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Whether I am making a salad bowl or one of my signature hollow forms, the process begins with raw wood from local trees that needed to be removed due to damage or decay. Occasionally I will acquire a special piece of exotic wood from the estate of a fellow woodturner. That raw material is then broken down into usable pieces, paying particular attention to what natural features the timber has to offer. Once I have a blank that can be secured to the lathe, I use various gouges and chisels to remove any wood from the spinning mass that does not belong to the form in my mind. The object is then set aside to dry before it is finely sanded and finished with natural oils to accentuate the grain and figure of the wood. Woodturning is a cathartic exercise, whether I am removing wide ribbons of wood, or hollowing a vessel through a small opening with even smaller tools. I am as much in love with the process as I am with the final object.