wood. I got into turning on a lathe when a family member had one for sale. 12 years, 3 lathes, and one broken window later, I’ve expanded to mainly turning wooden burls. Recently, I have started to work with casting resin and wood together…which has been a learning experience in and of itself.

In the past few years, my daughter and I have started selling at art fairs. I do the creating, while she handles the marketing & sales. We have an ongoing joke that all it takes for her to sell a piece….is for me to walk away from the booth. In truth, we both enjoy getting to talk with the variety of people that we meet at the shows, whether it be friends that stop by, people curious about what we have to offer or other vendors.

Each creation is truly unique and timeless, and you won’t find two pieces that are the same. I start by harvesting the burls personally. If you don’t know what a burl is, it is a rounded or knotty growth that you see on a tree. We then use the leftover wood from the tree for firewood, or whatever new Pinterest project my daughter decides to think of next.

Most of the burls are turned ‘green’, which means that the wood has not completely dried out. Due to the nature, and size of each burl, each piece takes a different amount of time to turn. From harvesting the burl, to the finished product, it could take anywhere from 8-12 hours.

I have turned a variety of types of wood that include Paduuk, Walnut, White Oak, Red Cedar, Box Elder and Poplar to name a few. However, my main wood of choice, and popularity, is Cherry which grows in abundance in Wisconsin. I have also found that I prefer to leave most pieces with a ‘live edge’ (the bark still attached).

Each, all-wooden, piece is then typically finished with a clear lacquer, or a salad bowl finish on turned edges to make them food safe. Pieces that have resin in them have a wax finish.