The process of making bowls, boards, and vases begins with acquiring large (2 feet in diameter) logs from trees that have been downed during a storm or have been taken down due to old age or disease. The logs are placed under an old oak tree that is sheltered from the wind and shady – providing the ideal area for spalting the wood. Spalting, or changes in the wood’s pigmentation and dark dotting, winding lines and thin streaks of red, brown and black occur as the logs sit in high humidity and high temperatures. The artist acts as farmer, rolling the logs over periodically for 6 to 12 months until they have spalted. Logs are then cut up and shaped as “rough bowls” on a wood lathe and put in a wood kiln to dry. The final step of the process is to finish turning the bowl or vase and apply a hand-rubbed oil finish.