A large Walnut Calabash bowl

A Calabash is a traditional Hawaiian style of bowls and cups, the name coming from the Calabash gourd. These woody gourds had been used for centuries as the staple kitchen vessels by indigenous island peoples. Wooden Calabash bowls are still popular in Hawaii and are becoming so far beyond the islands.

This is one of my attempts at this lovely, and useful, form.

Made from local, North Carolina Black Walnut this piece measures 14 inches across by 9 1/2 inches tall. It was crafted in the "twice turned," method. After cutting the block to a roundish shape, it was turned on the lathe to its basic shape, but left thicker than the eventual size, then left to season, to lose its moisture and settle into its relaxed state. It sat this way for two years, till I felt it was stable, and that I had a reasonable plan for completing the bowl to my hopeful satisfaction.

A defining feature of the Calabash is the round bottom. No foot, as is usual.