Bowled Over: Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed, but feel free to enjoy my chat with Jim from the Etsy shop "A Fresh Twist," and enjoy his work!

The WINNER of this beautiful, hand-turned red oak bowl is

JENNIFER BARR!

Tune in for upcoming giveaways...including one that is yummy!

I really enjoyed hosting a recent giveaway - it was so nice to share! I am ridiculously pleased to introduce another giveaway - and this one is all about Jim...

Jim makes bowls. Beautiful wooden bowls. (Read more about him here.) And Jim has made a beautiful wooden bowl out of red oak in honor of the Big Red Couch. Jim and I chatted a little bit and I was fascinated to learn more about woodworking.

This is what I love: not only has Jim hand-turned a red oak bowl for the Big Red Couch, he provided photos of the process, so you can see the bowl being born. I absolutely love this.

So, without further ado...

1. So, Jim, I have to ask: did you get an "A" in shop class? How did you begin woodworking?

Actually, my wife bought me a lathe for my birthday a couple of years ago, and I was immediately hooked. The process of "turning" something that is going to be thrown away or burned up into something useful and beautiful is a very rewarding experience.
In the beginning, I read everything I could about turning, and indulged in a lot of trial and error. Sometimes the wood flew off the lathe and bounced around; thankfully things stay on much more now. For Christmas the next year, my wife upgraded me to a better lathe. I had completely worn out the first one, (motor, bolts, belts)!

2. How did you go from crafting bowls in Michigan to setting up an Etsy shop online?

After my new lathe, my output increased. We had bowls everywhere. People would come over and say how much they liked them. My wife bought a cabinet with a glass door at an antique shop for my bowls. When that was full, she and my two boys made a bigger cabinet with handmade stained glass in the front doors. Soon that, too, was full. My wife had bought some pottery through Etsy in the past and she suggested that I sell my bowls there. It was great setting up the store and I have enjoyed it so far.

3. I see beautifully shaped, crafted bowls - but I don't know anything about the creation process. Can you summarize the steps between a hunk of wood and a shiny, curved dish?

The process of creating is different for everybody. Ask three wood turners what their techniques are for turning and you will get three different answers. I use various tools to carve the wood and the process may take a couple of hours or a couple of days depending on the complexity. As the wood spins I guide it to the shape I have in mind. Other times the wood persuades me that something different would be even better.

4. What's your favorite thing that you've made?

That's a hard one. Probably my favorite piece is the holder for my wife's paint brushes. Made of slightly-spalted maple, it curves in at the middle and flares out on the top and bottom. I like the shape of it and the way the wood looks, but I also like that it helps her to create works of art.

5. Do you ever wonder where your creations will end up - how their story continues after they leave your hands?

I think about this one a lot. I hope that people get use, or possibly even inspiration out of my creations. Who knows where a bowl may end up or what use it may have? The longer a bowl is around and passed on, the longer and more interesting a story it has to tell. I hope that people get as much enjoyment out of them as I do in making them.

And now, for the important part!

Enter to win this very bowl!

HOW TO ENTER:

Visit Jim's shop, A Fresh Twist, at Etsy, and share your favorite item from it in a comment below. Be sure to include your email address. That's it!

Contest ends at midnight central time on Friday, September 17, 2010.

Winner will be chosen by random.org and will have 48 hours to respond once notified.

US and Canadian residents only. One entry per person.