Large Ash Bowl

A large bowl in ash, turned from one of a number of big blanks I picked up from Ian Pope earlier this year. The blank carried a couple of cracks - not too deep, but enough to make the initial roughing a little hard work. As the bowl took shape, though, a beautiful grain pattern began to emerge and made the effort well worth it.

This piece was a first in another way too: I tried acrylic lacquer instead of my usual melamine. It is food safe, and I was very pleased with the depth and clarity it gave the pale ash without dulling the grain.

At nearly eleven inches across and four inches deep, it is a generous size - a fine candidate for fruit or salad on a kitchen table.

Ash holds a special place in our history. The Norse believed the world tree Yggdrasil - the great ash that holds up the nine worlds - was the axis of all existence. Closer to home, ash was one of the most valued trees in the British landscape for centuries, coppiced on ten-year cycles for tool handles, fuel, and building. Its combination of strength, flexibility, and light weight made it indispensable - the wood of choice for anything that needed to absorb a blow, from axe handles to cricket stumps.

Today, ash faces an uncertain future. Ash dieback disease has swept through the UK, and the species is now classified as near-threatened. The mature ash trees that once defined hedgerows and woodland edges across Kent and beyond are disappearing, and the timber is becoming increasingly scarce.

This blank was felled well over a decade ago - long before dieback took hold - and was carefully seasoned by Ian Pope, a retired turner who stockpiled timber over the course of thirty years. There is something humbling about turning ash now: working with a wood that our grandchildren may know only from old furniture and older stories.