Reflections on a Bowl

Today I am feeling creative

Time to forgo TV and books

Time to make something

I have a lathe and an offcut of Ash

Let’s turn a bowl

I cut a square on the band saw

Remove the corners

And mount on the lathe

With my gouge I first turn the outside

Until a pleasing convex curve emerges

Time now to hollow out the interior

I reverse the mount

And hollow outwards from the centre

Shards of Ash fly out

Revealing a growing cavity

Creeping towards the edge

I continue gouging until

I reach the desired wall thickness

My creation is complete save for

Final sanding and polishing

I admire my work

And decide to gift it to a friend

I reflect on the future of my bowl

How long will it exist

How many owners might it have

Will it be discarded in the future   

Consigned to the garbage

By some non appreciating owner

Left to rot in a landfill site

Or maybe it will live on

Continuing to serve a useful purpose

Long after I am gone

But for how long

Perhaps for centuries or even millennia

But it is organic and will rot eventually

Few wooden artefacts remain from ancient sites

But the roof timbers of thousand year old cathedrals

Remain intact

So there is hope

But who will know who made it and when

And does it matter