Respite from the Cold

   It's been stupid cold here in NC and we recently got about 4" of snow. Morning temps in the teens and highs mid to upper 30s. Not my favorite kind of weather (I left NY to get away from it and it's warmer there!) so I haven't been inclined to Pursue lately.
  We are having a warm spell, the snow has melted and its warm enough for me to feel creative again. I have had this idea for a bowl and finally got out to the garage to work on it. It's not a totally original idea, I got the idea from a photo I had seen in a book, but I did put my own spin on it, and I'll bet that person didn't make their own cordage!
  I have such beautiful Black Walnut from a friends tree I cut down for her. It was coming down anyway so why not put the wood to good use and give it a second life. I like to combine other natural materials with my turnings.I collect stuff from where ever I go and the bark I made the cordage from was gathered while walking through the woods with a group of kids I was teaching on LI. Not sure but I think it is Basswood as Basswood has great fiber in the inner bark and makes a good rope and there is plenty of Basswood in the area I was in.
  I actually started the bowl many months ago. When you turn green wood you have to do it in two steps. First you rough turn the bowl to a basic shape and leave it to dry slowly in a paper bag filled with shavings from the bowl itself. As it dries it will warp, hopefully not more than the thickness you turned it. Also you need to be lucky it doesn't crack as it warps.After a few months it comes out of the bag and allowed to dry in the open air. Now it gets turned again to the final shape and hopefully it was dry enough not to warp anymore or crack. The cordage was made the way I described in a post awhile back. Hope you like it!
Peace