We do not cut down trees solely for the purpose of making bowls and vessels. We use wood from trees that have been removed from orchards, roadsides, city parks and other urban landscapes. These trees have been removed because of plant health or land management reasons. Wood scraps and shavings that we generate are used for compost and mulch, keeping these valuable materials out of the landfill.       Wood that would otherwise be chipped or used for firewood is transformed into beautiful, durable and useful bowls.     The bowls and vessels are made from locally available hardwoods.  Woods used include blue and green ash, sycamore, American and Siberian elm, honey and black locust, silver maple, boxelder, and walnut; and fruit woods such as sweet cherry, peach, apricot, pear, crab apple, apple, and plum.  Bowls up to 22" diameter are available.       Our wooden bowls are made directly from trees without the wood first being made into lumber.  Slabs of wood are cut from green logs using a chainsaw.  Circular blanks are then cut from the slabs.  Blanks are placed on the lathe and turned into thick-walled bowls.  These roughed-out green wood bowls are coated with wax and set aside to dry for one to three years depending on the type of wood and size of the bowl. The Artist At Work     After the bowl has dried it is put back on the lathe, given its final shape and sanded.  Finally, the bowl gets two or more coats of Tried and True Original Wood Finish®.  Developed from a Shaker recipe, this product is pure linseed oil and beeswax; it contains no petroleum distillates or derivatives or heavy metal driers and it is nontoxic.  We use Tried and True® because it is both food-safe and a high quality oil finish.  Flexibility of the finish allows our bowls be used with food or for display.