Double Effigy Feast Bowl

Effigy Feast Bowl
Black Ash Burl
16.5" long
12.25" wide
5.75" height

Here is my latest creation just completed in April. This piece was a collaboration between my friend Mike Combs and myself. Mike carved the black ash burl bowl and left blocks of wood at both ends for me to carve these effigies, I then applied the coloration and patina. There is more time in carving the effigies than in carving the bowl itself...and almost as much time in the finishing. I created the effigy carvings over a period of 4 weeks. One reason why this bowl took so long to create is that the burl was well seasoned and was perhaps as hard as any wood I've ever carved. Applying the patina was a 3 day process and involves a great deal of burnishing with a bone. After a project like this, it takes me a few days to rest my hands before I'm able to pick a tool up again.

This is not a reproduction of any known historic bowl but the design stays within the compass of style, design, material and method of bowls made by Woodland Indians from the Great Lakes region during the 17th and 18th century. These effigies were made to represent male and female entities.