New personal milestone in bowl making!

[Wilbur Pan]

I made this bowl for some friends of ours out of a tree that fell over in their yard. They asked me to help chop it up to get it out of there, and I would up with some ambrosia maple log segments.



I was going to just give this bowl to them as a souvenir, but the Middlesex County Fair was just a week away, and my wife told me that I should enter this bowl in the Home Arts competition.

Somehow, I wound up with a first place ribbon!



I have no idea how I won, as there was another NJ turner that entered a lot of stuff, and it was clear to me that he was much better and more experienced at turning than I was. He got second place in the bowl category. But I have some theories as to how I got the blue ribbon:

1. The other turner took first place in every other category that he entered, including getting a Best of Show award, so my blue ribbon was a pity award.

2. The other turner is from northern New Jersey, and I'm an actual resident of Middlesex County, so I got home court advantage.

3. The other turner's entry into the bowl category was a really large natural edged hollow form, made of walnut, I think. His piece came in near the top and then flared out again, and I think the judges might have figured that it was more of a vase, not a bowl, so he got docked points for his piece not really being a bowl. Besides, he had already entered something else in the vase category, which he won.

Still, a blue ribbon is a blue ribbon, according to my wife. She thinks that I just made a better bowl. I should probably listen to her more often.

[Jamie Cowan]

Don't sell yourself short, I think that is a fantastic looking bowl. It was certainly not a pity award. While the figure of that wood is outstanding, the craftsmanship would be just as compelling with virtually no grain at all. From your pictures, it looks like the thickness is about the same throughout the piece, and it isn't muddied up with pointless detail just to prove you can do it. Looks fantastic. Nice job. Certainly better than my bowls.

[Chris Rae]

I think that is a great bowl! Beautiful wood and great workmanship.

[Mark Hubl]

Congrats on the ribbon. The piece looks very good to me. Nice proportions, consistent thiness on the walls and beautiful wood. Certainly deserving of the win! And nice score on the wood.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Congrats!!! Beautiful bowl Wilbur! Well deserving of your first place award!

[Jerome Hanby]

Good craftsmanship and great material are a hard combination to beat and you have the blue ribbon to prove it. Congrats!

[Steve Mawson]

Blue ribbon is a blue ribbon, well deserved.

[Roger Jensen]

Nice job. So my question is: are you still going to give them the bowl?

[Rob Cunningham]

Congratulations on the well deserved Blue Ribbon. Beautiful looking bowl.

[Skip Spaulding]

Nice work, beautiful bowl and a pretty blue ribbon! Enjoy the spotlight, most of us seem to get stuck in the shadow!

[Don Orr]

That'll do nicely !

[Gary Conklin]

That is a great looking bowl. Love that AM. I can see why it took the Blue!

[Christopher Fletcher]

Ribbon or none. You have made a very nice bowl.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Wilbur,

Great form.....great finish and the wood is stupendous! Looks like Blue Ribbon material to me.


Options:

1. Keep the bowl.....keep the ribbon......turn another
2. Give the bowl to your friends.......keep the ribbon........turn another
3. Give the bowl and the ribbon to the friends....They will have a special present

[Mark Hix]

great looking bowl. It is easy to see why it won.