Spring Time, Shop Demolition, and Some Turned Bowls

     The winter had a hard time leaving this year, with snow into mid May. Now it's wet, raining for days on end. Some of my veggie farmer friends are having a hard time. Ground is too wet to work and plant or the fields are just under water, literally. I'd say the weather this spring has been extreme. But, what can you do?

     I've been pretty busy the past few weeks with demolishing the old house, which was my shop, remember  the post "That's it, I'm burning down my shop"? Well, we've finally pulled apart the building. It lays in a heap of sorted materials.... osb sheets, 2x framing material, 1x ship lap. This was the very first building I ever built by myself and it felt very good to take it apart, piece by piece reflecting along the way. I remember starting the project over 16 years ago, newly married, my first born just days old, in the middle of winter. One day it snowed so much before the roof was on that I had to shovel nearly 3 feet of snow from inside the building, throwing the snow out the window openings. The building never was truly finished before we out grew it. One thing to mention about the demo process is that I cut a 16ft circle out of the remaining floor that created a new floor for the yurt. We moved the yurt onto the this floor, which makes a nice space, a little more complete than the earthen floor it had previously.

     We plan to re-use much of the material for a long awaited tree house for the kids, a chicken coop, and the lathe house. I think the first two are pretty self explanatory. The lathe house will house my spring pole lathe and a chopping block, drying racks and a wood stove, that's it. It is really exciting to have a space for one activity, turning.

     In the mean time I have set my pole lathe up under a tarp and have spent the last few days turning a few bowls and plates and a few drinking vessels...a snippskal and a quiach. It is really nice to be turning again. It's been awhile. The last handled cups I turned were in November. The first few bowls I turned were Ale bowls. I also got a nesting set of two out of a piece of birch. It's been awhile, the bottom was a bit thin, and the rim a bit thick on the first of the two nesting bowls. Remember while turning a nesting set, I'm completely blind while turning the first bowl. All I have is feel of the tip of the tool and the sound. But all of them will be good to dry and paint, and  to offer up for sale.

     I  heard a great radio show the other day on craft. Check the show out on  NPR Radio. Good stuff. I have more to write on that subject but thought I'd let it lay for a month or two.

     I'm sorry it's been awhile since my last post.